Young Writers Society

Inseparable twins Zhi Hui and Zhi Huang are the beloved younger princes of the immortal Celestial Empire. Shy Zhi Hui prefers to quietly play his part and go unnoticed (as much as he can, that is) while headstrong Zhi Huang has an insatiable curiosity and a mischievous streak, often forcing his brother to be his partner in crime. However, Zhi Huang's antics are taken too far, causing the twins to be thrown across a void into an unknown universe by their enemies, the Shadow Empire. Neither of them are sure how to return home before their father starts a war over their disappearance.

Over in the Pegasus Galaxy, Arin and Sune are the last remaining members of a tribe of wandering musicians. The rest were culled by a nefarious, vampiric race called the wraith, who suck the life force out of their victims in order to feed. Luckily, the duo have a trick up their sleeve - they both have the blood of spirits running through their veins, and can tap into that to perform feats such as changing their form and casting magical attacks. They've just managed to escape from a wraith hive ship when they run into a strange pair of twins who are apparently from another universe.

Unfortunately, it's not as easy as just finding a way to send them back - the wraith have discovered their presence, and are intent on tracking down both the immortals and their home so they can have an unlimited source of food. It's up to Zhi Huang, Zhi Hui, Arin and Sune to find a way to send them back before the wraith can get their hands on them.

"Ah-Huang . . . Ah-Huang!" A hand shook Zhi Huang's shoulder. "Wake up!"

"Nngh," groaned Zhi Huang, opening his eyes slowly and rubbing the grit out of them to take in the sight of his twin, Zhi Hui, kneeling beside him, his brows drawn together in a mixed expression of worry . . . and anger? "What happened?" he asked, blinking rapidly at his stinging eyes.

"Look around us." Zhi Hui scooped a handful of sand and let it fall slowly back to the ground. He stood and brushed off his hands and clothing. "Does this look anything like the Immortal Realm to you?"

"No," replied Zhi Huang slowly, sitting up to stare at the scenery around them. Sunny, dry, sandy desert everywhere. Yes, there was the Lonely Desert, but even that was more vibrant than this one, even if for the fact that there were many ferocious beasts living in the Lonely Desert. This one was just . . . quiet.

He gasped. "Where are we? Where did those Shadows send us?" He got to his feet and started walking forward. His head was turning side to side wildly as he tried in vain to find any familiar sights.

"Exactly!" As he chased after him, Zhi Hui's eyes flashed with irritation, a sight no one except his twin ever saw. "I told you it wasn't a good idea to go anywhere near the border. But you didn't listen."

"Hey, you could have let me go alone," retorted Zhi Huang, wheeling around to face Zhi Hui. "If you were so scared, you should've just stayed home."

"I should have!" Zhi Hui broke eye contact and glanced down at his shoes. His voice grew quiet. "Now I'm paying for it." A stray tear rolled down his cheek, and he swiped at it furiously.

"Aiya, Ah-Hui. Don't cry! I'm sorry, I was wrong." Zhi Huang came beside his brother and rubbed his back soothingly. "I should have done a better job of taking care of you."

His twin glanced at him, incredulousness taking over the fear and despair in his face. "What are you talking about? I'm the older one, so I should be taking better care of you. Keeping you out of trouble."

Zhi Huang's mouth stretched into a playful grin. "But it never turns out that way, does it? You're always so timid and shy. If it weren't for me, I don't think you'd even take a step out of your palace of your own free wi--" He stopped.

There was someone on the ridge, coming towards them.

"We've been walking here for ages," Arin announced with a groan, suddenly throwing herself into Sune's side. Her boyfriend looked down at her with a single eyebrow raised in an amusement as she let out another groan. "It's been so long that I've got sand everywhere, Sune! I didn't even know I could get sand in half of these places."

He stifled a laugh. "Arin, we've been walking through here for five minutes, and the sand is from when you tripped and fell into the sand dune."

She crossed her arms. "We've still been here too long," she declared. Any time spent in a desert was too long. She knew they had to be nearing the ancestral ring soon - Sune had scouted it out before they crashed that wraith dart - but it seemed like an eternity had already passed.

Sune suddenly came to a halt. She staggered a few steps in front of him, surprised by the abrupt pause. He was definitely looking at something; curse his tall height right now. She straightened and squinted at the shapes on the horizon. It looked like there were two other people standing in this desert. That should have been a cause for alarm, given how they got there, but they didn't look like they were wraith going off of their appearance.

"Ooh, it looks like this planet has people!" Arin commented, turning back to Sune and pointing in the direction of the two strangers. "I'm surprised you didn't notice them before, Sune!"

He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't hear what it was. She was already rushing over to the two, eager to talk with them. Sune let out a noticeably loud groan of his own and went chasing after her.

When the figures started running down the sandy slope towards them, Zhi Hui could feel his hands start to shake. He tightened them into fists and stepped back, summoning his energy in case they would have to fight.

"They don't seem like people from the Shadow Empire," commented Zhi Huang, his stance showing that he was still pretty relaxed. "Nor from the Snake Tribe. Maybe they're mortals. I wonder if they're friendly."

