Space Kid slipped out of his tent in the early morning hours, long before sunrise and while the stars were still bright in the sky. He looked up and found—to his delight—that the night sky was now unfettered by the overcast sky that had covered it during the day. His legs still hurt from Nikki playing Space Camp with him the other day, but he wouldn't let that stop him from seeing more of what the night sky had to offer.

He looked up and found Polaris to orient himself, then turned toward the lake and hurried on his way. The star navigation wasn't necessary per se, but Space Kid found it far more fun. Soon enough the trees parted and Space Kid walked out onto the lakeshore, where the sky stretched out to the mountaintops ahead of him and the waning gibbous moon hung high above.

With a smile and a contented sigh, Space Kid sat down and laid back on the scrubby grass that grew at the sand's margin, content to take in the sky in all its glory.

It wasn't long before he was interrupted. Harrison stepped out from under the trees and walked over to him, regarding Space Kid with a tired glare.

"Space Kid, why are you out here? We're supposed to be asleep," Harrison chided, though he was too tired to put any real conviction into it.

"But you're not asleep," Space Kid said, more to state the facts than to talk back at all.

"Yeah that's cause you're out here," Harrison said, taking a seat next to Space Kid regardless. He rubbed his eyes, his free hand braced against the ground behind him. "Why are you up so early?"

"Stargazing!" was Space Kid's chipper reply, as if this should've been obvious. He turned his head to look at Harrison, fishbowl helmet clinking against a small rock that lay in its path. "What about you?"

Harrison eyed him for a few moments. "Daniel didn't come back last night," he admitted finally. "I'm worried about him."

Space Kid sat up. "Should we go look for him?"

"What? No!" Harrison said quickly. "He wouldn't want us to do that."

"Oh. Okay." Space Kid lay back again and returned his attention to the sky.

Harrison leaned back, a little put off by Space Kid's willingness to drop the issue. He shifted uncomfortably, then flicked his wrist; a corner of red cloth appeared from the top of the glove, and he tugged on it until a small blanket emerged. Harrison spread the blanket out behind himself and laid back to look at the sky as well. "So what are you looking at?" he asked after some time spent in silence.

"Well the constellations are always pretty, but there's also the chance to see shooting stars even with the moon so bright," Space Kid replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah! The moon is so bright right now that it hides a lot of the weaker stars, but if a star is bright enough you'll still see it," Space Kid explained, pointing at the moon above. "Same with shooting stars, they just have to be bigger to see them when the moon's bright."

"Huh," Harrison said, focusing his eyes on the sky again. "Do you think we'll see any?"

"I hope so!" Space Kid said enthusiastically, kicking his feet against the sand. "Just don't look at the moon and you'll have the best chance of seeing them!"

Harrison fidgeted for a while, apparently conflicted over whether he wanted to stay, then finally settled as his eyes drifted around the corners of the sky that were farthest from the moon.

They didn't have to look for long before something caught Space Kid's eye, a red dot that was moving above the mountains to the north at speed. "Look, look!" he said, sitting bolt-upright to point it out to Harrison.

"Whoa, so is that a shooting star?" Harrison asked as he watched it.

"Either that or a satellite!" Space Kid replied. He got to his feet to see if the few feet of height would give him a better view. "Let's watch!"

The dot continued toward them, gradually growing in size until it suddenly flared as it neared the peaks of the mountains to their north.

"It turned into a fireball!" Space Kid shouted as he jumped up and down with excitement. "That means it's a big one!"

They watched as the fireball flew closer, its light so intense that it lit up the surrounding landscape. It plummeted suddenly once it was properly over the lake, blazing down to the water and pulling a sharp turn in order to fly parallel with the surface, where the water steamed and sprayed in its wake. The meteor streaked over the water, swerving to and fro as if aiming for something until it slammed into the shoreline to the east and continued into the forest with a muffled boom. Quieter than Space Kid expected, but that didn't change what a momentous occasion this was.

"Whoa!" Space Kid shouted, already barreling down the shoreline toward the landing site. "We just saw a meteorite land!"

"Wait, hold on!" Harrison called as he ran after Space Kid. "We can't go into the forest at night, it's not safe!"

Space Kid continued as if he hadn't heard, too out of breath to make his reply that anything in the forest would've been scared off by the explosion so wild animals wouldn't be an issue. He rounded the first bend between them and the landing site and paused for a breather, his legs aching already.

Harrison caught up with him and took a moment to catch his breath. "Come on, we have to go back," he said, putting a hand on Space Kid's arm.

"But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Space Kid replied, dismayed at Harrison's lack of interest in such an event. "We gotta go get it before someone else does!"

"Who else would even be out here?" Harrison asked, starting to tug Space Kid back toward the camp. "Come on , we need to get back."

"Activating escape protocol!" Space Kid declared, and he undid the velcro that secured his sleeve to the rest of his suit with his free hand. His arm slid out of the sleeve as he pulled again, free and clear to keep running toward the discovery of a lifetime.

"Wha— Hey!" Harrison made a grab for him and missed, dropping the sleeve. "Get back here!"

"Make sure you give that back later!" Space Kid added over his shoulder as he carried on down the shore.

Harrison stomped his foot in frustration, then scooped up the sleeve and started after Space Kid again. He tried to apprehend Space Kid again as they hit the next inlet, only for Space Kid to dodge by a hair and continue on. Harrison managed to grab him on the other side and was surprised when Space Kid started to drag him. "Come on , Space Kid. We're gonna get in trouble!"

"I'm gonna... Hold a piece of space... In my hands!" Space Kid said as he moved forward one heavy step at a time. "Besides... Maybe Daniel's there!"

"What?" Harrison looked up at Space Kid and almost stopped dragging him. "What are you talking about?"

"That meteorite was so bright he could've seen it! Maybe he's checking it out right now!" Space Kid tugged again, moving them a step farther along the beach.

"You're just gonna come back out here the moment I go to sleep, aren't you?" Harrison asked, giving Space Kid a weary glare.

"Yup!" Space Kid replied cheerily.

"Ugh, fine!" Harrison rolled his eyes and let go. "I'll just come with you, then."

Space Kid tumbled onto the sand from the sudden lack of anything to pull against and picked himself up again. "Great!" he said, taking Harrison by the hand. "Let's go!"

Harrison let out a short, annoyed sigh, but didn't resist as Space Kid towed him along the lakeshore.

They reached the beginning of the crash site in good time and found a path of charred trees and brush leading into the forest beyond. It was lucky that the fire hadn't spread at all, they probably had the area's tendency for summer rainstorms to thank for that. Either way, it made following the meteorite's path very easy.

Space Kid charged in, still towing Harrison behind him. Fallen branches made the path treacherous—more so for Harrison than for Space Kid's much shorter legs—and Harrison slowed them down more than a few times by tripping on something. Space Kid couldn't be mad though, not with the path kept from the moon's light by overhanging trees like this; it was a wonder he hadn't tripped on something himself yet.

At last the tunnel of still-smoldering trees and brush opened out onto a clearing lit as if there was a bright lantern at its center. Instead of a lantern, however, the source of the light appeared to be a large red bird that lay collapsed on the cooling earth.

"Whoa!" Space Kid dropped Harrison's hand and dashed over. "Harrison, do you know what this means?!" he asked, practically hopping with excitement.

"Um..." Harrison's eyes darted around the clearing as he sought the answer. "Aliens...?"

"Aliens!" Space Kid shouted triumphantly as he threw his hands in the air.

