Chapter 1

An all-time, no year-breaks, vacation.

Her messy brown hair poked out from her bed as empty chip bags, and soda bottles littered her room, her alarm blaring through the air, normally she didn't have to wake up until noon, and even then that was considered early for her as the young woman yawned.

Her room was a mess, an extensive collection of games and DVD's were stacked in the corner wires piling up, with two boxes holding a mixture of clean and dirty clothes, she had a dresser it was just far too much of a hassle to use.

At the head of the bed was an old workout bench she bought on a whim as she grabbed her stomach, getting a feel on her fat ratio.

"Hmm, nothing to worry about yet," She rubbed her eyes as she casually put her hand on the floor, feeling for her glasses, as she lazily put them on, still in her pajamas the woman jumped out of bed, ignoring the sound of the bag and crushed cans of soft drinks.

"I should brush my teeth and check if my DVD's are here," She groaned slightly, as she exited her room, the very room she spent most of her time in.

Her house wasn't very large, which was fine, even if she could get something bigger, the smaller it was, the more money she had for other things.

The woman lazily dragged her feet into the bathroom decorated and a soulless gray tint, as she looked at the toothpaste holder holding a single orange toothbrush, she then looked in the mirror and noticed just how messy her hair was.

She merely shrugged, it wasn't like she was going out that day, the only reason she even took showers and brushed her teeth was to keep her hygiene up, she wasn't prepared to lose teeth due to laziness even if she didn't care about most other things.

After pouring the green liquid in her mouth called mouthwash and swishing it around, she spat it out in the sink before yawning once again, and she weighed her options at that moment.

"It would be weird to eat right after I brushed my teeth, I guess I'll change first," The woman sighed as she entered her room grabbing four random articles of clothing from her pile caring little about the freshness of any of them.

This was the life of Sara Lazze, the woman who lived off of her parent's money; it was both sad and amazing at the same time.

They both were wealthy and as a result due to their unfortunate, untimely demise, Sara was left with enough money never to have to work a day in her life. One would have called it luck if it was for the nasty side effect of having dead parents.

Sara had forgotten how long it had been since she dropped out of high school and just hung around her house. After all, there was no reason to finish when everything she needed was going to be paid for due to the combination of her parent's life insurance and their assets.

She was on a permanent vacation that wasn't ending anytime soon, which was fine by her.

She sucked in her stomach slightly as she put on her jean's she then put on an orange T-shirt before putting on a small button up sweater.

It was the middle of winter, and she despised using the heaters to heat her home the dry weather always made her throat swore and curling up in her bed and under covers was far more satisfying then heating the home with an oven and getting hot after fifteen minutes.

Sara got out of her bathroom and casually sat in one of the many chairs in the kitchen, carefully examining the clock in the room, it was around nine, her package should be there at any moment as the woman sighed.

She had plenty of things to do, but if she left the room, then she might miss the package, of course, she wasn't going to speak to the delivery man in person. She was simply going to wait until they leave the box on the step and hurry and get it.

The clock ticked, as it donned on her she was waiting to watch a series nearly fifteen years old. Was it almost fifteen...right?

"Okay, it's 2019 right now, so it's about fourteen, huh," Before Sara's thoughts could continue to wander her ringing sound through the house was heard, it was most likely the doorbell.

Sara grumbled as she sat up, tiptoeing towards the door, making sure she made no sound, after a few more rings and knocked she heard a voice on the other side of the door.

After a few minutes of waiting, Sara cracked open a door noting the brown box on the front door before sighing, of course, this was the package she was looking for.

She quickly scooped it up and slammed her door; she quickly ran back into her room with little care for breakfast and other things. She then ripped open the box revealing three different DVD box sets of a series she never watched before.

"Grand Stand," Sara didn't know what to make of the box art, it was well done, to say the least. Though that could be said for most art for covers of things, she looked at the spine of the series and noted the three numbers, showing what season was which.

She simply got it as a recommendation online; things had been rather slow for gaming front, so she needed something to kill time with, even if she didn't like it, she had all the money in the world, so she could waste whatever she wanted.

"Okay, what am I going to watch this on?" Every device in her room that was attached to her TV was capable of playing either Blu-rays or DVDs, so it was easy just to select the one that was currently attached, which was her game console.

Usually, there was some build up for watching a box set, but Sara was bored, so she quietly opened the box for the first box set as she sat on her bed, with only her big toe she tapped the ejection button on her tray. She then leaned forward and placed the disk in the tray; the machine made a rather strange noise.

The kind of noise that sounded like a pig dying,

"Ah man, don't tell me this thing is about to blow up, if it eats the disk and I have to buy a new box set, I will be pissed..." Sara's eye twitched as she tapped the machine, it started to shake. It seemed like it was about to burst into flames.

