Our getaway vehicle was a hot air balloon. Instead of a basket on the bottom, it looked more like a flying saucer. A flying saucer hot air balloon landing in the yard of a medieval castle. If we weren't running, I would have laughed.

By the time we reached the hot air UFO, we lost the guards in a labyrinth of hallways. The UFO opened up in traditional UFO fashion. A long walkway popped out and a short, shadowy figure was standing eerily at the top. If they said "take me to your leader" I would have happily offered up the queen. But they didn't. Instead, they gave a rushed, "Hurry!" Then they ushered us into the UFO, and shut the door behind us.

Once we were up close I could see that our greeter was not an alien, but also was not human. They were a... something else. Their legs were definitely doglike but they stood upright. They also had a wagging tail and floppy ears. I didn't know what to call it. "Hiya! I'm Felix! Welcome to the Committee!" Felix. It was apparently called a Felix.

"Uh... hi, Felix. I'm-" I started, but he jumped up in my face, looking at me carefully. Well, at least as carefully as a puppy child cross could be.

"You're the Vyron, Adri, right? We have been waiting for you for so long! I'm so glad you've joined us!" His little tail wagged so fast it could have been a fan. I didn't have the heart to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Uh... Thanks, I'm uh... glad to be here too?" I looked around, noticing that Mei was gone. "What the? Did she just ditch me?" I spun around, looking for her. I was surrounded by alien technology and a borderline alien Felix. The least she could have waited and explained things to me. "She went to talk to Pilot." A darker, gruffer voice said. If Felix was a puppy, then the new arrival was a wolf. He had thick, bushy black hair, with erect ears and a bushy black tail.

"Oh, brother!" Felix said, hitting me with his tail as he spun around. "This is the Vyron! Itn't that so exciting?"

"Yes. I know who she is." I squirmed under the wolf's sharp gaze. "Everyone knows who she is."

"Yeah, but itn't it exciting? She is gonna join us and help so much!" Felix said, making me regret not correcting him earlier. He turned back to me, "We are gonna have so much fun!"

"Right. Fun." The wolf rolled his eyes. "Mei will be back soon. She said to hold your questions until then."

Felix's ears perked when the word "questions" was mentioned. "Ooooh! Questions? I can help! Imma good helper!" He bounced with glee.

"No, you can't." His brother immediately shut him down. "Her questions are for Mei."

Felix slumped down and glared at the wolf. "You never let me have any fun, Azel!" He pouted for only a moment before bouncing back. "Fine! Then I'll give 'er a tour!" He definitely stood and spun around again. "Let's go, Vryon!"

Azel just rolled his eyes but didn't stop the puppy. So I followed little Felix. It wasn't like I had anything better to do.

Felix cleared his throat as we entered the hallway. "This ship was built in a traditional Ibodithia style, but Pilot made some Seveikon twists. Pilot is from Ibodithia but he doesn't like it. For obvious reasons." The puppy was taking his tour guide job very seriously, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Um... Right, obvious reasons... and those obvious reasons are?" My question made Felix stop in his tracks.

"Ugh! Don't get me started on Ibodithians! They are so uptight! And man, they are mean! And they think they are better than everyone else! I can't believe you didn't realize that yet!" He paused (or paw-sed?) for a moment before adding, "Pilot isn't anythin' like that! I promise! He is the nicest Ibo I have ever met! Ain't no one like 'im! He actually lived on the surface with the Images for a long time! He tells the best stories about it! You are from the surface, right? You thought you were an image er... human, right? That's what they call themselves? Pilot has told me a lot about the surface!"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess so? That's what they told me at least." I shrugged, still trying to register everything Felix had just said.

Felix stopped in his tracks again, his tail limping a bit. "I... I'm so sorry about your mama. I never met 'er but they said she wa-"

"That's enough, Felix." Mei cut him off.

"Oopsies..." Felix said, his tail and ears drooping.

"Yeah, oopsies." Mei said, glaring down at him. "Go join Azel in the main hall, we'll be there in a bit." Her glare softened as she patted his head and rubbed his ears.

At first, Felix looked like he was going to protest but he decided not to. "See ya soon!" He said before waving and gleefully skipping off.

Before I could make a stupid joke, Mei spoke up. "You must have a ton of questions, I know. Follow me." She said before heading down the hall. Eventually, there was a bit off a dip and we came to what was clearly the cockpit. Or the operations center? I had no idea what to call a spaceship's version of a driver's seat.

In the center of the room sat a large man with wires on his face. He had in medieval-looking clothes, a giant blonde beard and, to top it all off, a pirate's hat on his head. He looked like he couldn't decide what era he was born in. Is that what Felix meant by the Ibodithia and the Seva-whatever words he was using? Was this Pilot?

"Pilot," Mei said, confirming my suspicions. "Would you help me explain things in a way that an Image would understand?" For a moment the only sound was the random beeps and clicks of the ship.

Then the room erupted with the sound of boisterous laughter. Pilot sounded like a slightly stranger Santa Clause. Come to think of it, he kind of looked like a messed up Santa too. 

"HoHoHo! I'm so glad yee've come to join us, Adri!" He said, rushing awkwardly to shake my hand before wrapping me up in a massive hug. "I know ye miss your family and yer family misses ya but ya gotta realize how amazing it is you are here. Just th' fact that ya exist is-" Mei placed a hand on his chest to stop him. I was glad she did, this was all a bit much to take in.

"Alright." Mei said, "It's time to give you some answers."