"Yeah... Aliens..." Harrison agreed with a nod and a nervous smile.

Space Kid was positively beaming when he looked down at the space bird again. "Now how do we wake it up?"

"Maybe we shouldn't," Harrison said as he approached. "We don't even know if this thing is friendly or not."

"It looks friendly to me!" Space Kid quipped, and he poked the space bird's closest wing with one finger.

"Don't poke it—!" Harrison began, only to be interrupted when the bird's head jerked up and its eyes snapped open.

"Welcome to Earth!" Space Kid cried, opening his arms in welcome.

"Well great," Harrison grumbled to himself.

The bird leaned away from Space Kid, eying him with suspicion as it got to its feet. Most of its feathers were ruffled and in disarray, likely the result of its rough landing. It gathered its wings to its chest and flicked its long tail away from Space Kid as if it expected him to try touching it, the false eye feathers scattered among the normal ones flashing briefly from the movement. Once its extremities were out of Space Kid's reach, it turned to him and gave his helmet an exploratory peck.

Space Kid gasped. "It likes me!" he declared, looking positively enchanted as the bird tilted its head to get a look at Space Kid's helmet from a different angle. "What brings you to our planet, fair traveler?"

The bird looked at him quizzically, then gave his helmet one last peck before backing up to preen itself.

"You know what? It probably has important stuff to do, so why don't we leave this alien alone and avoid getting in its way?" Harrison offered as he came to stand next to Space Kid.

"But we have to be good hosts, Harrison!" Space Kid declared, alarmed that Harrison would take this so lightly. "This is a massive opportunity for human-alien relations!"

There was a loud squawk from the bird, making them jump, and it began a frantic search of the place where it landed, sweeping its wings across the ground and scratching with its claws. When that turned up nothing it hurried over to where Space Kid and Harrison were standing, shoving them out of the way as it did so.

"Hey, watch it!" Harrison said as he stumbled back.

Space Kid lost his balance and bungled into Harrison, knocking them both to the ground.

When a sweep of the entire clearing proved futile, the bird turned to Space Kid and Harrison. It grabbed the knot holding Space Kid's cape in place and pulled him up, then set about checking his pockets and even under his cape.

"That's not how we say hi here, silly," Space Kid chided as the bird drew away. "Like this!" he said, extending a hand for the bird to shake.

Rather than take Space Kid up on his offer, the bird ignored him and turned to Harrison, who had just gotten back to his feet.

"Personal space!" Harrison declared, backpedaling as the bird pursued him around the clearing. He whipped out a prop wand—which he apparently carried around with him—and pointed it at the bird. "Hah! Take this!" A bouquet of blue flowers popped out of the end. "Aw come on!"

"Harrison, don't hurt it!" Space Kid hurried over to save the alien from whatever stage magic mishaps might happen to it as a result of Harrison's magic. "It's just confused!"

The bird swatted the wand out of Harrison's hand with a backhanded sweep of one wing and tried to get at one of his pockets.

"I'm not gonna—ow!" Harrison's reply ended in a yelp as the bird seized the hand he was trying to deflect it with.

The bird's beak slid down to the end of the glove and caught one of Harrison's trick ropes. It yanked a length of it out of Harrison's glove, apparently thinking it was onto something.

Harrison struggled to take the glove off before the bird could drag him off his feet. "Fine, take it!" He threw the glove at the bird's head once it was free, and it bounced off the bird's face before falling to the ground.

That got the bird to pause, but only long enough to glare at Harrison before continuing to search his glove. Once the handkerchief rope—and the miscellaneous items tied up in it—was exhausted, the bird turned to Harrison yet again. It started toward him, then stopped suddenly. Its head snapped toward the edge of the clearing to their east and the bird darted over to the trees' edge, fluttering and squawking at something they couldn't see. The big tail swept over empty space, the air shimmered, and suddenly Daniel popped into view.

It was as much a surprise to Daniel as his sudden appearance was to Space Kid and Harrison. Daniel's smile sharpened as the bird started scratching at him with its claws. "Back. Off," he growled as purple fire flared around his hand, his fingers arched as he pressed it down.

The bird was thrown to the ground as if Daniel's hand were pressing it there, where it squawked and snapped at his shoes with its beak.

"Oh no!" Space Kid hurried over. "Don't hurt the alien! It doesn't know better!"

Daniel's eyes flicked to Space Kid, then to Harrison, then back to the bird. "Alright, then," he said, his fingers straightening.

Whatever power it was that held the bird in place dissipated, and the bird scuttled away from Daniel in case he changed his mind, giving him a reproachful glare all the while. It started to preen itself again, since its feathers looked even more ruffled after being pinned by Daniel.

"Well, I didn't expect to run into you two on my way back," Daniel said, turning his attention to Space Kid and Harrison. "What brings you kiddos out here?"

"We were out stargazing and then we saw a big shooting star and it landed nearby so we looked for it and found this alien!" Space Kid pointed at the bird, who rolled its eyes at him. "And then you appeared and here we are! How'd you do that? Is it secret alien technology? Are you—" Space Kid gasped and scooted a bit closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Are you secretly part of the Men in Black except out of uniform?"

"I have no idea what that last part is," Daniel said cheerfully. "But I guess you could say that it's of alien origin."

"Wow!" Space Kid looked up at Daniel with a whole new level of admiration. "Have you met other aliens? Are you friends? Can you introduce me?!"

"All in good time, little friend," Daniel said as he gave Space Kid a pat on the helmet, a bit taken aback by the boy's sudden hyper-focus on him. "Let's focus on this one for now."

"Oh, right!" Space Kid snapped to attention. "We have to be good hosts and help out this alien any way we can!"

"So, any idea what it wants?" Daniel asked with a gesture toward the bird—who gave him an angry squawk before returning to its preening.

"I think it might be looking for something?" Harrison guessed, hesitating before taking a step toward Daniel.

Space Kid gasped. "Of course! The alien must've fallen out of its spaceship and now we have to go find it!"

The bird stopped its preening and gave them a good long look for the first time, strolling up to the three as it gave them each a piercing stare. It circled them once as it sized them up, coming to a stop in front of them where it bowed its head in thought. After a few moments it looked up, picked up a stick from the edge of the clearing with its beak, and began drawing in the dirt between them. Once finished with the drawing it dropped the stick and waved a wing at it with a squawk.

Harrison, Space Kid, and Daniel crowded around to examine the drawing, which was made easily visible thanks to the bird's light.

"Is this your spaceship?" Space Kid asked, looking up at the bird.

The bird shook its head in reply.

"I think it looks like a bag," Harrison guessed, tapping a finger to his chin as he looked down at it.

This time the bird nodded and brushed the base of its neck with its wings.

"So it was around your neck," Daniel guessed—the bird nodded—and he continued: "And you lost it at some point?"

The bird squawked and spread its wings to indicate the wider clearing—and its landing path.

"Aw man, I hope it floats," Harrison said as he looked back down the burn tunnel. "The bird flew over the lake before it landed here."

"We'll figure something out," Daniel said confidently as he straightened. This close and with the light at a lower angle thanks to the bird, the shadows under his eyes were strikingly apparent. "I'm sure we can take a boat out in the morning or search the shoreline."

There was something like a grumble from the bird—apparently it didn't want to wait until then—and it started off down the burn tunnel without them.

"I can help!" Space Kid trotted along after it, lagging slightly behind as he climbed over debris and rocks that had been exposed by the burn.

