The first time Nathan saw her was under a tree in the Central Park. It was early in the morning, Nathan just finished his daily run and went to rest at the park. He did not intend to actually fall asleep, but he had a restless night. Next thing he knew, he was awoken by a gentle shove. Slowly he opened his eyes to find the most beautiful girl looking at him. Her black hair was swaying in the breeze, her skin glowed in the morning sun light, and her soft eyes were staring at him with concern.

"You shouldn't sleep in public like this", she was saying. "What if something bad happened while you were like this." She stood up and smiled at him. Nathan, still a bit sleepy, nodded at her. She simply took his breathe away. The girl held out her hand to the boy. He took it and allowed her to help him stand up. "I'm Amaire, by the way. I'm kind of new here."

"I'm Nathan, nice to meet you."

---

Nathan blinked. He was laying on a soft, white bed in a small room filled with cats. The room itself was furnished with three beds and a couple wooded pieces: dressers, end tables, etc., each of which, had at least one cat on it. Confused, Nathan looked around. On the two other beds there were two people Nathan had never seen before.

One was a dark skinned woman with black hair. She was wearing rather unusual clothing. She had on a tight, fitting black shirt with a long glove covering her left hand. Her purple bottoms were pants on one leg and shorts on the other. What was most unusual however, was that she seemed to accessorize with a metal piece around her shoulders and legs. Metal also trimmed some of her cloth garments as well, which looked rather uncomfortable.

On the other bed was a boy with white hair. He wore a soft, thick looking blue coat with white trimming along the edges. In between the two colored fabrics was a smaller trim that was decorated in complex swirls and designs. He also wore a pair of long boots that went past his knees. All the edges on his clothing were done in irregular circular shapes, not like the straight, clean edges that Nathan's own clothes had. He, himself, was in his own pair of blue jeans and a simple tee shirt with a vest.

Slowly, the other two people started to awaken. They rubbed their eyes and began to look around confused. The girl began to get out of bed when the door to the room opened up. Stepping inside the room was three people. The one in front smiled at them kindly and Nathan recognized her as the woman that appeared in front of him. She worn a simple white dress that fell to the ground, hiding her figure. There was also a white-haired younger girl that wore a short red dress and a rose shaped eye patch. The other person was a man this time. His long hair faded from black to white. He was dressed in a simple black outfit.

"What is going on?", the dark skinned woman asked them. Her voice was filled with annoyance. She walked directed to the young white haired girl. "Where is this, why am I here, how did I even get here?" She kept asking questions, expected answers but at the same time not allowing anyone to answer those questions.

"Calm down", the small person chimed. She smiled brightly before continuing, "We will explain everything in just a little sec, k?" That got the girl to stop talking.

Then the taller woman spoke. "First lets us introduce ourselves. My name is Tamashi, and these people with me are Chi and Shi." Chi, the younger girl, waved as her name was said and Shi, the male, just nodded.

Tamashi looked toward Nathan next. "Okay... um... I'm Nathan Greenwich. Nice to meet you." He waved at those around him. He smiled kindly, but he really just wanted to scream. He felt weird inside. There was a mix of emotions. Fear, confusion, worry, and emptiness filled his mind. But he knew that screaming wasn't going to do anything. So instead of screaming he just smiled and looked toward the girl. He hoped Tamashi would help him find Amaire, like she said she would back on the streets.

"My name is Dawn Ellenior." She didn't look content to just learn the names of those around her. She looked impatient. Impatient for an explanation for all of this.

Lastly the white hair boy spoke. "I am called Ai'Shun." In contrast to Nathan and Dawn, he looked calm and composed. He smiled at Nathan once he noticed that Nathan's eyes were on him.

With introductions out of the way, Tamashi began explaining. "You three are gathered here because you want something that you could not get from where you were." Nathan's eyes widened. What did he want that he couldn't get. Everything he ever needed he had back in the city with Amaire. Pain shot through his heart as he thought about his missing girlfriend.

Tamashi continued. "First of all, let me tell you that you are no longer in your own worlds."

"What do you mean?", Dawn interrupted. She glared fiercely at the woman who was speaking.