"Do you really think they're friendly? They're charging straight at us!" Zhi Hui grabbed his brother's arm. "I think we should run. Or at least stand ready for a confrontation." His mind tossed around the various reasons for these people approaching them besides the slight possibility that they might be benign--they were bandits, assassins, Shadows in disguise, con artists. Something. Anything.

"Perhaps they recognize that we're immortals and they want to pay their respects." Zhi Huang was still making favorable guesses.

Zhi Hui fought the urge to shake him. "I can't believe this. We got thrown here by the Shadow Empire. What makes you think that they would put us somewhere with nice people in the area? Besides, we stick out very badly." He gestured at their long silk robes, luxurious and probably very impractical for normal people.

"Oh, you're right."

By now, the two strangers had almost reached them and both brothers took a step back.

"Um . . . those two aren't some really warped members of Shadow Empire's Ghost Guard, are they?" whispered Zhi Huang, exchanging glances with Zhi Hui. "They look so . . ."

"I told you we should have run," Zhi Hui muttered back. He brought his hands forward subtly and stood closer to his twin. "You ready to fight?"

"Arin," Sune hissed, finally managing to catch up to her. He grabbed onto her wrist and gave it a small tug. In turn, she spun around and gave him a blank stare. They were only a few feet away from the men now, but Sune was more concerned with the fact that Arin had begun to head over there in the first place. "Now's really not the time to be talking with strangers."

"Why?" she asked.

He groaned and gestured at himself.

"Oh." She looked over her shoulder at the two, then back at him. "Oh. You look a wraith, and this people are probably afraid of the wraith like the the rest of the galaxy. That's a problem, isn't it?"

He nodded.

Arin ran her fingers threw her hair. "Uh-oh."

"Maybe they're wraith worshipers?" Sune hopefully guessed, peeking over Arin at the two mysterious men. Their clothes certainly would suggest it; only someone who was born into privilege or worked for the wraith could away with clothing like that.

Arin glanced back at them. "Maybe. But why would they be out here without any obvious weapons?"

Sune bit his lip. He didn't have an answer for that one.

Zhi Huang didn't see any other way of going about this situation now. Acting out was a strategy he was quite adept with, so he decided to try that, while being prepared to attack if necessary.

"I'll do the talking, okay?" he whispered under his breath to Zhi Hui, who nodded almost imperceptibly, though not without a doubtful glance.

He took a step forward and put on a friendly, but not too friendly, smile. "Hello! Are you local people?"

Their auras didn't feel like those of Shadow Empire's citizens. They seemed more like mortals--and yet, it wasn't exactly the same, either. How strange.

"My friend and I have traveled a long way, and we sort of got lost. I was wondering if you could help us reach the nearest town. If you don't mind, that is." He ran his fingers down the long strands of hair that fell in front of his shoulder, an instinctive nervous habit, before he could stop himself. He only hoped that Zhi Hui was holding himself together; sometimes it was a wonder he had managed to get away with nearly outrageous acts with his ever rule-conscious brother beside him.

Arin was already turning around and opening her mouth to answer their questions, but all Sune could do was stare at the two strange men. They didn't feel right. He hadn't noticed it before, but something about them felt off. Even if he didn't have that gut feeling to go off of, there was something about their reaction that just didn't feel right. It was only when Arin was talking that he figured out what.

"We're actually travelers, too," she said, giving them a big grin. Her suspicion never seemed to impact her friendliness. "So we have no idea where the nearest town is, but we could help you find the newest stargate-"

"You're not scared of me," Sune suddenly interrupted. He hadn't meant to say that particular thought out loud, but now was a better time to address it than later. "You're talking to us like you don't know what I am."

Arin frantically looked from Sune to the two travelers.

Zhi Huang sighed and shook his head. Looks like putting on a show didn't work quite as planned. But what did the strange-looking man mean? And why was his companion so friendly, unless it was a façade? With her facial features and coloring, maybe she was one of those people said to be from somewhere in the west, but that didn't explain the man. Zhi Huang had to admit that Zhi Hui was probably right that they didn't have good intentions.

He straightened and looked the creature in the eyes boldly, taking a deep breath.

"Ah-Huang," hissed Zhi Hui warningly. Zhi Huang could almost hear his thoughts: Don't do it.

But he ignored his brother. "You're right," he said, pulling an elegant hand fan out of his sleeve. "I'm not afraid of you. Should I be?" He snapped it open and waved it leisurely in front of himself. "Something tells me otherwise. So just come out with it already. What do you want?"

His words were only half-bluffing.

Things were escalating a little too quick for comfort. Arin's hands went for her hidden gun; Sune hadn't forgotten to grab it from the wraiths before rescuing her this time around. There was still the possibility that this could end without any violence, but she wanted to be prepared in case one of the two travelers decided to attack them.

"You should be," Sune slowly said. He wasn't taking out a weapon. Not that he needed to, but he usually did it as a visual indicator of what they should do next. She let her hands rest at her side. "I'm a wraith. Everyone in the galaxy is terrified of them, but you're acting like I'm just another person. And it's not like you're a wraith worshiper, either. It's like you're clueless. But that can't be right. How could someone not know what a wraith is?"