As soon as Space Kid was unable to see them, Harrison grabbed Daniel's legs in a hug and released them just as quickly. "I was worried," Harrison admitted, looking at the ground at his feet. "I thought the dullahan got you."

"Sorry about that, Harrison," Daniel said weakly. "I made sure Ered was safe and then attended to my other project. Got a tad carried away with how long it took."

"Anyway, we need to follow Space Kid. I'm kinda worried about him falling in the lake."

"Good point!" Daniel said, relaxing visibly with that personal chat averted. He summoned a globe of light for them to move by, and they picked their way along the burn tunnel as quickly as possible.

"So that's some kind of magical creature, right?" Harrison asked as he climbed over a fallen tree trunk. "I've never seen one of those around here, though."

"A phoenix, perhaps?" Daniel suggested as he stepped over the same log. "Or maybe a firebird, I never learned the difference between the two."

Space Kid had just reached the edge of the forest when they caught up. He was trying to move a boulder that was twice as big as he was, apparently thinking that the bag might somehow be underneath. "Hi guys!" Space Kid gave them a wave, giving up his boulder endeavors for now. "Did you find anything?"

"No luck, sadly," Daniel replied with a shrug. "It'll be easier to search during the day, though. Let's get back to camp, you two."

"Aww." Space Kid drooped. "But I wanna keep helping!"

"We'll be better equipped to do that in the morning," Daniel said as he ushered Space Kid over to the west side of the burn path.

The bird watched them go but didn't follow, though it did raise a wing in return when Space Kid waved goodbye to it.

Gwen was asleep when Daniel entered the Counselors' Cabin, which he was grateful for.

It didn't last long, unfortunately.

"Where the hell were you last night?"

Daniel jumped, dropping the set of pajamas he'd been retrieving—Gwen had woken up while he had his back turned to her and was now sitting upright in bed as she glared at him. He was too tired to deal with this, especially given Gwen's 'absolutely done with your shit' tone. "Well I, uh—" Daniel began as panic settled deep in his chest, doing its best to cut off any remaining explanation by tightening its grip on his lungs.

"You could've been eaten by a bear or fallen off a cliff for all I knew, why the fuck do you keep doing this?"

"I heard that Ered was off to do something very dangerous so I followed to make sure she didn't get hurt," he began, since the half-truth would be the easiest to go by. "And then I tried to take a shortcut on the way back and got lost."

"Bullshit," Gwen snapped, and it took all of Daniel's remaining willpower to keep from flinching.

Daniel scrambled for a solution, his fingers tightening their grip on his pajamas. The first explanation had been half-true, so perhaps if he just tweaked the lie in it a bit that would make the whole more convincing. His mind stumbled across Space Kid's antics from earlier, how convinced he was that aliens were out there waiting to be found. "Alright, you caught me," Daniel said, holding his hands up in defeat. "After I made sure Ered was alright I went out to look for..." he trailed off, almost unable to utter the lie himself due to embarrassment. "To look for aliens..." Daniel looked down at the floor and hoped that Gwen would at least buy this one, his face going red all the while.

"Oh my God." There was a smack as Gwen's palm made contact with her face. "A fucking alien hunter? Seriously?"

"Yeah it's kinda obvious why I don't talk about it, right?" Daniel's voice squeaked on the final word, and he absolutely hated himself for it; David's opinion was one he didn't care about at all but he at least respected Gwen for being the brains of the operation, and her disdain hurt more than he expected it to.

"Uuuuugh," Gwen grumbled as she fell back on her bed. "Can't fucking believe we have to deal with another alien hunter right now."

"Wait, there have been others?" Daniel asked before he could stop himself, looking up at her.

"At least two," Gwen replied, holding up two fingers but not bothering to look up at him.

"Ah, I see." Daniel considered himself lucky that she accepted the explanation, however much he hated the fact that she thought he was some alien-crazy idiot now.

"Anyway," Gwen said as she sat back up, fixing him with a glare once again. "Don't fucking do that again. You hunt for aliens on your own time, not while you're supposed to be helping us at camp."

"Right, sorry about that," Daniel said.

"I mean it, Daniel," Gwen said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do this shit again and your ass is out of here."

"Yes, Gwen." Daniel bowed his head in defeat, his heart sinking. He still had two wardstones to find, and he wasn't sure how he would be able to locate and record them without the night excursions he'd been doing.

Gwen sighed. "Now go the fuck to sleep. We have a full day of chaos to deal with in a couple hours."

David wasn't sure why he woke up at first. A quick glance at a nearby window told him that force of habit had done it, as this was the time he normally got up to prepare for the day ahead. Usually he'd be quietly getting out of bed, doing his darn best to keep from waking Gwen so she could get as much sleep as possible.

A sudden pang of loneliness struck him as he became fully aware of the silence. The sound of Gwen's breathing had been small but it was a comfort all the same, an assurance that she was right there in case something happened. He missed knowing she was there. Missed her .

Was she doing alright without him there? Lenny was helping and she'd gotten through the dullahan incident without being hurt, he knew that much, but he worried about what this was doing to her nerves. Gwen was a nervous person by nature, and long drawn-out situations like this weren't doing her any favors.

He shifted under the sheets and stretched his legs, each ankle clicking as he did so. His injuries still ached profusely, and the morning stiffness didn't help.

It would be tougher even with Daniel around, and hopefully he was doing alright too; he was still pretty new to the camp, after all. Not that the campers would make things easy. Hopefully they hadn't gotten the opportunity to severely injure him while David was away. The Quartermaster was always around to help in his own way at least, providing that he wasn't too busy harassing the locals.

The Quartermaster's less than polite assumptions shoved themselves to the front of David's mind, and an intense blush covered his face as he stared up at the darkened ceiling. It wasn't that he didn't like Gwen at all; he liked her very much and when he got right down to it, she was the only person he could really see himself dating someday. Smart, beautiful, funny, somehow able to keep a cool head in tense situations despite her nervous disposition. Rare quiet moments spent resting together in the cabin, not doing anything other than enjoying the mutual silence; any opportunity he got to find something in nature that Gwen would actually love and watching the smile spread across her face when he showed it to her—not always successful but it was worth it for the times that it worked. She was amazing, at least by his standards. But what the Quartermaster was implying was going a bit too far—it felt wrong to think about his coworker that way, especially when there was no official relationship.

David technically being her superior didn't help. If he ever... Asked her, he wanted her to say yes because she truly wanted it, not due to any obligation or worry that her job would be on the line should she say no. That was the last thing he wanted. And then if she did say no...

His frown deepened, and his gaze drifted to the nearby window. Asking would be too much of a risk. He didn't want to make their friendship awkward by bringing up something like that.

Miya's voice cut his thoughts short, startling him: "Is something wrong?"

"Just thinking," David mumbled.

"About that camp, yes?"

"Yeah..."

Miya sighed. "Go back to sleep. You need your strength."

Daniel couldn't remember what he'd been dreaming about before Gwen shook him awake, but it had to be better than what the day likely held in store for him now. Not only would he have to deal with Camp Campbell's typical Saturday chaos, he'd also have to help get the bird sent on its way before it could give him away. Combined with his current lack of sleep, this was a recipe for potential disaster.

It would be hard to keep the smile up today.

