"Hi! Very nice to meet you!" Said Havana with such enthusiasm the woman began to smile.

Havana began to look at everything and lifted any odd looking object she could find. Atlas was looking through the boxes and looked over at the woman's direction. She had a baby crib beside her and he smiled.

Atlas was always very caring towards small children. He decided she could use some cash. He knocked over a box as he walked to the woman. He picked up the box and found what he had been looking for. He walked up to the lady who was chattering away with Havana.

"Look Atlas it's so cute!" Said Havana turning with a small baby.

"Her name is Rosy. And this is her sister Ka. And why didn't you tell me Noah lived on Earth already?" Said Havana. Rosy was pale unlike Ka.

I'll have to explain that she isn't a Noah later.

They were tiny and Ka had a similar skin tone to Havana. Ka was smiling at Atlas.

"Go on say hello" Her mother said pushing her towards Atlas.

Ka seemed to be around the age of two or three. She walked up to Atlas and hugged him.

"You smell nice"

Atlas could not help but smile. He looked at the other baby and could not help but feel joy.

"How much" Atlas held up the item.

"One Mark" Replied the woman.

Atlas patted Ka on the head "Thank you"

He rolled a ten thousand Mark bill and placed it in a tip jar. Atlas held hands with Havana

"Why are people following us?" She asked.

Atlas knew that Levy and some of her friends were stalking them but paid it no mind. He thought they were simply making sure he didn't get hurt again.

He got the sweater washed and dried. He walked to Morrie's home and told Havana to wait at the front door. He walked to her door and knocked. The door was open and Atlas let himself in. He walked up to her room and knocked. He could hear sad feet shuffle to the door. She was sniffling. The door opened and Atlas immediately hugged her. She began to cry and he held her till she had no tears left.

"I got something for you" Said Atlas.

He pulled out a black long sleeve sweater. She cried again but not of sadness. Atlas was worried he had done something wrong. She kissed his cheek and embraced him.

This is what you do to help sad people right?

"Try it on" Atlas handed her the sweater.

She took her shirt off without thinking and slipped the sweater on. She smiled and hugged Atlas again. It was loose around her shoulders and only covered one at a time. Despite having long sleeves it reached just above her belly button.

She looked at Atlas and asked "Do you want to sleep over?"

It's not like she would try to hurt me… probably

"Yes"

He called Levy and told her. He got Havana back home and he would get her back in the morning. He spent the night with Morrie. She didn't let go of him off a single second of the night. Over the next few weeks he repeated most of the same routines. He began to feel closer to the girls and felt he was getting to like them.

He was beginning to feel like he didn't hate them or like he might care for their lives. He was still struggling with what he felt, not being able to distinguish between hate and friendship. He constantly asked himself, "What does it mean to feel for others?"

Havana seemed to have a bad habit of biting him when she was sleeping. Atlas would leave her at her home world during the night and pick her up in the morning most night. This became their thing.

"You have all your classes with me" Said Atlas.

They were sitting together in class as always. She would always leave her seat and join him. The teacher never said anything about it. She was treated just as highly as Levy. Havana liked human clothing and would have something different every day. She looked beautiful in all of them just like Levy.

"What is a potato?" Asked Havana.

Her hands were spread over a history book and pointing out several different breeds of potato.

Only the most majestic thing ever found.

"I will show you later" replied Atlas.

They drifted through class and eventually got to lunch. Havana had a look of familiarity when she saw Hex.

“Is she a Noah?” Havana whispered.

“Just human.” They walked over and got introduced to each other.

"So you're just his friend?" Said Hex.

"Well yes but that's only because he won't say he loves me" Replied Havana.

Aurora tapped Atlas's shoulder "Mind if I talk to you alone?"

He nodded and they walked to an alone area.

"I made something for you" said Aurora handing him a beautifully decorated basket with hearts. It had a small note hidden between the chocolate muffins.

What's this? Another attempt to poison me? I thought they would have known better by now.

Atlas dropped the basket and stamped on the basket. He then tossed it into the trash. He walked away without saying a word. The hearts were crumpled in a dark filthy place. Atlas had been given gifts such as food before. It was often laced with chemicals and laxatives. People had a natural need to hate him.

Atlas walked back to the group. He would not be able to understand why what he had done would have hurt her feelings. He sat down and began to eat his meal. A piece of bread and a few pills. He had a new container for his pills. He unlocked it and took a single pill out. The outside of the pill was clear with a dark center.

The small dark ball seemed to reach out when he touched its surface. He chewed it and felt its cold sting. It would spread to every cell in his body and strengthen him. It was half the reason his heart still beat.

"What is that?" Asked Havana.

"Medicine"

She had seen images of a similar object before in the libraries. She believed it was a proxy seal. They were used to suppress powers and certain types of psychological disorders in Knights. She wondered why Atlas would need to take one every day when Knights would take one every few millennia.

"Where is Aurora?" Hex asked the group.

Aurora was hiding a small box. She was doing a horrible job at it.