Zhi Huang had pulled out his fan, which meant he anticipated a fight. Zhi Hui did have a dagger hidden in his clothes, but he didn't want to pull out so obvious a weapon in comparison to his brother's unassuming one.

"Wraith, wraith worshiper . . . stargate," said Zhi Huang. He slid the fan shut and tapped his palm with it a couple times. "Are they commonplace words around here? We don't worship wraiths, if that's what you are." He laughed, letting his face become grim. "Let's both stop playing games. Are you some sort of thing the Shadow Empire invented? If you are, this roundabout style doesn't really suit you." Zhi Hui could see Zhi Huang's posture subtly change to a more combat-ready stance. He was definitely serious now.

"Great. You really came out with all of it, didn't you?" said Zhi Hui in a quiet, dull voice.

"Not all of it," replied his twin. "They don't know our names."

"Actually, I know one of them," Arin cheerfully corrected. "It's yours. Ah-Huang. I heard you whispering it to your brother earlier." She wasn't really sure if they were brothers or not, but they certainly looked like they were.

She waited for a moment to see if Sune was planning on replying to their question. When he just continued to stare at them, she took it as a sign that she would need to do the answering. Her hand wavered over where her gun was hidden. If things turned sour, she could pull it out. She felt like they were on the very verge of it; after all, the phrase "let's both stop playing games" tended to have some negative connotations attached to it.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Arin said. "Sune and I are just traveling musicians. That's all. Maybe you've heard of us? I'm the Wanderer."

"Hm," said Zhi Huang, a corner of his mouth quirking up. He really was unable to maintain a fierce demeanor when the other side was not reciprocating. "That's not quite right. Your guesses, I mean. And no, we haven't heard of 'the Wanderer'. Have we?" His gaze slid to Zhi Hui, with a look that said See, it's not totally my fault. Thanks for exposing me! The expression quickly disappeared afterwards.

Zhi Hui shook his head slowly. "No, I haven't heard of that name," he said quietly. Knowing his twin, Zhi Huang was convinced that he was mentally slapping himself.

"And now we come back to a pressing matter." He leaned forward ever so slightly and gestured at the wraith with his closed fan. "You haven't answered my question."

"Arin already said it," he replied, taking a protective step in front of Arin. He had better reflexes, and overall a better grasp of his abilities. If it came down to a fight, he wanted to be the one to receive the first attack. He'd be able to make something out of it; he wasn't sure if Arin would. "We don't know what you're talking about. We've never encountered a Shadow Empire before in our travels."

He kept his gaze on the fan. He had been in enough dangerous situations to understand that it was probably a weapon of some sort. With the escalating tensions, it would have made no sense to take out a fan. A concealed weapon, on the other hand? That would definitely make sense.

Since the two didn't seem inclined to attack (yet), Zhi Hui pulled Zhi Huang aside a little farther away, keeping an eye on the strangers at the same time.

"Do you think . . ." he began quietly, to which Zhi Huang finished, ". . . that we're not in the Immortal Realm anymore, or even the Mortal Realm? Seeing how these people don't recognize the Shadow Empire, and they keep saying weird things, it's likely." Zhi Huang shook his head. "Typical Shadow Empire. I wonder if they even know where they sent us."

"If that's the case, how are we going to get home?" Zhi Hui's voice wobbled a little, and he glanced at the pair again rather self-consciously.

"We'll figure it out," his brother replied, putting a hand on his shoulder. "And maybe those two aren't actually bad? The girl, Arin, seems to genuinely be a kind person. As for that wraith, Sune . . . he seems to be her protector? We could ask them for help."

"And fight our way out if they turn out to be evil and out to hurt us," said Zhi Hui, nodding reluctantly. "All right then."

"I think you need to talk to them now," said Zhi Huang.

"What?" Zhi Hui swallowed. He cast another look at Arin and Sune. His confidence levels dropped and anxiety rose. "Why me?"

"Because I've already acted like the bad guy. You can be the nice guy this time."

"Do I really have to talk to them?" Zhi Hui could already feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins and his limbs trembling at the thought.

"Yes, you have to," insisted his twin. He grabbed Zhi Hui's arm and pulled him back in the direction of Arin and Sune, and nodded in encouragement.

Zhi Hui met the two's eyes briefly before glancing down at the sand. He coughed once. "Um . . . we think that we got sent here by--by some people, and this isn't our world. Th-that would explain why we don't, um, recognize each other's words."

Arin started perking up the moment that the words registered, but Sune wasn't entirely convinced by what they had said. While that might have explained the strangely extravagant outfits in a place like a desert, it still didn't explain how they could have been unaware of what a wraith was. Every world knew what they were. Even if it had ancient protections against them, there were still legends of people that looked just like he currently did.

So what was the story with these two?

"That makes sense!" Arin said, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "Your world doesn't have interstellar travel, does it? Otherwise you would have probably figured out what was going on before now, and would have known what a wraith looked like."