Breakfast passed without incident, much to Daniel's surprise—and relief. The calm before the storm, most likely. No doubt Max and his cohorts were cooking up some scheme or Nurf was planning out how he would take Daniel down today. He wouldn't know for sure until it happened, and the pessimistic anticipation ate away at him as he finished off the pale ingot that was his breakfast. Gwen had given him a weird look or two when Daniel first got the package that Regis arranged for him, but she hadn't commented on it, thank goodness; pale ingots were bread-like and nearly white in color, created with full calorie and nutritional content for a single meal while also being completely neutral-flavored—perfect for the traveling church member who didn't have full control of their food situation. He had that much to be grateful for, at least.

Space Kid snagged him by a pant leg as Daniel was putting his plate in the cleaning tray. He grinned when Daniel looked down at him and held a finger as close to his lips as he could get them with his fishbowl helmet in the way.

It gave Daniel a sinking feeling, but he offered Space Kid his hand anyway and allowed him to lead the way. Rather awkward, considering how short Space Kid was, and Daniel couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed over how ridiculous he must've looked.

They walked out of the Mess Hall and over to the Activities Field before Space Kid stopped. Harrison was nowhere to be found, surprisingly enough—Daniel had expected him to follow if only to keep an eye on what was going on—which left the Activities Field deserted for now. Apparently the other campers were busy being antisocial in their tents or in the Mess Hall, and the longer they did that the better in Daniel's opinion. He hoped that the worst of the worst would stay away, too.

"So, what did you want, Space Kid?" Daniel asked, straightening as Space Kid let go of his hand.

"When are we gonna help the alien today?" Space Kid asked, almost bouncing up and down with excitement.

"In due time," Daniel replied, his smile becoming a tad forced as he noticed the group coming down the path: Max, Neil, and Nikki. The last campers he wanted to see today.

"Like soon?" Space Kid persisted, sidling over so that he was standing between Daniel and the trio.

"Why does it matter?" Daniel said as Nurf came into view as well, and he realized that he would probably be on his own in dealing with Nurf's antics if Gwen didn't show up soon. He was so busy shifting his attention between threats that he took a few moments to catch on to how odd Space Kid's insistence was. Daniel's mind snapped to the worst possible explanation, and his smile had to dig in just to stay on his face. "It's here, isn't it?"

"Yep!" Space Kid said jovially.

"O-kay," Daniel said slowly as he tried to put coherent thoughts together and figure out what to do next. Things were crumbling already and they were barely past breakfast. "Not in the open I hope?"

"Nope, just over by the tents."

Max and friends were making a beeline for them now, and it looked like Neil in particular was ready to start something. Daniel really wasn't in the mood to have an intellectual sparring match at the moment—it got his blood boiling even without the current hovering exhaustion—but that would be better than the bird being found.

"Well, why don't you go keep it company?" Daniel said as quietly as possible, to avoid letting Max and his friends overhear. "Try to keep it secret."

"Roger that," Space Kid said, giving Daniel a thumbs up. "I'll pretend I forgot something, just to make it convincing," he added, giving Daniel a far-too-obvious wink and then straightening suddenly. "Oh no! I forgot my moon rock in my tent!" Space Kid dashed away, back toward the Mess Hall and off to the tents.

"Well well," Max said as he and his cohorts strolled up, an annoyingly smug smirk on his face. "Guess Space Kid wised up about Discount David without us having to say anything."

Daniel's jaw clenched at the jab—he hated being compared to David even on a good day—but he held his tongue, instead taking a deep breath through his nose and closing his eyes for a moment. "Oh we're just prepping for his little game. Do you kids need anything?" he asked, already regretting the question.

Hopefully Space Kid would be having an easier time of things.

Space Kid stopped running as he reached the first tent, taking a moment to catch his breath before going farther in. He spotted the bird first, its plumage even more red and vibrant in the sunlight than it was the night before. And Dolph beside it, sketchbook at the ready.

Oops.

"Oh, guten Morgen, Space Kid!" Dolph said with a smile and a wave. "Look at this lovely bird that flew into camp! I've never seen a red peacock before!"

"Oh, uh... Yes. That is exactly what it is," Space Kid said, putting his hands on his hips with a grin.

For its part, the bird seemed to be enjoying itself and the attention Dolph was giving it, posing as elegantly as possible given the cramped space between the tents. It gave Space Kid a chirp when it noticed him, apparently in a better mood thanks to the flattery Dolph was giving it.

"Greetings, ali—" Space Kid barely stopped himself short before he could say "alien", since Dolph wasn't supposed to know about it. "Uh, greetings, bird!" he said instead, proud of the successful save.

The bird gave him another chirp, then started preening. It was still scruffy like the night before, and now that the light was better its injuries—bloody scrapes and feathers matted from dirt and blood—were more apparent.

"Aw, you're all beat up," Space Kid said sadly as he brushed one of the bird's wings with his hand. "Maybe some food will help!"

"Do you know how to do bird first aid?" Dolph asked as he stood, setting his art supplies aside.

"Well, no..." Space Kid admitted. "But food's gotta help!" He whirled to dash away, only to stop short before he could start running. "Stay here, I'll be right back!" he said to both Dolph and the bird, and then away he went.

The Quartermaster was still cleaning up in the kitchen when Space Kid reached the Mess Hall. He barely looked up as Space Kid flung the doors open in dramatic fashion, instead keeping his attention on the dishes he was washing.

Space Kid hurried up to the doorway that led into the kitchen. "Breakfast leftovers!" he said, accidentally skipping a greeting in his excitement.

"There," the Quartermaster said, gesturing to the fridge with his prosthetic before turning back to his work.

"Thank you!" Space Kid rushed to the fridge and threw open the door, looking over its contents. The leftovers were in a labeled box near the bottom, which was lucky for Space Kid due to his lack of height. He grabbed it without bothering to check what was inside and started toward the door.

"Bring back the box later," the Quartermaster said before Space Kid could leave the kitchen, making him jump. "Don't wanna replace it."

"Roger that!" Space Kid said, giving the Quartermaster a salute before hurrying back to the tents.

Dolph and the bird were waiting for him in the same spot; Dolph was back to sketching and the bird was trying—and failing—to clean itself up.

"I got the food!" Space Kid declared as he reached them. He wrestled with the lid to the box for a moment, then popped it off and offered the entire thing to the bird.

The bird stopped preening and looked into the box, tilting its head to examine the contents with each eye and then diving in.

Space Kid set the box on the ground before it was knocked out of his arms and stepped back, pleased with himself for thinking of this. The alien would be back on its feet in no time!

"Oh my, he must have been starving," Dolph said sympathetically as he came over to watch.

After a minute or so of frenzied munching, the bird lifted its head and shook out its feathers, satisfied with the meal. It gave Space Kid a grateful chirp and stepped back from the box.

They were interrupted by a crow cawing at them from a nearby tree. It hopped along the branch it was perched on when they looked up at it, eyeing them intently with beady black eyes.

The bird gave the crow an annoyed squawk, then threw its head back in a haughty gesture.

Space Kid picked up the box and the remaining leftovers. "Maybe it wants food too!" Everything but the few leftover sausages had been eaten by the bird, so he picked one up and held it out to the crow.

It eyed the offering for a moment, tilting its head from side to side, then swooped down and plucked the sausage out of Space Kid's hand and flew off again with a cackling caw.

"You are very good with animals," Dolph said once the crow was gone.

"Not animals," Space Kid said with a wave of his hand, and he leaned closer. "Aliens," he said, in a conspiratorial whisper.

Dolph raised his eyebrows but didn't immediately reply. "Okay," he said slowly, the disbelief evident in his voice.

