(This is a little before Ridge and Tia went to get everyone for the games)

Liam's POV

Creeping silently in the bushes, I sneak through the trees as stealthily as possible. I stop, freezing when I hear the wind ruffle past me, giving away my position. Flanking the shadows of the trees, I press against them as I take in the sights around me.

There are many factories extending over the horizon. A few castles too, and a tall mansion on a hill at the top of it all. I swallow. With factories this big, what the hell were they making? Cautiously, I shoot out of the cover of the trees towards a random building, pressing myself against it. It was a tall, iron block building with a logo of a ginger dwarf on it. Underneath it is the large words, "Honeydew. inc". I can barely see the top of it, and I silently slip inside.

There are no stairs in the building, which confuses me at first. Then I remember Mitch telling me how they used science and stuff, and I was dimly aware of some knowledge of it, including flying rings. Suddenly, I press against a wall before throwing myself under some machines when the door opens, a blonde haired woman striding through. She was very pretty, her hair flowing around like a golden waterfall, a loose brown top on with blue jeggings and brown boots. "Lewis!" she calls out. A man dressed in a red shirt with black jeans and black boots comes flying down, his short brown hair ruffling a little at the speed.

"Hannah" he smiles, holding her close. He was closely followed by a small, ginger dwarf, also hovering. He looked exactly like the dwarf on the logo on the building, and I put two and two together.

As they all hug quietly, a man, flying using nothing, suddenly appears, making them all yell and protest. I can't really hear them from all the way across here, but a girl suddenly appears behind the dwarf, grabbing hold of his arms, tearing him away from the others. I glance back at the man, a sudden lurch in my stomach. Was this the man, with his evil grin and the way he laughed when they asked him something, the same man that blew Jerome up? 

The man called Lewis and his girlfriend disappear, and so does the flying man. The girl stays, speaking to the dwarf in a hushed conversation. He nods, before they both disappear. I glance around at the empty building-this would be a good time to take some stuff. But something about this place gives me the creeps, so I leave. 

I end up at a castle made out of black rock. To my surprise, the flying man is there, and so is the girl. "What the hell, Ridge? The games are over, let them go!" a man shouts, a purple mask covering half of his face. His eyes are different shades of purple twisted into one, and he is an obvious mage with his Klein star. My heart pounds. As far as Sky knew, they only used science. Not magic.

The flying man, called Ridge, hisses and tells him to stop moving. I quickly hide round the corner when he looks around the area. Departing, I run towards the cover of the forest, wanting to get out of this hell hole now. But as I run, I hear voices. Oh god, I think, when will this nightmare end? And, to my astonishment, Ridge is there AGAIN, setting fire to the people in the camp. Stumbling away, I run towards the mansion on top of the hill, desperately trying to get away from the insane maniac that seemed to be burning and torturing his own Island. 

Clambering up the hill desperately, I reach the mansion at last. The freezing air is still, lifeless, silent. There is no wind, which is odd, considering the height of this place. The silence is unnerving, and I find myself kicking a rock on purpose just to get some noise, which I realize all too late was a bad idea. Creeping silently, I open the window, and slip inside.

The room I'm in is a warm, inviting living room. The black carpet complete with a white fluffy sheep rug and white wall paper with one wall black gives it a designer, modern-type look. There is a black, smooth leather couch sat around a shady glass table. A fire crackles quietly in a fireplace to my right, and next to it are rows and rows of bookshelves, some of them containing board games, such as checkers. My eyes are diverted back to the flickering flames, and my heart rate rises when I realize it was lit not too long ago. 

Quickly, I creep out of the room into a massive room, with twin staircases made of pristine quartz leading up to a balcony type area with doors leading off to different rooms. A chandelier dangles from the roof, made of diamonds and glass, and gold, spinning light into different directions. There are a few potted flowers too, and I notice someone has watered them recently. The floor was checkered with more quartz, each block separated with a small line of what looked like hard obsidian. Despite the cold materials made, the room is fairly warm, and you can't miss the beauty and design of this place. I find myself twisting and turning in circles, taking in every detail, jaw dropping as I realize how rich this person must be to make this.

A door suddenly slams from the balcony, and I spin round to spot the apprentice girl of the flying man descend the staircase, eyes watching me steadily. She wears a white blouse with ruffles at the top, black leggings and a black jacket, with an even deeper black cape tied around her neck, the thin material billowing out behind her. She wears black boots, laced at the front, and I realize with a jolt that she wasn't walking, she was floating. "What are you doing in here?" she asks quietly, her voice low and firm.

"I..." is all I can manage, backing away.