She was tempted just to unplug the system at that point, as she looked towards the tangled mess of wires and controllers, it was impossible to tell where it ended or where it began as Sara's face fell, the noise from the machine continued to get louder and louder.

Sara was weighing her options, even if her house burned down she could get just by another one, but that would mean she would have to go outside, and that was a big no-no.

Sara looked closely at the machine as she clicked the power button repeatedly, but the small light would not go off.

"Gah, I should have just watched the episodes online or something," Sara rubbed her temple, the machine was still making a rather horrible noise, but it was no longer shaking.

It appeared that the worst part of it all had passed, appeared was the word since the machine was still make such horrible noises.

"Damn, where is that wire?!" It wasn't like anyone was going to see her room so there was no need even to try to keep it clean as she lifted a small wire carrying a lump of long wires with it, untangling it probably would have taken an hour, and Sara had more important things to do.

Well it would be substantial if the cracks in the console weren't turning red for whatever reason as Sara's glasses slowly fell loose, for some reason in the back of her head she predicted an explosion was about to happen.

And she was correct, it only exploded, though from the looks of it, the blast probably wasn't enough to kill anyone. Actually it was a popping sound.

Sara froze, looking at the remains of her 500$ system, though it was less about the cost and more about the fact that she was going to have to order another online meaning she was going to be forced to order another.

Sara looked at the wires, and let out a sigh of relief, nothing caught fire from the smoldering pieces of plastic and metal, though her controller was destroyed.

However, out of it, there was a single glimpse of hope, on the twisted black stained carpet where the system once stood, there was a single disk, the same disk that caused the entire thing to her system in the first place.

"Bah, this thing is probably defective, why does this always happen to me...first the waffle maker and now this! Fuck it! It's too early for this shit; I'll order my new system when I wake up..."

Sara put the DVD back into the case, as she threw the box set on the floor, she then dragged her feet, picking up pieces of the broken system, which was still warm of course.

She really couldn't blame anyone but herself, bad things always seemed the happen to he when she woke up before noon, it was far easier just to stay up all night and ignore daylight completely.

After she picked up the pieces of her machine, she only turned off the light in her room; the curtains were already drawn, truth of the matter. Sara wondered why she even bothered with windows as she slumped back on her bed.

Even if she didn't wake up until after dark, there were no wasted days for Sara Lazze, and she was on an endless vacation, one that she was happy to be on. If she couldn't do something that day, then she could do it the next, or the one after that.

Having nearly infinite time just to laze about, not having to think or work.

And so Sara's eyes closed, letting sleep take her, knowing next time she awoke she would be able to do as she pleased, like always.

Sara buried her face deeper into the pillow, well she assumed it was a pillow, it wasn't partially soft, which was odd since Sara remembered falling asleep in her bed and on her pillow, so it was flat out impossible for her to wake up on anything that wasn't that.

Well, there was always the chance she only fell over and landed on her carpet, but even then she had a higher chance of falling into one of the many machines scattered about her room then landing perfectly on her carpet.

There was also a sudden chill in the air, well sudden wasn't the right word for it, more like a constant cold wind coming over her. Any warmth that she experienced was no longer there, in fact, she was freezing.

Through all her thoughts her eyes were closed, so this was just things she was thinking about while her primary senses were shut off, so it was only natural that she decided to open her eyes.

It was pitch black other than the soft moonlight hovering over her head, there was also tall, dark figures, of course, they were trees.

Sara blinked, her eyes trying to readjust to what she was seeing, she tapped her glasses; she was wearing them. So whatever she was seeing, it wasn't because her vision was blurry, as Lazze sat up, her bewilderment slowly turned to confusion and worry.

"W-where am I?" Her mind started to shake; she was in the forest no doubt, but where or why? One moment she was taking a nap and the next she is in the middle wilderness with no explanation at all.

So there was only one explanation for everything, one end all be all, something simple that was capable of dismissing all strangeness and oddities in our life.

"This is a dream..." Sara chuckled slightly to herself as she looked around, there were noises in the pitch-black woods, she could feel the chill in the air, but it had to be a dream.

So she pinched herself, hard, until her pale skin turned red. There was pain, but even so, it had to be a dream, a painful dream, but still a dream.

Because people don't randomly appear in the middle of a forest so this wasn't a possibility just a dream that happened.

"Okay...just wake up," It was a demand she gave her body, but it did not respond, she stayed there...in the middle of the dark woods with nothing but noises to be heard.

Sara only stood there, like an idiot, she wasn't waking up, and she was still in the middle of the cold, damp area.

So...Sara fell to her knees holding her head, biting her lip. The only piece of warmth she had was her sweater, for once being glad that she wore such a thing inside.

She wondered if she should just walk in a direction or only wait, neither of the choices sounded appealing.