It was only at this point that Space Kid realized he'd accidentally given the secret away. "I mean uh, yeah! Animals. I just call them aliens sometimes for fun." He stiffened and watched Dolph to see if he bought it.

"So like with Nerris," Dolph said observantly.

"Yeah!" Space Kid said eagerly, relieved that he'd yet again dodged disaster. He looked at the bird's injuries again and his smile dimmed. "So do you wanna help me bandage it?" Space Kid asked, turning to Dolph again. "Maybe bird first aid is close to Human first aid!"

Dolph considered the offer, then shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do," he admitted.

"Perfect!" Space Kid said, positively beaming. "You grab more food, I'll go find some first aid stuff while you do that."

"Got it," Dolph said with a nod, and the two hurried off—Dolph toward the Mess Hall and Space Kid toward the bathrooms.

Something clattered against the top of Space Kid's helmet as he reached the outermost tent, and the crow announced itself with a caw as it flew overhead. Space Kid looked down and found a first aid kit on the ground. He scooped it up, then turned to where the crow had gone and waved. "Thank you!" he called after it.

"Sorry, can you repeat that?" Daniel asked, doing his best to focus on Neil's face despite his exhaustion. Neil's words seemed to be going in one ear and out the other, which was good for sparing Daniel the anger but bad in that it made him look like an idiot who couldn't even debate a ten year old, regardless of how smart said ten year old happened to be.

"I was merely asking you about the basis for your belief in life beyond this dimension," Neil said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can at least try to keep up."

Daniel was starting to reach the limit of his patience with this, the tension building in his shoulders as his head started to tilt to his right; his body was being much less cooperative than his face when it came to maintaining emotional control today. He just wanted to find a place to hide so he could lay down and sleep for a while, but it seemed Neil, Nikki, and Max were dead-set on pestering him today. And that smug, appraising look on Neil's face as he watched Daniel, it was driving him insane. "Why do you feel the need to question everything, Neil?" Daniel's head jerked to his left, his neck letting out a loud crack. "What good has it led to?"

Neil was clearly a bit unnerved by the display, but he stood his ground. "A smug sense of intellectual superiority," he replied.

"Hey, can you guys stop hogging Daniel?" Harrison asked as he walked up to them. "I wanted to practice today and I need him to watch."

"Jesus is there a day where you don't practice magic?" Max asked, rolling his eyes. He paused, then looked at Harrison more closely, and his eyes flicked to the—surprisingly tidy—magic stage. "Need him to watch your act, huh? Maybe we should all watch it then, since you need an audience and all."

Daniel spotted the anger as it briefly flit across Harrison's face, but for the most part the boy hid it very well. Nice control for someone his age, Daniel would have to bring up recruiting him with Regis; someone with Harrison's power would surely be welcome back at the temple.

"Alright then, I'll let you guys watch," Harrison said. He led the way over to the stage and started to set up, Max and his cohorts seating themselves around Daniel while he did.

The reprieve from Neil's intellectual bombardment was a relief, even if Daniel had been unable to escape the trio completely. He slouched on the bench, head drooping occasionally and then snapping back up again when he realized he was no longer looking at the stage. Time became fuzzy, difficult to gauge, and the effort to stay awake was bordering on painful at this point.

"Wow, Harrison. Your act's so bad that even Daniel can't stay awake through it."

Daniel's head snapped up at the sound of Max's voice, and he fixed his eyes on the stage in the hopes that Harrison hadn't seen him nodding off. "I'm awake!" Daniel said, forcing himself to sit up straight. "I didn't miss anything!"

Harrison didn't look disappointed, at least. But the concern on his face was very obvious as he watched Daniel.

"Hi guys!" Space Kid said as he ambled over, giving them all a happy wave. "What's going on?"

"We're watching Harrison do magic!" Nikki said before Max or Neil could offer any derisive remarks. "Also Daniel and Neil are fighting!"

"Debating," Neil corrected her, though Daniel certainly felt that he was being attacked whenever Neil started a so-called 'debate' with him.

"Oh, that's neat!" Space Kid said, already making a beeline for Daniel and ignoring everyone else. "Are we ready to play space now?"

"Why yes, that is an excellent idea," Daniel said as he got to his feet, hoping that the trio's normal disdain for the game would drive them off today.

"You know what? I actually agree," Max said, immediately dashing Daniel's hopes. "Count us in for your stupid space game."

Space Kid was excited at first, but his enthusiasm faded as he recalled something. "Uh... No asteroids this time okay?"

"Yeah sure, whatever," Max said with a shrug.

"I can play too," Harrison said as he hopped off the stage.

"Oh look Space Kid, you even got the counselor's pet to join," Max said with a smirk.

Harrison glared at Max, and his hands balled into fists.

Daniel wordlessly put a hand on Harrison's shoulder when he felt the magic beginning to stir around them, hoping that Harrison would understand what he was trying to imply.

The magic stilled again, and Daniel breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"So what are we gonna be up to today?" Nikki asked, bouncing to the middle of the group. "Moonwalking? Alien hunting? It's alien hunting, isn't it?"

"No no, we're just going to be searching for meteorites," Daniel said quickly, before Space Kid could get any ideas.

"I really doubt there'll be anything of interest around the camp," Neil said. "Unless you're going to take us out into the wilderness?"

"Why yes, yes I am," Daniel said as smoothly as possible. Once they were out they could just ditch the three of them and continue on with their actual mission. They'd be alright. Probably. They'd survived other excursions like that, anyway. "Let me just go let Gwen know!"

Finding Gwen took a surprisingly long time. Not that Daniel was complaining since it kept him away from Max, Neil, and Nikki for a while longer, but it was quite odd. He finally ran into her on the path between the Mess Hall and the Activities Field after checking basically everywhere else.

"Gwen! There you are," Daniel said as he strolled up. "I wanted to ask if I could take some of the campers out on a—"

"No," Gwen replied, before he could even finish the sentence. She seemed a tad distracted, as if she was thinking of something else as she talked to him.

Daniel's smile faltered. "Can I at least ask why?"

Gwen's full attention snapped to Daniel so suddenly that it almost made him flinch. "Really? You're really gonna ask me why you're not allowed to take the campers out hiking after the shit you pulled last night?"

"Ah... Point taken," Daniel admitted.

"Whatever you wanna do, it's gonna be done around camp," Gwen stated, arms crossed over her chest as she glared at him. "No exceptions."

That certainly put a damper on things. Daniel returned to the Activities Field where the little crew of campers was still waiting for him. "Well, bad news, kiddos!" he announced once he reached them. "Gwen has decided to veto our little adventure, so we'll have to keep to the camp for today."

"Bet it's cause you got your dumb ass lost in the woods last night, isn't it?" Max asked with the usual smirk.

"Anyway," Daniel said, ignoring the remark and instead plowing ahead. "With that being the case we'll just have to settle for finding some adventure around camp. Shouldn't be too hard!"

"Aw." Space Kid's smile fell a bit, then rallied back to full force. "But we can make it work!"

Max, Nikki, and Neil dogged Daniel for the rest of the day, sticking to him like glue as the group went about examining rocks around the camp. Space Kid had been excited for their interest in his camp at first, but they were having a very hard time staying focused, and tended to be quite clumsy for some reason. He helped Daniel up after what had to be the fifth time that one of them got under his feet and helped him dust off.

"At least they're enthusiastic!" Space Kid said helpfully as he stepped back.

"Yes... Enthusiastic," Daniel said tiredly.

