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Note/Disclaimer: Originally posted on Fanfiction.net Anyway…All characters are the property of Don Bluth and 20th Century Fox. Other materials and references belong to Disney, Pixar and the like. The title of this story is from the song Somewhere Out There from An American Tail, which is another one of Don Bluth's films.

Characters introduced and who they would be voiced by:

Shadow the Border collie/Treeing Walker Coonhound mix-Tia Mowry

Ashley Jones-Imani Hakim

Nelson Jones- Tylen Jacob Williams

Cricket the Savannah cat- Tisha Campbell-Martin (no lines in this chapter)

While reading the first half of this chapter, I recommend listening to the Main Title/Opening theme by James Horner from the American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West Soundtrack. It's on YouTube and really helps set up the beginning of this story.

Anyway…read on!



Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins


Friday- 7:00am- Pacific Time…


It was a typical Friday morning in New Bangkok; like any other day of the week, adults were on their way to work while kids hurried off to get to school. Though not everyone had the opportunity to enjoy this pleasant spring day.

A young adult female Savannah cat stepped out of a nearby alley. She stretched and yawned, enjoying the warm sunlight on her silver coat. The cat, called Cricket by the people who knew her; was different than other street felines. Her breed, the Savannah was a mix between a domestic cat and a Serval, a large eared wild cat from Africa. Unlike other feline breeds, Savannahs had personalities similar to dogs, they were very loyal to their owners and loved playing fetch. Cricket was considered a first generation Savannah due to her father being a house cat and her mother was a Serval. The young stray's fur was mostly silver with black spots, her chest, mouth and underbelly were tan colored. The rest of her markings consisted of black fur on her back paws, tan on her front paws. Her tail was black tipped and her large dark upright ears had a white dot on the back of both. She looked more like a Serval than anything else but had a longer tail, which she had inherited from her father.

Many New Bangkok residents were used to seeing Cricket walking around from place to place. She had been living on the streets her entire life. Like most strays, she was part of a large feline colony that lived in the city. Every once in a while, humans who left out food and water for the other cats in her colony, would take one of them home. Despite her friendly nature and playful turquoise blue eyes, no one seemed interested in taking the two-year-old cat home with them. Cricket assumed it had to be due to the fact she was part Serval and the humans were afraid she would turn 'wild' and become aggressive. She did her best not to let it get her down and believed that some human would take her in…eventually.

But today, Cricket's morning routine was interrupted in the most unexpected way. As she drank from a puddle of rain water, the female Savannah was alerted by the sound of a dog barking. Looking up, she saw a somewhat large figure running towards her. Yowling in fear she darted out of the way. The figure, a tricolor Border collie and Treeing Walker Coonhound mix ran by with a Rottweiler chasing after it. The large dog snarled, making the pup yelp in fear. When she came to a fence, the puppy squeezed through a gap and made it to the other side. The Rottweiler barked loudly, unable to get through the small space. As the pup stopped to pant, she turned around when the barking got quiet. Letting out a sigh of relief that he was gone, she got up and continued on her way.

After walking for a while, she came to a stop on a patch of grass under a large sycamore tree. Not far away was a small stone bridge that went over into a nearby city park. The pup walked up to a cardboard box that had been placed near the bridge. On the large box was a sign that said 'Free puppies, please take one' written in bold letters. The tricolored female who was not much older than four months climbed into the box. Another puppy, stood up, greeting her with a friendly bark. She smiled and nuzzled him. The other dog, was her brother though unlike his sister, he had a blue merle coat. His fur was mostly a light blue-gray with small and large patches of black mixed in. The rest of his coat had white markings on his legs, paws, chest and underbelly as well as on his mouth. Rusty red markings were his cheeks and around the ankles of his hind legs. Around his left eye was a black star shaped patch.

His sister's fur was mostly black with white on her limbs and other spots, like him but instead of rusty red markings hers were tan. Both pups had semi pricked ears but had different eye colors. The female had green eyes, her brother was bi-eyed, his left one was blue and the other was brown. The two siblings were glad to see each other. The female had gone looking for food but ended up getting chased by the Rottweiler she narrowly escaped from.

Just then, a human voice rang out.

"There it is!"

"Sis, this is the one." Said a ten-year-old boy who looked to be of African American and Brazilian decent.

He pointed the blue merle puppy out to his older sister.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at the two dogs.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Said the boy.

"All right, c'mon." the girl said as she picked up the puppy.

The tricolor female whined and barked at the two humans. The boy, Nelson turned around and looked at her.

"I don't think she wants us to leave."

His sister glanced at the pup, noticing the pleading look in her eyes.

"You're right but…you know what Mom said," the girl, Ashley pointed out.

"I know," Nelson sighed.

If it were up to them, they would have taken both dogs but were glad that their mother allowed them to have one at all. Being mixed with two nationalities of color, Ashley and Nelson had a caramel colored skin tone, brown eyes and jet black hair.

"Don't worry, pup someone will pick you up soon." Said Ashley.

"Yeah, you'll get a nice home." Nelson assured her.

"Let's go, Nelson…we're almost at your school." Said Ashley.

"Ok, bye." Nelson told the pup before going ahead of his sister with their new dog in tow.

Ashley got down on her knees and looked at the female dog.

"You're gonna be all right, hang in there, Little dog." She said, trying to be encouraging. After a pat on the head, she went to catch up with Nelson.

The puppy laid down in the box, placing her head between her paws as she sighed.

"That's it, I'm the only one left." She said to herself.

The pup and her brother had been two in a litter of ten, five females and five males. The human who owned their parents had left them in a box near the park hoping anyone who passed by would see the puppies and want to take one. It worked, one by one the puppies were picked up by various people. The tricolor female however, was the runt of the litter and the youngest of her siblings. She had thought by now she'd be living in a house with humans and not on the streets. Her ears perked up at hearing footsteps, she lifted her head, looking over the edge of the box. She froze at what was standing a few feet away.

Gulping nervously, she spotted the Rottweiler that had been chasing her.

"Uh-Oh,"

The big dog saw her and growled. He barked loudly and was about to give chase when they both heard a car door slam. Turning around, they both saw a white ford truck parked not far from the bridge.

Both dogs yelped, immediately recognizing the truck.

"Not animal control!" the pup exclaimed.

Without a second thought she jumped out of the box and ran, the Rottweiler also took off, both heading in different directions.

"Gotta get away from here and fast," the pup said to herself as she made her way down the street.

Moments later…

"Now what?" she wondered.

The pup picked up the smell of beef jerky and followed it. The trail ended at a stack of wooden crates. She was puzzled by this.

"Huh?" she sputtered, tilting her head at the wooden cubes in front of her.

"Here's the last one," said a voice.