"Did you come here to spy? Answer me honestly, and there will be no trouble" she continues, grey eyes watching me warily, tilting her head slightly. "And I'd hurry up if I were you-the master will not be as merciful with you as I am being." 

Swallowing slightly, I decide to give in and just tell her. "I was sent from Team Crafted Island by my master and the King to spy" I declare. She nods.

"You aren't doing a very good job of it, then. I noticed you entering our land ages ago," a voice suddenly says from behind her. Turning her head, she looks expectantly up the stairs, but there is no one there. It was only when I feel warm breath on my neck and firm hands on my arms that I shout and wiggle away. The flying man appears behind me, and I try and twist and turn away from him, but he's too strong. My hands fumble to my belt, managing to grab my sword and I swing it at his face which I can just make out behind me. The sword hits the target, but causes no damage. I frown, but then he grabs hold of my sword, and proceeds to snap it with a simple flick of his wrist before throwing it onto the floor with a clatter of metal upon quartz.

"Mortals are so adorable, don't you agree Tia?" he murmurs, picking me up by the back of my jacket as he floats into the air. "So weak and pathetic, it's almost comical how they think they can match the immortal" he continues, and I can feel his eyes boring into me as I squirm. Fear suddenly worms its way into my mind, which wasn't good. The one thing I was taught by Mitch was to never ever get scared.

"Ridgedog, just let him go. He won't do any more trouble, you know he won't. And besides," she stops to grin at him, "We have a game to play." The man above me chuckles in response, before flying out of an open window that I never noticed was open, and I hear a breeze behind me as Tia follows.

"I suppose I can let him go just this once...tell your "king" if I see another one of his people on my land, he can expect us to...retaliate" he says, and I can sense the grin on his face. 

We reach the boundary line and I spot Mitch pacing around in the trees on our side. When he sees us floating in the air, he lets out a loud shout of fury and runs towards the line, stopping behind it. A flicker of relief makes me sigh, knowing I would be safe soon. Suddenly, Ridgedog throws me into the air hard and I scream as I hurtle towards the ground. Shutting my eyes, I brace myself for impact.

Strong arms suddenly catch me, and I realize Mitch caught me. He isn't looking at me anymore, however, he's glaring furiously at Ridgedog, his face contorted with anger. "You! You're the one who blew up my best friend!" he roars, pointing his diamond sword at Ridge.

The immortal laughs, and Tia floats down to join her master, hovering slightly behind him, eyes darting between the two of us warily. "Ah, I do recall blowing a bomb up at a pathetic little furry person a while back. How is he doing?" he asks innocently, tilting his head. Mitch drops me onto the muddy ground, about to launch himself over the line, when Sky appears out of nowhere, grabbing hold of him and hauling him back. "Aw, the baby is having a tantrum." Ridgedog murmurs to his apprentice, who chuckles uneasily. 

Sky drags Mitch backwards, roaring and spitting curses at Ridge, and shoves him towards Husky the Mudkip and Ryan, who drag him towards the forests, hissing at him to calm down. Ridgedog is laughing again, but the girl is silent and sighs impatiently. He turns to her and places a hand on her shoulder, his eyes suddenly softer. "Patience, my dear, the game will commence soon. Just enjoy the show for now."

The girl nods, before turning back towards us. "I think you should inform your angry swordsman to get a new apprentice. This one is a little too easy to predict" Ridgedog declares, and I grit my teeth, my hands clenched. How DARE he! I stand up, and point at him with a trembling hand.

"You may think your so powerful just because you can fly, but take away your immortality and you are NOTHING!" I suddenly screech.

Ridgedog bursts into laughter, actual tears forming in his eyes. Tia raises her eyebrow at the cracked up god, a small smile flickering onto her lips. I glare at him, and wait for him to finish. He doesn't stop laughing, however, and soon his apprentice is giggling behind her hand, finding the sight of him cracking up comical. When he has finally stopped laughing his guts up, he wipes the tears away.

"Oh my! I should employ you as a clown." He chuckles, grinning down at me. The grin is slightly insane, and I cringe at the sight of it. "One does not simply take away immortality. Once you are a god, no one can take that away. Especially you," he chuckles, before his glance turns to Sky who meets his eyes with a brave, ferocious but calm gaze.

"If I find another one of your people on my land, you can expect trouble. Good day to you, gentlemen. Clown" he snickers, before floating quickly away from the line, his apprentice following him, throwing one last smirk at us before flying after him, catching up quickly. 

Turning back to Sky, he regards me with a serious look in his usually cheerful eyes. "Tell me everything at the meeting." he demands simply, before we turn round and head back towards the trees, throwing glances behind us along the way to make sure the evil one was not sneaking up on us.