Harrison joined them, taking advantage of a brief moment when the trio were occupied with something else—that something being a large grasshopper that Nikki was dead set on catching and was subsequently chasing onto both Max and Neil. "Maybe you should lay down," he said. "You could hide backstage while we keep them distracted."

"You know what? I'm going to take you up on that offer," Daniel said, his smile firmly entrenched but his voice weary. "I'll just sneak over there before that little chase ends." He backpedaled, his eyes on Nikki and her friends, then turned and walked as quickly as possible over to the magic stage.

The grasshopper chase ended when Muack burst out of the bushes and caught the insect with a single snap of her beak.

"Aww Muack! I wanted that one!" Nikki said, waving her arms dramatically. "I called dibs!"

"Muack," the platypus said, and she hunkered down for a nap.

"D'oh, I can't stay mad at you!" Nikki admitted as she scooped Muack up. "Just let me catch it next time, promise I'll feed it to ya afterwards!"

Muack made a rolling purr-like noise and allowed Nikki to carry her, eventually closing her eyes and going to sleep.

"Is that an alien?" Space Kid asked, pointing at Muack.

Nikki looked down at Muack, then back up at Space Kid. "Nah, I'm pretty sure she's not," she said with a wave of one hand. "Aliens would look way weirder than a platypus anyway."

"I guess so," Space Kid said thoughtfully. His gaze wandered toward the surrounding forest and spotted a flash of brilliant red feathers among the trees. It was probably about time that they checked on their alien friend, now that he thought about it.

Harrison looked up in time to spot Space Kid ducking into the bushes at the edge of the Activities Field and after a quick check to make sure Max, Nikki, and Neil wouldn't notice, he followed.

"Dammit, we lost track of him!" Max said as he looked around the Activities Field for any sign of Daniel. "Nice going, Nikki! We were getting so close to breaking point, too!"

"I think we should just skip all that boring mind battle stuff and just get straight to doing the crab leg thing on him!" Nikki replied, her enthusiasm unfazed by Max's annoyance. "Maybe we can get Nurf to help too!"

"Okay first off, it's the single leg Boston Crab," Max said, holding a hand up. "And second, we're trying to get him to crack in case he knows something about the shit going on around here. He's more likely to let something slip if he's pissed and worn down."

"Plus I can't just let him shove his shitty religion on the impressionable young minds around here!" Neil declared with a stomp of his foot.

"But aren't you religious, Neil?" Nikki asked, looking genuinely confused. "That sabbath thing and the star and all that?"

"It's fine as long you don't let religion interfere with the spread of scientific knowledge," Neil replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Daniel's been twisting fact into fiction and I'm not gonna stand for that. I'm gonna grind him down until he realizes what a sham Scientology really is," he continued, his expression borderline maniacal. Neil blinked, his eyes flicking to Max and then Nikki's face, coughed, and straightened as he regained his composure. "Plus Scientology is barely even a religion, it's pretty much a scam to steal people's money and line the pockets of the upper echelon. I'm doing Daniel a favor with this when you really think about it."

"Goddamn, we know!" Max grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Scientology is the villain of the week and you've designated yourself as the 'Science Crusader' or whatever. You've been talking about that shit since yesterday, it's not like we could forget," he said, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Now we gotta find Daniel. He probably snuck off somewhere with Space Kid and Harrison." He turned in a circle, taking in the whole Activities Field. "We'll start here, then check the Mess Hall and the tents."

They started with Space Camp, found nothing, then moved on to Magic Camp. There was a familiar pair of white boots sticking out from behind the stage when they walked around it, and they found Daniel asleep on the grass with a prop sheet folded and tucked under his head. The three of them shared a glance, and Max grinned at the opportunity.

It would take a few minutes to set up, but Daniel was out cold and didn't stir as they moved around him. They positioned a low table over his chest and head, then Max found the last part they would need for their little prank in the Mess Hall kitchen.

"Rise and shine, asshole!" Max brought the pan down on the table with a loud bang.

Daniel snapped awake, sat up—and slammed his head into the underside of the table with another bang that was just as loud as the one that woke him up. He fell back to the grass where he pressed both hands to his head and moaned, rocking from side to side as he waited for the pain to pass. Once he was coherent he scooted out from under the table and looked around at the three. "Ah, I see. That figures," he said, his jaw clenched so tight in his smile that it was a wonder that his teeth didn't shatter. "I'll have to let Gwen know that you're feeling mischievous today."

"And maybe we should tell Gwen that you were sleeping on the job," Max said, examining his fingernails. "Then again we could keep our mouths shut if you do the same."

The smile stiffened, and Max could almost hear Daniel clenching his teeth. "Very well," Daniel said as he pulled himself out from under the table. He stood and dusted the grass and dirt off himself. "So, back to playing our little space game, then? I'm sure Space Kid and Harrison are missing us."

"Wait, didn't you send them off somewhere?" Neil asked. "They're not in the Activities Field anymore."

Daniel paled, and his smile widened as he struggled to keep it in place. "What do you mean, they're not in the Activities Field?"

"Did he fucking stutter?" Max snapped. "They're not in the Activities Field anymore. We thought you took them somewhere before we found you."

"Well, guess we have to go look for them, then," Daniel said, and he started off into the middle of the Activities Field.

"Oh, oh! I'll be a bloodhound!" Nikki declared dropping to all fours. "Bark bark bark!" She then put her nose to the ground, trying to pick up a scent. "Sniff, sniff sniff sniff."

Neil watched her with some concern, then looked up and spotted Nurf across the Activities Field. "Maybe Nurf saw them leave. We should ask him."

"Daniel can ask him, then. I'm not risking any of his stupid 'misplaced aggression' crap again," Max grumbled. "Good luck, Doppelganger," he added, giving Daniel a smirk and a cocky salute.

"Fine," Daniel snapped, and he strode off toward Nurf.

Max and Neil followed at a distance, Nikki still on all fours behind them.

"Hello there, Nurf," Daniel said once he was within speaking distance—he still kept as much space between them as possible, not having forgotten what Nurf did to him when he got ahold of him last time. "We were wondering if you saw where Space Kid and Harrison have gone."

"Oh yeah, they ran off toward the lake a while ago," Nurf replied with a shrug. "I thought about stopping them but eh, not my job."

"Well, thank you for the information regardless," Daniel said, his voice starting to go breathless from worry. He paused to think, then took a deep breath through his nose. "I have to go find Gwen now."

"You wanna go look for them?" Neil asked as they watched Daniel dash toward the Mess Hall. "We could use it as an excuse to look for evidence of the lake monster or something."

"And miss Gwen chewing Daniel out? Hardly," Max replied. "Come on!" He took off for the Mess Hall at a run, not wanting to miss a single moment of Daniel's misery.

They reached the Mess Hall to find Gwen and Daniel standing outside.

"—and then when I looked again, they were gone! Nurf told me that they went toward the lake."

Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. "And now you're going to ask me if you can go look for them yourself, right?"

"Well I was supposed to be keeping an eye on them when—"

"I'll go look for them. You stay here with Quartermaster and make sure no one else wanders off."

"Oh," Daniel said, his shoulders dropping. "I don't mind looking though! Surely you have something to do here—"

"Nothing that you can't do instead," Gwen said, giving him a pat on the shoulder as she passed him. She turned to Quartermaster, who had just stepped out of the Quartermaster Store. "Keep an eye on him, QM. Make sure he doesn't wander off."

Quartermaster's single eye flicked to Daniel, then focused on Gwen again. "Will do."