The puppy yelped and jumped into the nearest open crate.

She swallowed hard, hoping the dockworkers wouldn't find her hiding under the styrofoam peanuts. As the crate was picked up and moved, the pup decided to stay put for now and would escape as soon as the humans were gone.

Meanwhile, someone else wasn't exactly having a good morning either.

Akima was sweeping along the walkway where Korso's ship had docked. She currently had her teal iPod Nano on and was playing one of her favorite songs.

"Somewhere, out there…beneath the pale moonlight. Someone's thinking of me, and loving me…"

Akima stopped singing along midway when she heard a splash. After a moment she continued.

"And loving me…"

There was another splash shortly after that.

"And loving me!" She sang, loudly.

Akima got out of the way of an oncoming water balloon.

"Shut up!" shouted a teenage boy in the distance.

Akima groaned, pausing the song and pulling out her earbuds she turned towards Cale and Stith.

"They're throwing water balloons at me." She said.

"Again?" Stith asked, this obviously wasn't the first time this happened.

"Keep singing, maybe you can audition for the next season of America's got talent." Cale joked.

He started laughing and Stith, who couldn't hold back joined him.

The two of them were currently on the floor of the ship with several tools scattered around them.

"Very funny. Shouldn't you guys be fixing that oil leak?" Akima asked.

"We're workin' on it!" Cale and Stith said at the same time.

Akima rolled her brown eyes.

"Right…"

She then heard a noise not far away.

"Oh, looks like those new supplies Korso ordered finally came in. I'm gonna go check it out."

"We'll be right here." Said Cale as he handed Stith a wrench. Neither of them looking up from the spot where they had removed a metal panel to access the ship's oil tank.

It had been six months since New Bangkok and the other Drifter colonies arrived on New Earth. At first, Cale and Akima had thought Korso and Preed were long gone; Preed however only had an injury to his neck which had knocked him out. Korso somehow managed to escape in time before the power had reached full blast on the Titan's circuit breakers. Having survived near death experiences and with nowhere else to go, the crew made the decision to stay together and help the Drifter colonies with construction work and other jobs. It was also clear as day no one wanted to break up the team if they didn't have to. Since then, things continued the way they had always been.

Akima walked down the stairs to the cargo hold and looked around. It didn't take her long to find a small stack of four crates of various sizes in the corner.

"Ok, let's see what's here."

She went up to the first one that was already open. Before Akima could do anything she heard a sneeze.

Lifting up the tarp, she saw a puppy curled up next to a box of office supplies.

The small dog whined and looked at her.

Akima frowned.

"What the…? Who are you?"

She picked up the puppy, smiling at her.

"Hi,"

The puppy's tail began to wag, she then licked Akima's face, making her laugh.

"Aw," was all she could say.

Both paused for a second when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"So… what'd we get today, Akima?" Preed asked.

The young Asian woman turned around, revealing the small mixed breed dog in her arms. The puppy whimpered softly.

Preed scoffed at seeing the fluffy canine.

"What a scruffy looking mutt," he said.

"I don't know; I think she's kinda cute." Akima admitted.

"You think all dogs are cute, don't you Akima?" Preed asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, in a way they are." Akima answered as she rubbed the puppy behind her ears.

"She doesn't have a collar, better check for a microchip." She concluded.

"Why?" Stith asked, she and Cale walked in on the tail-end of the conversation.

Her question was quickly answered when she saw the puppy Akima was holding.

"Aww!" was all she could say. If anything could get to Stith's heart, it was cute animals, puppies and kittens in particular.

"Not you too," Preed groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Where did this dog come from?" Cale asked.

"I don't know," Akima replied.

Just then, Cale thought of something.

"Wait a second, is there a no pets policy on this ship?"

Akima, Preed and Stith all shrugged their shoulders, not sure how to answer.

"No clue," Stith answered.

"She's right," Preed said, adding his two cents.

"This is the first time we've had a dog… or any kind of animal for that matter." Akima confessed.

Cale glanced at the puppy who was looking at him with a curious look in her eyes.

"Well, if that's the case maybe we can…." He stopped short when the sound of a door opening down the hall was heard.

"I'm back." A familiar voice shouted.

At that moment, all five of them including the dog froze.

"Ok, so who's gonna tell Korso about this dog?"

Cale, Preed and Stith looked at each other nervously.

"Not me!" they all said in unison and tried to leave but stopped in their tracks when Korso and Gune entered the room.

"Too late," said Stith.

"Hey folks…Gune and I are back from the salvage yard, found that spare part we've been looking for. So, anything knew?" Korso asked.

"Oh, well…you know…" said Cale as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Same old, same old." Preed added.

"Our supplies came in and…" before Stith could finish her sentence, the puppy barked.

Korso glanced off to the side and saw Akima. He raised an eyebrow at seeing the small puppy in her arms.

"What's that animal doing here?"

"I found her in one the crates, she must've been hiding in there." Akima explained.

Korso glanced at the dog before he spoke.

"I'll file a report with animal control, in the meantime keep an eye on her."

Preed looked at the puppy then at Korso.

"Seriously?" he asked.

Akima then gave him an odd look.

"What?" Preed said after a minute.

"Preed, give me a break…I've known you for a while, you like dogs." Akima told him.

The male Akrennian snorted at this.

"Since when?"

Akima simply shook her head and didn't say anything.

"This is coming from a guy who has watched The Fox and The Hound eight times." Said Korso.

The rest of the crew snickered at this.

"Really?" Gune asked, he mostly listened to the conversation and hadn't said much of anything until now.

Preed's ears were now flat against his head. His bronze eyes were also slightly narrowed, showing he was obviously annoyed.

"That's not funny, there's nothing funny about it." He said.

"Uh-huh," Akima replied in a dull tone.

That Night…

"So, have you set up a place for our guest?" Korso asked, standing in the doorway of the storage room.

"Yeah, but Korso don't you think she'll be nervous down here, all by herself?" Akima asked.

"Eh, she'll be fine." Korso insisted.

"Ok," Akima sighed.

She patted the pup on the head before getting up off the floor.

"Good night," she said as she turned off the light and left with Korso.

The puppy soon fell asleep on the dark blue blanket Akima had given her. With Cale's help, they made one of the wooden crates into a makeshift dog bed. It wasn't long before everyone had gone to bed, unbeknownst to them, it was going to be a long night.

2:00am….

The pup woke up and looked around, the storage room was dark, she had been accustomed to having one of her siblings sleep next to her but now she was all alone. Her whining quickly turned into a howl.

"What was that?" Stith asked, sticking her head out of her dorm room.

"I think it was the dog," Cale answered, he stood in the doorway of his room.

Both in their pajamas.

"I got it," Akima offered, she stepped out of her room and went down the hallway.