"Over here" Said Atlas taking Hex's hand.

Atlas left her near where Aurora was. A short time later Hex came back and dragged Allison, Morrie, and Havana away. He walked this next class. The day ended and he waited at the entrance for Morrie and Levy. Aurora walked up to him. She looked so beautiful beneath the soft gleam of the sun. Her soft brown hair swayed as her lips parted.

"I'm pregnant"

"Okay" Atlas replied completely unfazed.

"And you're the father"

Atlas nodded and passed out. He woke up in her arms. He tried to speak but nothing came out. He was deep in thought. He had come to the conclusion that it was possible that he had gotten her pregnant. He knew he had blacked out for extended periods of time.

Darn, just like him…

He had ended up like his father after all. He had hoped he wouldn't be a dad by this age but then this happened. He stood up and took a moment to get his mind together. Hex walked over before he could say anything to Aurora. Scarlet held up a pregnancy test.

"You got me pregnant you idiot"

Atlas was at his wits end. How had he had enough time to do it twice.

"Umm Lucius?" Said Morrie in a shy tone. She held another pregnancy test

He had intended to ask Aurora to be with him but now that there were more than one person it would be odd. He again did not want to be like his father.

He took a deep breath "I will take care of all of you"

Atlas wanted to be better than his father. He knew he wouldn't have to work three jobs to keep up with payments. He wouldn't be gone six days of the week. He would be able to spend every waking moment with them.

Maybe I could even learn how to love people other than my family.

"We got you didn't we!" Laughed Hex.

I heard families that eat together stay together. I'll always- wait what did she just say?

Atlas was confused he believed he was the one who had gotten them.

"It was a joke" Said Hex with a smile.

Atlas was still slightly confused.

"Nobody is pregnant it was a joke" Repeated Hex.

Atlas was not able to understand what was going on.

"But if you actually want to get someone pregnant you could start with me" Even Atlas could tell Hex was winking underneath her sunglasses.

He nodded and walked away. He was going to use the gate. He wanted to calm down in a place he liked. They had given him the false impression that he had created life. They could have done almost anything else and it would not have made him mad but they had done the one thing that could.

Of all the cruel things people have done to me, why do I feel like that actually hurt?

He walked home without Levy and went to his room. He made the symbols necessary for the transportation of one human there and back. He took a moment to breath. He cleared his mind and shut out the world. He was unable to hear the door open as he activated the transport. He stood up and looked at the world around him. As far as the eye could see there were trees. Millions of breeds in every direction.

"Ow"

He turned and felt annoyance. When he saw Aurora.

"Where are we!" Yelled Aurora.

She was completely disoriented. His vacation would be cut short.

He grabbed her hands "Don't worry, we are safe here"

He knew that was only half true. They had landed a few miles off from where he had wanted due to the extra weight. He could see the tower just in the distance and knew he was off with his guess. It was likely they were over one hundred miles off.

Well... this is an inconvenience.

He had all his gear at the tower. He calculated the exact distance by looking at the side of the tower. He knew it was just five hundred and sixty four miles away.

"How did we get here?" Asked Aurora.

"Well we got here because you messed up my transportation seal. But we are here because I wanted some peace and quiet"

He knew this world was just like the other. He did not age in here just like any other human. Only the Noah and animals aged in here. He hoped they had arrived during the dry season. Otherwise the rivers would be impossible to cross. He jammed a stick into the ground and sighed when he saw liquid seep out of the indentation.

What am I supposed to do now?

"What's wrong?" Asked Aurora.

"It's the rain season and I will be weeks before we will be able to cross the rivers if we are lucky" Said Atlas.

She seemed to be taking the information well but she was crushing his arm.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you see that tower? Well we need to get there to get home"

She leaned against him and seemed to be on the brink.

"We should start walking then" Said Aurora attempting to find courage she did not have.

"Maybe but we should pick up some food before we do" Said Atlas.

Atlas climbed a tree and knocked a few ripe apple shaped foods off. He collected as many different kinds as possible. He cut his shirt to make a basket and held Aurora's hand.

"We have a long way to go. And if you see anything strange, hide" Said Atlas.

He knew the different breeds in this world had changed since the last time he came here. Time flowed faster here than where he had come from. Every second in the outside world was a full year in here. It was the fastest time flow out of the worlds he had in the gate. He knew the sun set every fifty Earth hours and would stay dark for fifty as well.

He wanted to reach one hundred miles before the sun set. The sun was in the center of the sky which told him he had twenty five hours left. They walked holding hands. After twenty minutes they stopped.

"I'm so tired" Groaned Aurora laying on a patch of grass.

"Well we still have eighty miles to go" Said Atlas.

"That is crazy. How are we going to do that"

"Well, by walking. Which you aren't doing" Replied Atlas.

Atlas felt like his feet were on fire and his lungs burned like hell. He still wanted to be fast but knew it was likely that he would not reach his goal. He just wanted to relax, not spend the next few months babysitting Aurora even if she was cute. if anything he didn't want to be around her because of that reason.