Daniel stared after Gwen as she walked toward the Activities Field, clear desperation in his eyes. Surely it couldn't just be worry for Harrison and Space Kid, though Harrison definitely was Daniel's favorite camper. Perhaps it had something to do with Daniel going missing the night before.

"What's the matter, Daniel? Worried that something will happen to Gwen?" Max asked, in the hopes that it would fluster him enough to accidentally give something away. "Do you havefeelings for her?"

The look that Daniel gave him in return was pure hatred, making Max take a step back. A second later it was gone, and Daniel's face was back to his neutral smile as he turned to Max. "She's a lovely person, but I don't feel that way about her. I'm simply concerned about Harrison and Space Kid, is all."

Gwen paused when she reached the lakeshore and put her hands on her hips. "Alright, Lenny. Where are they?"

"Just gimme a bit, Gwennie. I can't be everywhere at once!" Lenny growsed, looking down at her from a nearby tree. He took off and flew upward to get as wide a view as possible of the shore, hovering there for a while before swooping off to the east.

Gwen followed at a jog, passing the docks as she tracked him. Eventually he dropped down into the trees next to the shore and began cawing loudly, and she broke into a sprint to catch up.

"Go on! Shoo, shoo!" Harrison was trying to wave Lenny away when Gwen found him and Space Kid among the trees, the firebird beside them. He paused when he spotted Gwen and took a step back. "Um, I came out here for Space Kid?"

"We have to help the alien find his stuff so he can go home!" Space Kid added, pointing at the firebird.

Rather than talk to either of the campers, Gwen turned to the firebird. "I fucking told you to wait and let me do it, and why didn't you send them back to camp when they followed you?"

Space Kid stared at Gwen in shock and adoration. "Gwen, you talk to aliens too?!"

"Yeeaah, aliens," Gwen said. "I met him," she pointed at the firebird, "earlier today and I thought we came to an agreement, but I guess that wasn't good enough."

The firebird lowered its head, looking ashamed, and it let out a long low call.

"He's in a bit of a bind, Gwennie," Lenny said from the trees. "That bag's got the ransom for his family in it! He won't be able to get them back without it!"

"Well why didn't you fucking tell me that to begin with?!" Gwen asked. "I would've made an excuse to come out and help you a while ago if I'd known that."

"Whoa, is that—"

"Another alien, yes," Gwen said before Space Kid could even finish the sentence. "Alright you two, I want you to get back to camp and behave. Daniel's still new and I want as little chance of finding him tied to the flagpole when I get back as possible."

Space Kid opened his mouth to say something, but Harrison cut him off.

"But we wanted to help out," Harrison said as he took a step forward. "The more eyes the better?"

Gwen considered it; making Daniel sweat over this wouldn't be so bad, and it would be a bit more payback for ditching her yesterday. "Alright, but we're going right back to camp once this is over."

"Deal!" Harrison said, smiling.

They set out, combing the lakeshore and looking out onto the lake as well. It was a nice day for a hike, with only a few scattered clouds hanging in the sky above, and Gwen was happy both to get away from camp for a bit and to get a little "action" herself. This was the first time she was the one going off to save the day while someone else watched the kids, and she felt almost giddy for it. The burn tunnel came into view, and they passed it after searching the surrounding shore.

It had been late in the afternoon when they started, and now the sun was almost touching the mountains in the west. Gwen was considering whether she should call off the search due to lateness when Space Kid stopped short and looked out into the shallows.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at something red and lumpy that was caught on a partially-submerged tree.

"Oho, looks promising," Lenny said as he landed on the sand to watch.

"Hey, bird!" Gwen called, and the firebird fluttered over. "Is that it?" she asked, pointing at the thing Space Kid had spotted.

The firebird squinted at it, then began to hop around and squawk with excitement.

"I'll take that as a 'probably yes'," Gwen said. She sat down on the sand and started to take her boots off.

"Wait wait, I got this!" Harrison said, holding a hand up. He flourished his fingers, then pulled the end of a handkerchief rope out of his right-hand glove. Harrison kept going until what looked like one of the Quartermaster's hooks emerged, at which point the handkerchief rope ended on its own. He swung the hook in a circle, tongue stuck out the side of his mouth in concentration, and threw the hook at the bag.

It landed in the lake with a splash, several feet short of his target.

"Dangit," Harrison muttered as he pulled it back in.

"Let me try," Gwen said, holding a hand out for the rope.

Harrison handed it over and stepped back, taking a seat on the sand next to Space Kid.

Gwen moved to the shore, raised the rope, and paused. She looked back at Lenny. "What, you're not gonna offer to fly out and get it?"

"That would just rob ya of the experience, Gwennie," Lenny said cheekily as he scratched at his neck. "Besides, my poor poor wings are just so tired from flying around to play lookout! I would never be able to carry it back!" he added, draping a wing over his head in dramatic fashion.

"You're such a shit," Gwen said with a chuckle. She turned to the lake again, judged the distance, spun the hook on the end of the rope, then threw it out past the bag and the log. It landed beyond the bag and she began reeling it back in, but it bounced off when it hit the bag because the hook was facing the wrong way.

The firebird watched intently, chirping softly as Gwen picked up the hook for another attempt.

This time as Gwen reeled the rope in, the hook snagged on the bag and the rope pulled tight. "Hope this bag of yours doesn't tear easily," Gwen said to the firebird, and it shook its head no. "Okay then, here we go!" She wrapped the rope around her right arm and dug her feet in to pull.

Harrison and Space Kid jumped up so they could join in, taking up the rope that was trailing the ground behind Gwen. They all tugged together, and for a while it looked like the log might keep its prize. Finally after one last big tug, the log rolled over and the bag was free to be reeled in to the shore.

Gwen pulled in the rope hand over hand and picked up the bag once it was within reach. It was easily as big as a backpack and dripping with water, but the contents still seemed to be inside. "Here you go, one bag wet but returned," she said, passing it to the firebird.

The firebird let out a musical tweet and used beak and claw to open the bag and dumped it out. Seven golden apples tumbled out onto the sand where the firebird inspected each of them. Once satisfied that everything was in order, the firebird gathered them all into the bag again and looked up to give the group a trilling chirp of approval.

"We did it!" Space Kid cried, hopping up and down with excitement. "Now the alien can go home!" He scooted over to the firebird. "Can you show us your spaceship now?" he whispered.

The firebird shook his head, then began to fiddle with its tail. He turned to them again with three of his shorter false-eye feathers in his beak, which he offered to each of them.

"Oh, oh!" Lenny said, hopping up and down with excitement. "The glow off those feathers can illuminate a whole room! What a lovely token!"

Space Kid gasped as he accepted a feather. "I'll remember this day for the rest of my life," he said tearfully.

"Wow, thank you," Harrison said sincerely as he accepted his. He tested its glow on the inside of his hat, which was brightly illuminated when he put the tip of the feather inside. "Awesome!"

Gwen took hers last, a genuine smile coming to her face when she looked at it—a token of her very own, the first she'd received without David's help. It felt wonderful. "Thanks," she said, looking to the firebird. "You heading out now?"

The firebird nodded and looped the bag's string around its neck. Then it spread its wings and lifted off, flying out over the lake. They watched as long as they could see it, only stopping when it disappeared behind Spooky Island.

"Alright, time to head back to camp," Gwen said, giving the two of them a little push in the right direction.

"This was the best day ever!" Space Kid declared as he took a running leap along the beach. "I got to meet an alien and then I got to help him and then he gave me a present! This camp is the best!"