She turned on the light and found the pup sitting in her crate whimpering loudly.

"I told Korso this was a bad idea." Akima muttered.

She sat down next to the crate and gently stroked the puppy's soft fur.

"How about I stay here until you fall asleep?" she suggested.

The Border collie mix licked Akima's face in response, making the woman giggle.

"Ok, ok enough."

Akima stayed with the puppy for a couple of hours but gradually lost track of time after the young dog had fallen asleep. The next morning, Korso woke up early despite the lack of rest from last night. He went into the storage room, smiling at the site in front of him.

"Sleep well, Akima?" he asked, chuckling at the sleeping woman with the puppy curled up next to her.

Akima's eyes slowly opened, she blinked them twice and yawned.

"Must've dozed off, poor dog was howling half the night." She said as she rubbed her eyes.

"So I heard. Listen, get yourself cleaned up and we'll talk later." Korso continued.

"'Kay," was Akima's reply.

Three days later, the crew got the news they had been waiting for.

"Well, after putting up flyers, checking for a microchip and filing report with animal control…nobody's called about a missing dog." Akima explained.

She and the others were currently sitting in the break room. Gune looked up from the slice of toast he had been eating.

"So?"

"If that's the case, it looks like we got ourselves a dog." Korso announced.

Akima was the first to react.

"Yes! All right!"

"Any idea what we should call her? She needs a name." Cale pointed out.

As the group talked about possible names, Cale noticed something about the puppy.

"She's really taken a liking to you, Akima." He said, seeing the pup sitting quietly at Akima's feet.

"Yeah, she's like my shadow." Akima agreed.

At hearing this, the puppy looked up.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Cale asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Watch this… Shadow." Said Akima.

Sure enough, the puppy's ears perked up.

"Let me try…" said Stith.

"Shadow," she called.

The Border collie mix then turned towards Stith.

"I think your friend here, likes that name." Korso said with a smile.

"I agree," Akima replied as she rubbed the dog behind the ears.

"All right, Shadow it is."

The puppy, now named Shadow, wagged her tail; happy to finally have an owner and a name. A short time later, Akima and Cale were walking down the hallway both of them talking about what went on earlier.

"I'll have to go into town and get some dog supplies, she needs a collar, a leash and…" Akima stopped short when she heard somebody yelling.

"What the…?" Cale sputtered.

"Look what I found snooping around… an eight pound, two once four legged ankle biter." Said Preed.

He was holding Shadow by the scruff of her neck and handed her over to Akima. The somewhat annoyed Akrennian walked off, muttering something Cale and Akima didn't quite understand.

The duo snickered once Preed was out of earshot range.

"What did you do?" Akima wondered, looking at her dog.

During her lunch break, Akima had taken Shadow outside, allowing her to walk and play around in the grass. It was a sunny day, with clear blue skies and birds singing in the background.

"So, what's going on?" Cale asked as he walked up and sat down next to Akima under an oak tree.

"Eh, nothing much just taking a break, you?" she answered.

"Same here," said Cale.

The young blond glanced over at Shadow who was running through a patch of lilacs, chasing a black tiger swallowtail butterfly.

"Shadow seems to be having a good time."

"Ohh, she is." Said Akima.

The young sheepdog/hound mix in question ran up to the two humans holding a stick in her jaws.

She let out a muffled bark as she looked at Akima.

"She wants you to throw it for her." Said Cale.

"All right," Akima sighed, she took the stick from Shadow and threw it. Seconds later, the four-month old pup took off running after it. In the process she nearly bumped into Preed.

"Watch it!"

"What are you two doing?" he asked, taking a seat on a patch of grass.

"Playing fetch," Akima replied, she took the stick from Shadow who had come back and threw it again. The female pup barked happily as she chased after the wooden strip.

"You guys haven't forgotten about Friday, have you?" Akima asked.

Preed frowned at this.

"Friday?"

Cale took a sip from his can of Dr. Pepper before he spoke.

"What about it?" Cale asked, obviously confused.

"The fund-raiser for Nelson's school, I thought you knew." Said Akima.

"Oh, that… what exactly are we doing again?" Cale replied.

"Oy…" Akima groaned.

"The carnival."

"Ohh!" was Cale and Preed's reply.

"Well, you two have fun." Preed was about to leave when he felt a hand grab his left ankle.

"Uh, Preed… Korso expects all of us to help out…so that means you too." Akima explained.

Preed groaned, unlike others of his kind, he did like being around humans and considered them friends but this was too much.

"Ok great," he muttered.

The male Akrennian's ears perked up at hearing something approaching.

"Do you hear something?"

No sooner did he finish his sentence; two voices rang out.

"There he is!" a girl shouted.

"Get him!" a boy exclaimed.

Preed yelled as he was knocked flat to the ground by a small group of 4th grade students.

"Oh no! get them off me! I can't take it!"

Cale and Akima both sat there laughing at the sight. They had met Ashley and Nelson when they first arrived in New Bangkok, becoming fast friends in the process.

Preed groaned and collapsed on the grass, his long pink tongue sticking out of his mouth. Ashley, who had been watching Nelson and his friends, looked at Preed for a minute.

"Preed, you're not dead."

Suddenly, a pair of bronze colored eyes opened.

"No!" said Preed as he lifted his head up, startling the kids.

He laughed when he heard them scream and back away.

"Ok, that's enough…c'mon let the adults talk." Said Ashley.

The kids got the message and after a short goodbye left Akima, Cale and Preed to finish what was left of their lunch break.

"It's a shame you don't like kids." Akima said after a moment.

"Are you kidding me?" Preed asked as he sat up and brushed a few blades of grass off his shirt.

Akima couldn't help but laugh, the look on the Akrennian's face was priceless.

"Break's over, guys." She told Cale and Preed.

Grabbing a small brown paper bag, Akima got up and left, with Shadow trotting alongside her, trying to keep up.

That Friday, it had been a week since Akima had found Shadow and it was also the day of the fund-raiser. Being a Drifter colony, New Bangkok had limited resources and access to the latest electronics was one of them. The goal of the fund-raiser was to raise enough money to allow the school where Nelson attended to purchase new computers. Everyone got up early that morning to help set up before the big event started in the afternoon.

"Ok, looks like the carnival is good to go, but we still have some job openings." Akima explained as she looked at a sheet of paper on the clipboard she was holding.

"Like?" Preed asked, before taking a sip of his coffee.

"What?" Cale finished.

"Taco stand?" Akima asked.

"No!" Cale and Preed answered in unison.

"Sorry, last time I tried to cook it caused a grease fire." Cale confessed.

"And nearly burned out your hair." Gune added.

Akima then decided to move on to the next available job.

"Ok, petting zoo handler."