She almost started to cry; it was frustrating, frustrating she wasn't in her home, frustrating that she was in the middle of the forest with no way out and frustrating that it was so cold. The last bit seemed rather out of place as Sara started to rub her hair furiously, causing the turn the once messy lump into something indescribable.

"Ah!" A voice of shock escaped the woman's mouth, as the sound of twigs and branches snapping.

It could be a bear, or a mountain lion, or perhaps the dreaded Lion-mountain bear,

Sara was never much of a camper, in fact, this was probably the longest time she had been outside at any single moment. As the brown haired woman held her breath, there was one thing she could do, one thing that any basic human could know how to do.

"I have to hide...even if this is a dream," Sara held her breath as she looked around desperately.

Sara touched around the trees, looking for something, looking for something or someplace to hide. After moments of looking, she felt a large hole in one of the many wooden towers as Sara smiled slightly as she lowered her hair and compacted her body.

Usually, she cursed her small body and stature, but if it allowed her to be able to hide in the most amazing of places.

Sara had no problem to admit that she was a coward, in fact, she would be the first one to admit it was the best attribute, the kind of person that didn't need any praise, just someone who wanted a nice comfortable life no matter the cost.

Sara did not speak; some voices were heard, but it was impossible for Sara to make any of them out as the woman held her breath. The voices stayed for a while, chattering oddly.

The sounds ceased, as Sara exhaled, it was at that moment, she made a rather smart decision. She decided at that moment that the tree would be her bed for the night, even if it was uncomfortable, hard and breaking apart. But it was far easier than trying to set up a bed of leaves or trying to find civilization in the endless darkness.

And for the second time in the row that day, Sara fell, asleep, this time with fear of what the next day would bring.

The sunbeams pierced through Sara's eyes as she grumbled slightly. Though the grumbling wasn't from the big blue orb, rather someone viciously shaking her.

Sara grumbled, she wondered if it had all been a dream, if she was waking up to an earthquake, still in her home with her computer and DVDs spread about. However, that moment was dashed as she finally opens her eyes, revealing an unfamiliar face.

A slender teen, he had black eyes and black mop like hair, he was wearing normal clothing, standard outside the fact there were multiple burn patches on it. However what was eerie about it, was the fact his face had a strange glee to it, as if he was looking at something amazing.

"Y-you're alive...thank god!" Sara felt a shiver run up her spine; the teen seemed a little to happy about that as Sara swallowed harshly.

She was weighing her options, wondering if she should scream or not. She didn't know if she would have made the situation worse or not, the teen looked disheveled as he put his hand out and smiled.

"Come on, I'll help you out," Sara frowned at his request, but remained silent, she had to be at least somewhat cautious unless she wanted to end up buried somewhere.

Sara slowly took his hand as she moved her shoulders, she was thankful that she wasn't wearing a T-shirt or shorts at the time because a large amount of wood was caught in her sweater.

"This might still be a dream, maybe a long dream, but still a dream," That was the excuse she decided on, it was the only way her brain was capable of wrapping itself around what is happening.

Sara slowly tapped her foot as the teen exhaled, it was evident that he had been through a lot as he rubbed the back of his head, looking around slightly. "I'm glad that I was able to find another average person around,"

Sara paused, Sara was tempted to point out everything wrong with that statement, but kept her mouth shut as the teen stopped for a moment, scanning Sara for a few moments as if he was checking her clothing.

"You are from Earth... right?" The teen asked as Sara fidgeted slightly, she didn't know if that was an insult or not.

Sara didn't have the best fashion sense, after all, most of it was completely pointless since she rarely even left her house once her parents died. Most of the things she got she ordered online with little to no input from the outside world.

"I'm pretty sure I am..." Those were the first words that Sara said to the teen, as the teen gave a small sigh of relief.

However, the question was still odd to ask someone as Sara's lips started to quiver, she wanted to ask something, but deep in her heart, she didn't want to know the answer to it. Because it was all a dream anyway and it probably didn't matter.

"W-where are we?" Sara held herself, where was she and why was this strange teenager, what was those noises in the woods the previous night.

The teen only looked towards the ground; he was silent; he could not even look straight into Sara's face as she started to shake, biting her lip and closing her eyes. She continued to speak, even if it was only a dream.

"I-I just want to go home...that's all, I don't care what you're doing, just tell me how to get home," She knew that he probably didn't have that kind of answer, but she wanted to know as he frowned.

"I...can't do that," He balled his fist, it seemed that even he was frustrated with the current situation as Sara stopped her foot, she leaned against a nearby tree.

"Why!" A sharp increase in hostility as Sara glared at the through her glasses, "You're in my dream, so you should listen to what I say, now tell me!"

The teen only looked at Sara; he looked at the woman like she was crazy.