"Thanks for not telling him the truth," Gwen muttered to Harrison. "He might be a bit insufferable for a while, though."

"I mean," Harrison began as he watched Space Kid. "At least no one will believe him since this is the kinda stuff he talks about all the time. And he's happy anyway."

"Also before I forget—hey Space Kid!" Gwen called, and Space Kid pranced back to them. "You need to hide that when we get back to camp and make sure no one can see the glow. We have to keep these kinds of things a secret, right?" She gave Space Kid a wink, and he got even more excited than he was before.

"Roger! The world isn't ready to know about aliens yet, and I'll do my part to keep it a secret until the time comes for them to learn!" Space Kid gave Gwen a grin and a salute.

It was past twilight by the time Gwen, Harrison, and Space Kid returned to camp. Daniel greeted them with as much pep as he could manage given his worry and exhaustion and was relieved to find that Gwen seemed to be in a good mood. This was despite the news that a food fight had started in the Mess Hall while she was gone that Daniel had been almost unable to stop—she simply shrugged and said she should've known, then moved on to other things.

One of those other things being stargazing.

Space Kid had asked her about it on the way back, and despite the fact that he'd broken camp rules earlier, she'd decided to make it a surprise activity. Everyone would be doing it, including Daniel.

"Surely you don't need my help to do a little stargazing," Daniel said with a somewhat-desperate chuckle as they gathered canvas tarps to lay out for the campers. "It's not like they can start much trouble—"

Gwen's eyebrows snapped down, and Daniel shut up. He just wanted to go back to the cabin and sleep but he was still on thin ice after this morning, he couldn't afford to anger her now.

"Never mind, I'm sure you have good reasons," he said quickly, gathering up an armful of canvas.

They trooped down to the docks and set up on the shore nearby, the tarps protecting them from the sand while they watched the stars above. Daniel laid back on one and was soon joined by both Harrison and Space Kid. Gwen was down the shore a ways, with Nerris and Dolph joining her. Max, Neil, and Nikki dragged the tarp they'd claimed until they were close to Daniel's, probably so they could eavesdrop or cause mischief. Either one wouldn't surprise him.

Space Kid led the conversation by pointing out stars and constellations, visible parts of the moon, and sharing general space facts. It was a relief that neither Space Kid nor Harrison were eager to talk about what really went on that day—given how close the trio were and how easily they would be able to overhear—and Daniel began to drift off with the steady bombardment of space facts filling his ears.

It was at the moment when he neared the edge of sleep that he noticed it, a pair of dark slits on the surface of the moon like a pair of closed eyes. Daniel squinted, trying to remember if the moon had always been like that as sleep continued to pull him under.

The slits snapped open to reveal a pair of brilliant blue eyes and star-strewn black sky began to spread around the moon, covering its light halo and the sky behind it. All surrounding sound seemed to fall away as panic set in, and Daniel tensed as he snapped to full wakefulness. His heart thumped against his ribcage as he watched, now fully awake and well aware of what this thing must be. He quickly averted his eyes for fear of meeting its gaze and drawing its attention, watching through his peripherals instead.

Its head—the face a pale effigy of a barn owl's—detached itself from the disk of the moon and began to drift overhead, flowing south over the stargazers and the camp beyond. The black sky followed, forming into a body that flowed like a cloak.

Daniel glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed: almost everyone else was looking at a different part of the sky or asleep, the one person who seemed to be aware being Gwen. She followed the entity's path across the sky as Daniel watched her, her eyes tracking it too closely for this to be a mere coincidence. Not good. That meant she was probably working with it just like David was.

It was only after the thing had disappeared behind the trees to the south that Daniel finally relaxed. Any tiredness he'd felt before was long gone thanks to the near-panic, leaving the buzz of adrenaline in its wake.

"Daniel, are you okay?" Harrison asked, propping himself up on his elbows to get a better look at Daniel's face.

"Just a bad dream," Daniel replied, doing his best to remain calm. "I'm fine now."

David spotted Ty while he was asleep, as her pale owl face cut across his dreams. She could be seen even though closed eyelids and sleep by those who knew her kind, and David opened his eyes to find her standing over her with a look of worry on her face. "Hi, Ty," he said sleepily as he reached toward her. "I'm glad you're back."

Ty formed a wing-like arm and reached down to gently take his hand, the stars on her body shifting slightly as she did so. "How were you hurt?" she asked, her voice skipping David's ears entirely and making itself heard directly in his mind.

"An Eldrikin monster got me," David replied as he started to sit up. He was stopped when Ty pressed her free wing-arm against his chest.

"May I see?" Ty asked.

David paused, his still-sleepy mind trying to figure out what she meant. "Oh, right! Yeah, it's fine." He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes, Ty's face was still visible through his eyelids as she closed her own eyes and leaned down to touch her forehead to his.

The review felt like a dream, images and sounds flitting past as Ty watched the encounter. She slowed on occasion to point out a few key tidbits for him: that high heat made these sorts of Eldrikin shrivel up and eventually die, to commend him on the use of blunt force to injure it, to remind him that his claws were every bit as sharp as his teeth and could be used when he needed to keep the opponent out of his mouth. Ty withdrew upon reaching the end of the fight and straightened.

Miya was standing behind Ty when David opened his eyes.

Ty turned to her. "Why were you not there to care for him as soon as the fight was over?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"He insists that I not approach the camp unless absolutely necessary," Miya replied. "I was unaware that he'd injured himself so badly until his friend notified me."

They looked to David, who averted his eyes.

"Sorry," David said sheepishly. "You can come check whenever you feel like it."

Ty turned to Miya again. "How is he?"

"He was nearing death's door thanks to the toxin when I picked him up," Miya replied. "That's been taken care of but his energy levels are still very low, and it's keeping his wounds from healing as they normally would."

"I see," Ty said, and she bowed her head in thought. "It is about time that I give you some Elixir, is it not?"

Miya nodded. "I ran out some time ago."

"Very well," Ty said. She clenched her hand in a fist, then opened it to reveal two small bottles. Their contents glowed faint purple in the semi darkness as she handed them to Miya. "You know how to use it."

"A few drops in his food should have him back on his feet in the morning," Miya said as she held one of the bottles up. "But until then he needs his sleep."

"Um, Ty?" David asked as she turned to leave. "Could you teach me more about being the guardian? I think I'm ready to start learning about it again."

The lower lids of Ty's eyes came up in a smile. "Of course," she said. "We will begin as soon as there is time."

Daniel couldn't sleep. He jumped at even the slightest sound and phantom shadows flitted across his vision near-constantly. No sleep. There was the risk that the thing he saw come in might become aware of him if he had nightmares about it. He'd be no match for it if it found him, if Regis's caution was any indication.

Torture or death would be waiting for him if he got caught, no doubt. And even if he was able to somehow escape once he was caught, there would be nothing but pain waiting for him when he got back to Regis and the temple. A failure, rightfully punished as such. Daniel shifted uncomfortably and his smile fell as he thought about it, the scars on his back suddenly sensitive against the fabric of his nightshirt. A quiet moan of fear filled his throat as he closed his eyes; he refused to go through that again.

Shadows seemed to crawl around the corners of the room when he opened his eyes again, and Daniel forced himself to stare at the ceiling instead.

It was going to be a long night.

A/N: Big thanks to Color-Theorist for beta'ing this fic, and as always a huge thanks to those who left comments and kudos! 3