"I'm afraid of sheep." Preed admitted.

"I'll do it," Cale offered.

Stith raised an eyebrow at Preed, she knew a few things about her co-worker but this wasn't one of them.

"Afraid of sheep?"

Preed looked at her nervously, his ears slightly lowered from embarrassment.

"Long story, I spent the weekend at my cousin's farm when I was six." He explained.

"Well, it looks like there's only one job left." Akima concluded.

"Which one is that?" Preed asked.

Cale and Akima looked at the clipboard then at Preed, both of them smiling.

That afternoon…

Sure enough, Preed learned what job had been left open and soon had regrets about taking it. Akima was helping to manage the booth, Preed had volunteered to help with and it was…

"C'mon people, dunk the Akrennian…buck a ball, give it a try."

"Wanna try? The money's for a good cause." She said, as a few people walked by.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"Akima, we're never going to raise enough money to show up these people." Said Preed, who was sitting on a bench above what resembled a large fish tank.

"Maybe it's because no one knows you, they usually get to dunk someone they don't like…the principal or the math teacher." Akima explained.

"Well, it's hard for me to be unlikeable, but I'll give it a shot." Preed sighed.

As much as he couldn't stand sitting on a small bench wearing nothing but a blue and white Hawaiian print t-shirt, brown shorts and some swimming goggles, the Akrennian knew this moment wouldn't last. He looked around at the humans, many of them various ages and nationalities. It didn't take long for Preed to spot Cale. Getting an idea, he spoke up trying to get the blonde's attention.

"Yo! Brad Pitt…how about spending that trust fund money on something other than hair gel? Buy a ball."

"C'mon Cale, dunk him." Said Stith who was taking a short break from helping Gune manage the ring toss booth.

"Yeah, Cale take a shot maybe it'll get things started, huh?" Akima suggested.

"That's ok, I don't think that would be a good idea." Said Cale.

"Good idea? That's first." Preed joked.

Cale narrowed his eyes at that, if there was one thing he couldn't stand was when a joke was directed at him.

"All right," he said before pulling out a five-dollar bill from his pocket and putting it on the table.

"I'll play."

"Don't break a nail." Said Preed.

Cale picked up a baseball and threw it at the target next to the tank. The ball went off to the side and completely missed.

"Way to go!" Preed shouted, sounding rather sarcastic.

Cale then threw another ball but missed a second time.

"You wanna try again?" Akima asked.

"No, it's ok I better get back to the petting zoo." Said Cale.

"Yes, get back to that petting zoo; I'd rather talk to chickens than Stith too." Preed joked.

Stith turned around at the comment, Preed had cracked plenty of jokes before but this one took the cake.

"Give me a ball," she said.

"Oh, now I'm scared," Preed replied sarcastically as Akima handed Stith one of Cale's remaining baseballs.

"Whoa!" Preed yelped as he ducked, barely missing getting hit by the ball Stith had thrown. Seconds later, he dodged another one.

"As long as you're throwing, I'll be as dry as Akima's elbow skin." Said Preed.

"Hey!" Akima exclaimed, turning around at Preed's comment.

The brown and beige Akrennian grinned when he got her attention, maybe this job wouldn't so bad after all.

"That's right, Akima; I'm over here…buy a ball."

Having seen enough, Cale decided to leave.

"Hey, where are you going? They'll be serving corn dogs all day. Come 'on, take another shot." Said Preed.

Cale turned around.

"Oh yeah? Well maybe if the target was bigger, like your head!"

And with that Cale walked off.

"You know what? You just get ready to swim." Said Stith.

She grabbed another baseball and threw it, this time however she didn't miss. Seconds later, the bench collapsed and Preed fell into the tank with a loud splash. Several bystanders laughed and clapped at the sight. After managing to get out of the water, Preed shook himself and sat back down on the bench. Despite living in a location where there was little to no water, Akrennians were surprisingly decent swimmers.

"All right, well… you did it once, but consistency's not your strong suit." said Preed.

At hearing that, Stith had enough, she then placed what looked like a credit card on the table.

"I'd like a hundred balls, please."

No sooner did Stith finish her sentence, Preed froze.

"Oh brother," he said nervously, knowing what was coming next.

Picking up a baseball, Stith threw it and Preed was back in the water within seconds. The sound of laughter could be heard from people who had stopped to watch. Akima couldn't help but smile, from the looks of it this was going to be a fun afternoon.

"It's gonna be a long day." She said to herself.

Yep…a long day and the adventure was just beginning…

MORE TO COME…


And that's chapter one. This was mostly an introduction; the story gets more interesting in later chapters. A few of the lines and references in this chapter are from the following: An American Tail: Fievel goes West, Pound Puppies 2010 season 1 episode: The Great Yipper Caper, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode: Mama's baby, Carlton maybe, Last Man Standing, Party Wagon, Full House, Dinosaur and the George Lopez episode: 'Angie gets Tanked'. If anyone asks, Ashley and Nelson are the two kids Cale met in New Bangkok. Looking at both of them, they're obviously of Brazillian and African American descent. Just a history lesson, many people from Brazil have Portuguese and African ancestry due to the fact the Portuguese colonized much of South America and brought slaves from Africa with them. For those who don't know Tia Mowry is one of the stars from the 90s sitcom Sister, Sister. Tylen Jacob Williams is the younger brother of Everybody hates Chris actor, Tyler James Williams. Tia and Tylen play mother and son on the Nick at Nite sitcom, Instant Mom. Imani Hakim is known for her roles as Tonya on Everybody hates Chris and the biography film, The Gabby Douglas story. If anyone asks, this isn't the only time Cricket the Savannah cat will be in the story…she'll be back!

Part two is currently being written and will be posted in a week or so.

Aside from that, stay tuned!

Reviews are appreciated, Ciao for now.

If anyone has any questions about this story, feel free to ask.


Would greatly appreciate some feedback.

Thanks for reading!

If anyone is unfamiliar with Titan A.E.

Let me know...I don't mind explaining a few things or answering questions.


How's everyone liking this story so far?

Wow, 120 views!

Didn't expect that.


Thanks for reading!

I'm wrapping up chapter 2 right now.

Hey folks! And…here’s chapter two... Just a note, couldn’t find much background info since the library near me doesn’t have the Titan A.E. prequel novels and from what I’ve read a lot of the fan websites are no longer online. When using references and materials I usually try to mention the original source. In this case, got some ideas from doing research on Ethiopians and other nationalities from Africa as well as Flying foxes, a member of the Megabat family and Black Rhinos. Want to know how this ties in with the story?...read on. Keep in mind this chapter might be longer than the last, expect a few surprises here and there.
Characters introduced:

Zeta the Brittany Spaniel-Reba McEntire
Jazz Sheffield-Susie Essman
Nyack Devaki-Ice Cube
Takoda ‘Jumper’ Kambo-Cedric the Entertainer
Sona Kambo-Sheryl Lee Ralph
Carmine Donnan-Levar Burton
Nova Donnan-Tasha Smith
Tulio Rolden-George Lopez

And now… back to the story.