But it was Chi who chipped in next, "What she means, is that there are many worlds out there, not just the one that you lived on. Didn't you notice how different you all look." She motioned to all of them. Nathan nodded. He did notice the difference in their clothing. Also, people on Earth didn't really have purple eyes and white hair, at least not when they were as young as Ai'Shun. "This world that we are currently on is called Null." Chi smiled happily as Tamashi gently patted her head.

"Chi is correct. You were all brought here because what you are looking for cannot be found on your own world. We told you all that we would help you, correct?" Yeah, Nathan was looking for something, or rather someone. But this didn't make any sense. Amaire lives on Earth with him. How could going to some other world help him find her.

"The answers to finding what you seek lie in other worlds," Tamashi's eyes turned to Nathan. As if she was reading his mind, she answered his questions with her next statement. "The person you are looking for is no longer on Earth. She was taken to another world, but I do not know where." His green eyes stared at her with disbelief. Amaire? On some other world? Before he could ask Tamashi more, her attention was on Dawn. "The answer to your problem, the question you keep asking yourself, also exist on other worlds." Then she turned to Ai'Shun. "And you do not yet understand exactly what you seek, but you will also find it else where."

"To find what you each are searching for you will have to travel to different worlds", Shi said stepping toward them. "You will travel across many worlds and the answers will unveil themselves to you." Nathan, Dawn, and Ai'Shun stood silently for a second, taking in all that was said to them. Nathan didn't quite understand everything yet, but he knew one thing for certain. He was going to find Amaire.

"Okay, so how do we go to these other worlds", Nathan asked suddenly filling determined and a bit impatient.

"First we have two conditions for you guys", Chi said with her happy voice.

Nathan could almost feel the annoyance coming from Dawn. "What would that be?" Whatever it was, Nathan knew that it wouldn't matter. Not if it didn't get in the way of him finding Amaire.

It was Tamashi that answered. "First, you will all need to travel together. Not only could this journey be dangerous, but our transport system won't work unless you are all together." That wasn't so bad, Nathan thought to himself. "Secondly, to in return for us giving you a chance to fulfill your wishes, you will have to do something for us. What you need to do in return for our help is to look for something, or rather someone, that doesn't belong in the worlds you visit."

"Okay, but what do you mean 'doesn't belong'", Nathan asked feeling a bit worried.

"These people were originally from this planet of Null. But now they are scattered around to different worlds. These people are special. They will have two forms that you may find them in. One being their human form, the other will be the form of a magical item.", Tamashi answered. Nathan scratched his head in disbelief and confusion. "They may be easy to identify as something or someone they doesn't fit in with the world, or they may be harder to find. Do you accept our conditions? You will not have another chance to get what you want otherwise."

Nathan didn't need to think about it. He knew his answer a while ago. "Yes, I will go", he said firmly. He needed to find Amaire. It didn't matter what these people wanted, just as long as he could find her, even if they turned out to be untrustworthy. The way she screamed and disappeared haunted him. He wouldn't be able to accept himself if he turned his back on her.

"I am not sure if this is stupid or not, but I am really in a slump trying to figure out what I am going to do back home. And I don't want to return with no new ideas, so I will also go", Dawn said, less certain.

"I guess I don't have anything else to do", Ai'Shun answered smiling. With that all three of them were agreed. They would travel to places unknown in hopes of finding what it was they wanted most.

"With that out of the way, can you all grab the devices on the nightstands by your beds?", Tamashi asked, pointing at a small, white device next to Nathan. He picked it up. It was about the size and weight of a cell phone. It had a screen like one as well. Ai'Shun and Dawn grabbed their devices as well. Ai'Shun's was black, while Dawn's was red. "Those are what Chi has named 'TCTs'. They will enable you to do many things, such as travel across the worlds, communicate, and understand the differing languages that you will come across", Tamashi explained.

"You will need to hold them together and press the button below the screen to travel to the next world.", Shi began, "For now the worlds that you will travel to will be random and you will need all three devices to activate the transport system. It won't be powerful enough otherwise." With that said, the three travelers came together and held up their device. After they all pushed the button white swirls wrapped around them until everything turned to white.