"Dream? This isn't a dream, and calm down, please..." His voice was quiet, but it had a certain hint of fear to it as if the noise Sara was making was the most dangerous things in the woods. Something Sara was capable of picking up on.

"No! I'll yell even louder if you don't tell me how to get home, or where we are! I don't care about anything else; I just want to go back!"

The teen took a deep breath; it seemed that he was going to risk sounding like an insane madman, but it was better than the alternative and dying a rather pitiful death because a girl couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"H-hey, have you ever heard of a place called the Drayh Plines?" The teen smiled, hoping that he was stuck with someone that at least knew a sliver of information about the world they were currently trapped in.

Sara's blank stare revealed she had no idea what he was talking about, which made sense, the series was almost fifteen years old. And the person in front of him looked no older than seventeen, maybe nineteen at max.

"What state is that in?" Sara frowned as the teen only blinked for a moment.

"Well, it's not a state,"

Sara went pale for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. "D-don't tell me; I'm in some other country?!" It was an idea for a bad movie, sure watching someone going halfway around the world with crazy shenanigans was fun while you watched it, but the idea was appealing at all.

"Well...not exactly," It wasn't something that could be explained in a sentence as Sara only shook her head, before lifting herself up from the ground, her outfit covered with pieces of wood, leaves, and branches.

She had enough, wherever she was, there had to be a way to get back home. It was times like these, is when she wished she slept with her ID or something to identify her, even if she was in an entirely different country they probably could do something for her to get home.

"Where is the nearest town, or city..." Sara demanded her dream as the teen stopped for a moment wondering if he should answer.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking, and you will be captured or killed if you go there looking like that!" Once again it was an odd statement as Sara stomped her foot slightly, kicking up leaves, so far her dream was sucking.

"Why?! Why am I going to be killed, I didn't even do anything wrong, and now death is involved? All I wanted was a nice comfortable life and something like this happens? This isn't far at all!"

The teenager only looked at Sara; she had every right to complain, from the looks of it, she didn't want to be a hero, all she wanted to do was get home and sleep in her bed.

"...Listen, I don't know much, I barely know what's going on, I've only been here for about a day, and things have been pretty bad for me lately as well," The teen closed his eyes thinking about the words he was going to say next.

"I know these probably means nothing coming from a stranger, but I promise you, no matter what I'll get you back home, even if I have to die, I'll get you home,"

Most girls would have found such a statement sweet; Sara just found it creepy. Mostly due to the fact he just met the guy and he was already willing to lay his life down for her, of course, this was merely more proof this was a dream. Still, Sara had to ask.

"Why? You don't even know my name?"

The teen only shrugged and gave a soft smile, "Well, isn't that what heroes do? Wanting to see everyone smile? If this is awful for you, and if it's not your fault, then you shouldn't be the one who has to fix it."

The teen laughed slightly to himself; he did sound like an idiot giving such a speech, but it was one that he believed to the bottom of his heart.

"You shouldn't have to fight, or hurt other people because of this...If getting home is the only thing you want, then nothing should be required of you. I'll handle everything from here alright,"

Despite giving such a convincing performance, Sara just remained silent. If he was willing to do all the work, who was she to refuse? She wasn't particularly good at anything or had any skills that could help them out of a jam, nor was she prepared to learn any to get out of a situation that wasn't even her fault.

"Anyway, a guy should help a cute girl, especially one around his age," It seemed that the teenager was acting smug as Sara only removed her glasses wiping them on her sweater, they were apparently getting foggy.

She had calmed down from her previous shouting and shaking bouts, as she took a deep breath.

"I'm 27," Sara's eyes showed that she was somewhat insulted at the teenage assumption of her age as the teen's eye twitched slightly trying not to lose his smile.

"N-no way, the way she was acting and how she looks...there's no way she's 27,"

The teen quickly shook his head, before moving on to a more important issue, such as names.

"Well, my name is Roy, what's yours?"

Sara held her breath; this could either be a good idea or the biggest mistake of her life, then again there was always the possibility that everything was a dream anyway. Meaning that there was no harm giving a figment of her imagination her name,"

"Sara..."

Author note

Yes, Sara is 27, I tried to keep her age somewhat ambiguous in the first chapter.

Roy will be our main character of this story.

As for the story itself, I kind of got bored writing it, though it is a bit more polished than say something like Companions without glory since this is only 2 years old compared to the 5 years old that story is. I also find writing this story very boring compared to that, and I pretty much missed my excitement train when it comes to this one. Mostly because it's so moody.

That isn't getting into the fact that trapped in another world has blown up since the 2 years I made this and I don't find this story doing anything really new with it.

I'll probably put up the 30K I've got done, but I have a lot of other stuff I want to write and edit, I actually might change my mind later on down the road. But hey if not, I can use it as a time capsule of my writing from 2 years ago.