Chapter 2: Second Best in Show

It was just after six ‘o clock when the carnival closed. The rides were shut down, the animals at the petting zoo were returned to the farm. After the crowds had gone home, the place was empty; save for Cale and several others who stayed to clean up. It took two hours to pack up and dismantle the booths and other equipment, by the time the sun had gone down, everyone was exhausted. Akima was sitting in the break room with a calculator, notepad and pencil. She typed in a few numbers and added them up.

“Great news, the school raised enough money for some new computers.” She announced.

“Well, we did have a lot of people contribute.” said Cale.

He, Akima and the rest of the crew had gathered in the break room, after all the hard work they had done, the only thing anyone wanted to do was rest.

“Actually, it was the dunk tank that did it. Made more money than any other booth.” Akima explained.

“I wonder why,” said Cale as he looked over at a certain Akrennian co-worker.

“Don’t remind me,” was Preed’s reply.

“Look at the bright side, Preed…at least you got a bath out of it.” Stith joked.

Everyone in the room started laughing, except for Preed who was on the receiving end of the joke. He growled angrily, pressing his ears flat against his head.

“Why you…”

He paused for a moment and let out a loud sneeze.

“You better get dry before you catch a cold.” Akima pointed out.

“Noted,” said Preed before he walked out of the room.

His clothes were still somewhat damp from the dunk tank and all he had was dark gray towel wrapped around him.

“Anyway… the Principal was so happy with how things turned out she wants to volunteer for the bake sale in the Fall. ‘Course we have to manage a booth like we did today, the deposit to reserve one is fifty bucks.” Akima explained.

“That’s not too bad,” said Cale, despite being tired he did enjoy himself at the carnival today, even if most of his afternoon was spent watching the animals at the petting zoo.

“You hear that, Preed? The school wants us to volunteer again.” Korso called out.

“Oh, joy…” the Akrennian replied from outside.

“We have to sign up soon.” Akima told him.

“All right, I’ll make a note on the twelfth…” said Preed.

Akima raised an eyebrow at this. What did he mean by that? After a few seconds the next thing they heard was…

“Of never!”

“Why am I not surprised?” Stith asked.

“Oy…” Akima groaned.




Two weeks later…

Cale led Akima to what looked like a large grassy field with a wooden fence around it. There were several people as well as dogs of various breeds running and playing.

“So this is the dog park you were telling me about?” Akima asked.

“Yep.” Cale answered.

“I thought we could bring Shadow here…there’s plenty of dogs.”

“You’re right,” Akima agreed.

She removed Shadow’s leash and opened the gate, within seconds, the Border collie mix took off running. Shadow quickly reduced her sprint to a mild trot, she looked around noticing several dogs playing together. Over in a corner by the fence was a liver brown and white Brittany spaniel. Hoping to make a new friend, Shadow went over to the other dog, her tail wagging rapidly.

“Hi there!” she barked.

The spaniel looked up, dropping the rawhide bone she was chewing on.

“Well, howdy.” Was her reply with a rather thick southern accent.

“I’m Shadow, who are you?” the pup asked.

The spaniel was definitely full grown. Her fur was mostly snow white with liver patches on her face and back. Around her neck was a deep purple leather collar studded with sky blue Swarovski crystals and a silver star shaped I.D. tag. It was a far cry from Shadow’s plain light teal leather collar and stainless steel heart shaped tag.

The older female dog blinked her golden eyes.

“I’m Zeta, can’t say I’ve ever seen you before.”

“I’m new around here.” Shadow explained.

“So I see.” Zeta replied in a dull tone.

“You wanna play?” Shadow asked.

Zeta tilted her head, obviously surprised.

“Are you kiddin’?” she asked.

Shadow stopped smiling, confused by Zeta’s question.

“No,”

“Good, ‘cause you’re not funny.” said Zeta.

Shadow sat there in shock, never in her life had she met a dog that had such an attitude. She snapped out of her thought when she heard the voice of a thirty something year old woman who had spotted her from the fence.

“Who let that mutt in here?”

Akima approached her, not looking happy.

“That mutt, happens to be my dog.” She said.

The woman had semi-long dark hair with blond streaks in her bangs. Like Akima she had a slim build but was definitely older and had a New Yorker accent. The woman also wore a purple shirt with quarter length sleeves, dark jeans and dark blue all-star sneakers.

She glanced at Shadow then Akima.

“Why am I not surprised? Is she something you picked up from Tau 14?”

“What’s it to you?” Akima asked, folding her arms in front of her chest.

“For your information, the name is Jazz Sheffield and that over there is Zeta; one of the top show dogs this side of the Milky way.” The woman replied.

“Is that right?” Akima replied.

“It sure is, our dogs are so different I find it hard to believe they’re the same species.” said Jazz.

Akima’s eyes widened.

“Say what?!”

Just then, Cale got between the two women, having overheard the commotion.

“Whoa! Hold it, what’s going on here?”

“I was just telling your friend here about that sorry excuse you call a dog.” Jazz explained.

“You got a lot of nerve…Ms...” Cale was cut off.

“Jazz…” was the other woman’s reply.

“Where are you from?” Cale asked.

“Queens, New York…not that it would mean anything to you.” Jazz replied.

“Uh-huh…so, Jazz, let me ask you something…if that spaniel of yours is so high maintenance, why is she even out here? Her fur can get dirty from running around, you know.” Akima pointed out.

Jazz made a serious face before brushing back a few strands of hair on her forehead.

“I let her outside from time to time, if she gains any extra weight, it reduces her value. Got to have my award winning spaniel looking her best for next month.”

“Why? What’s next month?” Cale asked.

“The New Bangkok Dog Run…it’s a competition to test your dog’s skills in agility, retrieving… that sort of thing.” Jazz explained.

“And you just happen to have Zeta signed up for it.” Akima concluded.

“Absolutely, just last week I had to install a new shelf in my apartment to hold her latest blue ribbon.” said Jazz.

Akima glanced at Shadow who was chasing a pigeon.

“Shadow would probably win a ribbon too, I just haven’t entered her in any contests yet.”
Jazz raised an eyebrow.

“That dog?” she said, looking over at Shadow.

She scoffed.

“You really think she could amount to something?”

“If I work with her, yes.” Akima insisted.

“Is that a challenge?” Jazz asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

“I believe it is.” Akima answered, her tone was serious and caught Jazz off-guard.

“Well…then, may the best dog win.” Jazz replied.

Zeta smiled at Shadow, having heard the conversation between her owner and Akima.

“Looks like your human signed you up for next month’s competition.”

“I guess so…” Shadow sighed.

“Ya think you got what it takes?” Zeta asked.

“Yeah, if I work hard.” Shadow answered.

“No offense, kid but you got as much of a chance at winning this thing as a snow day in Bakersfield.” said Zeta.

Shadow clenched her teeth, the fur on the back of her neck stood on end. If there was one thing she disliked, it was when someone underestimated her

“You think so?” Shadow asked.

“I know so! They don’t call me an eight-time winner for nothing.” said Zeta.

“Whatever you say,” Shadow replied, rolling her eyes.

Both dogs looked up at hearing their humans calling them.

“See ya next month.” Zeta told her.

“Same to you,” Shadow barked before they both went their separate ways.

Later that day…

“You did what?! Entered Shadow in a dog show?” Korso exclaimed.

“Yes, now I have to make sure she’s ready by next month.” Akima replied.

The two of them along with Cale were in the break room, Shadow was resting at Akima’s feet, tired from her day at the park.

“And you did this, why?” Korso asked.

“There was this woman named Jazz Sheffield and her spaniel, Zeta. She’s really…” Akima stopped short.

“Stuck up.” Cale finished.

“Did you say Jazz Sheffield?” Korso asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know her?” Akima replied.

“Know her? I met her once…it was on a subway of all places…she took over her father’s company, Sheffield Publishing when he retired, dog shows are something she does on the side.” Korso explained.

“Well, she’s definitely a pro, if we’re gonna beat her we’ve got to get up to speed on how this thing works.” said Cale.

“I agree, apart from what I had seen on TV when I was a kid I don’t know a thing about dog shows.” Akima confessed.

“Then we better hit the books.” Cale concluded.

Akima nodded, she got up and followed Cale out the door. Hitting the books, meant going to the library; which was five blocks away in what was considered ‘downtown’ in New Bangkok.

Though preparing for the dog show was only just one of the problems they would have to deal with. The next day was a different story. Although it was spring, the temperatures after dark were still cooler. It was cold enough that a freeze warning was issued the night before. Sure enough, by morning patches of frost and ice covered the ground, roofs of buildings and other areas outdoors. Ashley and Nelson were among those who had seen a shuttle fly overhead less than fifteen minutes ago.

“Who do you think it belongs to?” Nelson asked, looking at the shuttle parked near the docks.

Ashley shrugged her shoulders.

“Beats me,”

The two of them soon had their answer when the owner of the shuttle stepped out. Ashley and Nelson stood there with their mouths hanging open at what the saw. It didn’t take long for them to put two and two together. A tall and slim body, upright ears and a face that resembled a Black Rhino. The shuttle owner was an Akrennian! However, his coloring was copper brown with dark chocolate markings on his arms, hands and the tips of his ears. He also had hazel colored eyes. His outfit which consisted of an ocean blue jacket, dark gray pants and enclosed shoes, which made it obvious he was dressed for the cold. After snapping out their initial shock, Ashley and Nelson left before the Akrennian spotted them. Sometime later, Akima, Cale, Preed and Stith were walking along a path through what looked like a small woodland area.

“Can you believe Mr. Horner paid us fifty bucks each to clear out his drive way?” said Akima.

“And to think we were just passing by around the time that…” Cale was suddenly cut off.

“Hey look!” Stith called out.

Cale, Akima and Preed all looked in the direction where Stith was pointing. Up at the top of a nearby hill was a small group of Akrennians.

“Are those…?” Cale started to say.

“Oh yeah,” said Akima.

The group was made up of one adult male and two females, there were also a couple of younger ones that looked like they were not only brother and sister but seemed to be around the same age as a human teenager. All of them were copper brown in color but had either dark chocolate or light tan markings. The adult male who was obviously the leader of the group looked at Akima, Cale and the others. He then lifted his head and let out a call that sounded like a mix between a Black Bear and an African elephant. What surprised Akima, Cale and Stith was Preed’s reaction, he simply lowered his ears, looking uncertain. Despite making eye contact with the group, he didn’t reply. Though his kind did speak both their own language as well as others, vocalizations were another way they communicated. The copper brown male looked at Preed and the others then glanced at the two adult females. The five of them then continued on their way; one of the females turned around looking at Akima and Cale for a few seconds before going to catch up with her group. Once the Akrennians were gone, Cale, Akima and Stith watched as Preed walked away, his ears still drooping.

The trio gave each other odd looks and were confused by the whole thing. Stith scratched her head, unsure what to make of it.

“O…k.” was all she could say.

“What was that all about?” Cale wondered.

“I have no idea…but I think we’re about to find out.” said Akima.

And with that, the three of them kept on walking, whatever was going on, they would learn more about it soon enough.

Later…

“Back so soon?” Gune asked.

“Yep, found that salt and the defrost tools Korso wanted.” Cale replied as he removed his jacket and hung it on a hook by the door.

“But someone failed to tell us the hardware store was eight blocks away!” said Stith.

“I said I was sorry,” Cale apologized as he set down the bag of salt and tools.

“Sure thing, Mr. I-have-a- GPS app for that.” Stith growled.

“How did you end up walking eight blocks?” Korso asked, looking up from his iPad.

“The GPS app on Cale’s smart watch gave out the wrong directions, said the hardware store was three blocks away but when we got there we found out the store had moved five blocks over from where we were.” Akima explained.

“I thought we’d never see this place again.” Stith admitted, taking a seat.

“Will you give it a rest already?” Cale asked.

Stith simply shook her head and said nothing.

“Preed, you’re awfully quiet. What’s up?” Korso asked.

“N-nothing, I’ll see you all later.” Preed answered nervously before quickly walking out of the break room.

“What’s the matter with him?” Gune asked, once Preed was gone.

“Don’t know, he’s been acting pretty odd since those Akrennians showed up.” Akima answered.

Korso nearly dropped his iPad at hearing this.

“Did you say…Akrennians?”

“Yeah, there were five of them…” said Akima.

“But the weird part is they acted like they knew Preed.” Cale added.

“Well, did he say anything to them?” Korso continued.

“Nope, all he did was look at ‘em and hasn’t said anything to us since then.” Stith explained.

“That is strange…but then again, ever since Preed started working here; he’s hardly said a thing about his life back home.” Korso admitted.

“I don’t get it, how do you work for somebody for three years and not mention anything about yourself?” Cale wondered.

Korso shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t know, I give everyone two weeks of vacation a year, Stith and Gune usually spend it visiting family and friends but Preed has never left.”

“Never?” Cale asked.

Gune and Korso shook their heads.

“I’ll be right back.” said Cale who left the room.

A short walk and going down one flight of stairs later, Cale reached a dorm room on the far end of the hallway. The door was shut and although he could pick the lock, he decided to try the one thing he had never done before…knock.

“Preed, are you in there?”

“No!” was the reply he got back from behind the door.

“And I thought the guys back at Tau 14 were dumber than a bucket of rocks.” Cale said to himself.

He snapped out of his thought and decided to try again.

“It’s me, Cale.”

“Go away!” said Preed.

“Why?” Cale asked.

“It’s none of your business.” Preed answered.

“Can you at least open the door and tell me to my face?” Cale continued.

There was a short pause before he heard the lock being taken off followed by the doorknob turning.

“What do you want?” Preed asked, looking rather annoyed.

“It’s about earlier…you’ve hardly said a word since we got back and…” Cale was cut off.

“And I’m still not talking!” Preed insisted.

“How come? Do you know those Akrennians or something?” Cale asked.

Preed lowered his head and sighed.

“All right, I’ll tell you…but only because you insist.”

“’Kay,” said Cale.


Moments later, back in the Breakroom…

“Something you want to tell us?” Korso asked.

“Ok, you caught me…I’ll talk,” Preed answered.

He sat down next to Gune, feeling nervous.

“It’s about those other Akrennians, isn’t it?” Preed asked, even though he already knew what the subject of the conversation was.

“Uh, yeah…” said Cale.

“Who were they?” Stith asked.

“Some relatives of yours?” Akima said, chiming in.

“No, not at all and in case you’re wondering, yes I do know them. That was Carmine and his family…they’re part of my clan back on Akrennia.” Preed answered.

“Really? How come you didn’t mention it before?” Akima asked.

“Yes, why?” Gune piped up.

“Because it’s…it’s a long story.” Preed replied.

After what felt like ten minutes, Korso broke the silence.

“Listen, we’ve got a lot to do today so we’ll continue this later.”

“When?” Preed asked.

Korso and the others exchanged glances for a moment.

“Camp out,” they replied.

That night…8:00pm-Pacific time.

“Hey y’all, sorry we’re late…our Mom made us put on our jackets then she made us do the dishes.” Ashley explained.

Cale couldn’t help but snicker.

“Your poor Mom made you do the big bad dishes?” he joked.

“Knock it off, Cale.” said Akima.

The group had heard a report earlier that week about an asteroid that would be passing by. It was clear and cool night, making it ideal for sky watching. In the background, just a short distance away, lights from the colony housing structures could be seen. Making use of what materials and blueprints were available, the residents and construction crew got creative. Most of the houses resembled modern homes from an early 21st century suburb. The houses had a square or rectangular shape. Some had large windows around the front, others were smaller. The front and sides of some houses were either covered with wooden panels, brick or stone. The common paint colors used on the exterior were either, white, slate gray, taupe brown or sage green; though it often depended on how the homeowners wanted to customize their place. For the most part, anyone else watching the asteroid had gone to the observatory set up in the outskirts of New Bangkok.

Gune had dug his telescope out of the storage room and was putting the final touches on setting it up. Though even with Stith’s help, the two were running into some technical difficulties with one of the legs on the tripod. The group had set up camp in an open field not far from the dog park. Shadow kept herself busy with chasing fireflies. Akima couldn’t help but smile at the young dog’s fascination with the glowing insects.
She looked away for a moment when she spotted Gune and Stith.

“You finally got the telescope set up?”

“Yes,” Gune replied as he sat down between Stith and Cale.

“Nothing a little duc-tape can’t fix.” said Stith.

“Just checked the latest update online, asteroid isn’t set to pass by the atmosphere for another hour.” Korso announced, as he sat down.

“So…what do we do now?” Nelson asked.

Before anyone could say anything, they heard the sound of footsteps.

“All right, I got some extra firewood don’t know why you asked me to…” Preed trailed off when he saw Ashley and Nelson. He blinked his eyes twice before he spoke.

“What are these two doing here?”

“We invited them to watch the asteroid flyby. Why?” Akima replied.

“You didn’t say anything about this earlier.” Preed pointed out.

“Oh, it must’ve slipped my mind.” said Akima.

Preed flared his nostrils, not buying his co-worker’s act of trying to seem innocent. Setting aside the wood he gathered, the brown and beige Akrennian sat on the far end of the circle that had formed around the campfire. Shadow, who got tired from running, flopped down beside Akima, taking in the heat the fire gave off. Aside from the sound of crickets chirping and wood crackling from the flames, it was quiet.

Just then, Ashley broke the silence.

“So… any good stories?”

“Well…did I tell you guys about the time I got stuck in a tree when I was fiv…?” Cale was cut off.

“Yes!” was the reply he got back from the rest of the group.

“So, you know already know that story.” He concluded.

It was clear as day, nobody wanted to hear a repeat of that particular tale.

“Anybody else have any bright ideas?” Stith asked, looking at the others and hoping someone else had an interesting story to tell.

Although he was reluctant to say anything, Preed decided to get the whole thing off his chest.

“I have one.”

He glanced at the others sheepishly.

“I…was hoping I wouldn’t have to say this, but I guess now is a time as good as any.”

“O…k. so, those other Akrennians we saw today…you said you knew them?” Akima asked.

“Yes, that was Carmine, his oldest daughter Nova is around my age. I haven’t seen her or anyone from my clan in…” Preed paused for a moment to count.

“Three years, eight months and two… no, five weeks.” He finished.

“That long, huh?” Korso asked.

Preed nodded.

Cale raised an eyebrow at this.

“But…why?”

“It’s not an easy thing for me to talk about, I left home three years ago… it was after one of the worst days of my life.” Preed answered.

“Really? You, had a bad day?” Stith asked, sounding sarcastic.

Preed let out a low warning growl.

“Hey! That’s enough!” Korso shouted.

Both the Akrennian and Mantrin got the message and snapping out of their staring contest.

“Anyway…” Preed sighed.



Flashback begins…

“It all started on the day a new alpha would take over the clan. After fifty years, our old leader Runako retired. Without offspring, there was an opportunity for any male in the clan over the age of 20 to become the next alpha. Most of the males in my clan took it seriously and decided to give it a try.”

A large group of Akrennians, males and females of various ages gathered to hear the announcement.

“Ok, people the rules are simple…last one standing will be the new alpha male of the Southwest Clan. Now let’s do this thing!” said Tulio, a dark gray and white Akrennian with copper brown eyes.

The region where the Southwest clan resided was similar to that of the Serengeti in Tanzania. Large grasslands with several trees were scattered throughout the landscape. In the background, a mountain resembling Kilimanjaro could be seen in the distance. Outcroppings of granite could be found in various spots, which was the end result of volcanic activity from prehistoric times. Though the region wasn’t entirely open plains, in the Northwest were woodlands and the Eastern borderline crossed over into a forest. During this time, it was the middle of spring which was also the rain season. After the more recent thunderstorm had passed, the grasslands were covered with lavender, fuchsia, yellow and white wildflowers. It was a bright sunny day with the exception of a few scattered cumulus clouds.

Had humans been observing the Southwest Clan, they would’ve noticed they had similarities in their society to that of a wolf pack. There was an alpha male and female and the rest of the clan consisted of other males and females, young and old. Though their clothing and shack-like housing structures resembled those found in some parts of Africa and the rural areas of Ethiopia.

Tulio stood next to another male Akrennian, who was a slightly lighter shade of gray with markings that were almost sterling silver in color. He also had a bit of a muscular build and a dark blue stripe, also called a blaze that went from the bridge of his snout to his horn. The blaze on Tulio’s snout was a muddy brown.

“You sure about this, Takoda? I mean look at Nyack, the guy sent the Cairo brothers running.”

Takoda turned his pastel green eyes towards Tulio.

“Tulio, I got this...besides you know how Nyack is…he’s not cut out to be the next alpha.”

“Pfft…you’re tellin’ me…just because his great-grandfather and his granddad were alphas once doesn’t mean he’s suited for the job.” Tulio agreed.

“Have you tried tellin’ him that?” Takoda asked.

“What, are you nuts?” Tulio replied, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s what I thought.” said Takoda before he stepped forward.

Standing across from him was Nyack, a dark brown Akrennian with light grey markings on his arms, snout and feet. The blaze on Nyack’s snout was black. His golden eyes stared at Takoda.

“Well, look who decided to show up.” said Nyack.

“Lookie here, Nyack…I got just as much of a chance as being the next Southwest alpha as you do.” Takoda told him.

Nyack’s ears twitched.

“Is that right?” he asked.

“I’m just sayin’.” Takoda answered.

“All right… enough talk,” Nyack said before cracking his knuckles.

“Guess now you’ll find out why my nickname is Jumper.” Takoda replied as he and Nyack circled each other.

“Why is that?” Nyack asked before he charged at the other Akrennian who as his nickname implied, jumped out of the way.

The next thing Nyack knew he had a head on collision with a tree trunk. He quickly stood up, shaking himself, his black dashiki and matching pants were now covered with blades of grass and dust. Takoda’s dark green and white checkered shirt and dark pants didn’t have a spot on them.

“What the…? How did you…?” Nyack sputtered.

“I tried to tell ya.” Takoda said with a smile.

“Well, I can promise you that it won’t happen again.” Nyack insisted.

He tried charging at Takoda a second time, only to find himself back on the ground with a mouthful of grass.

“It just did.” was Takoda’s response.

“All right, that’s it!” Nyack growled before he stood up once more, spitting out the remaining grass.

For the next few minutes Takoda continued to dodge Nyack, the two males locked horns once in a while; much like rhinos. The only sounds heard were snorts, yelps and growls. Finally, Takoda collapsed. He laid there on the ground panting heavily with his long pink tongue hanging out.

“Jumper, get up!” shouted a sandy colored female Akrennian.

“You can do it.” said another female who was brown and white.

Takoda slowly stood up, he limped slightly as he walked. His clothes were dusty and ripped up.

“Sorry, ladies…but it looks like the winner and new alpha of the Southwest clan is…” Tulio was cut off when a voice rang out.

“Wait!”

A brown and beige Akrennian in an olive green shirt and khaki brown pants came running up. He nearly tripped over a rock before stopping to pant.

“S-sorry, I’m late.” He apologized.

Nyack frowned at the other male.

“Tulio, who is this?” he asked.

“My name is Preedex Yoa,” the other Akrennian replied.

“Is he part of this clan?” Nyack asked.

Tulio shrugged his shoulders.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Despite being in a clan, not everyone knew each other. Nyack had never seen or met Preed and apparently Tulio hadn’t either.

“If you say so.” Nyack sighed.

Preed gulped as he looked at the other Akrennian. Nyack had been a track star during his high school years and had the appearance of an athlete. His horn was also somewhat longer than Preed’s. Before he could react, Preed was on the ground, it wasn’t long before he got to his feet but quickly learned just how strong Nyack really was. Less than fifteen minutes later, Preed was knocked to his left side once again. He laid there, his shirt covered in dust and torn in several places. He also had a few bruises and cuts on his arms. His horn was also broken. The next thing he heard was:

“The winner and new alpha of the Southwest clan is…Nyack Devaki!”

After managing to get up, Preed lowered his head as he limped away without a word. He sat quietly on a rock outcropping watching Nyack talking with some of the younger male Akrennians in the clan. A few females approached him, some of them asking questions.

A copper brown blue eyed Akrennian, Carmine sat down next to Preed cleaning his cuts using a first aid kit.

“Kwamba guy ni jerk kubwa nimekuwa milele kuonekana katika maisha yangu.” said Carmine.

Translation: “That guy is the biggest jerk I've ever seen in my life.”

“Mimi bado siamini yeye ni newest alpha.” His daughter, Nova confessed.

Translation: “I still can’t believe he’s the newest alpha.”

She and Carmine were both speaking in their native language, which sounded similar to Swahili.

“Uh, I’m sitting right here.” said Preed.

“Yes, yes we know…you’re done.” Carmine told him.

“Thanks a lot.” Preed replied, he now had bandage tape covering his upper right and left arms as well as some over the spot where his horn used to be. The male Akrennian flinched as he stood up, it was obvious he had been hurt badly. As Preed walked away, Carmine shook his head.

“Ay…what a day.” He sighed.

Sometime later…

As he made his way through a tall patch of grass, Preed watched from a distance as some members of his clan were talking about what happened earlier.

“Headin’ home?” a voice asked him.

Preed’s ears perked up, he then turned around and saw Takoda standing there.

“Yes, I was just on my way back…why, aren’t you going to join everyone else?”

“Nah, man…ain’t no way I’m goin’ to sit there and listen to Nyack flapping his gums.” said Takoda.

“Me neither, brother.” said another voice, this one however, sounded feminine.

Walking up from the tall grass was Sona, Takoda’s twin sister. Like her brother she was rhino gray with sterling silver like markings on her arms, snout and feet. Though Akrennians often wore open-toe sandals, many preferred going barefoot. In Sona’s case, she mostly walked around without sandals. Like all Akrennians, her feet were narrow and resembled paws with four long toes plus a shorter one. The shorter one which was considered the big toe looked much like a dew-claw in addition to claw like nails on the end of the other four. Pads on the soles of her feet allowed Sona to walk and run over various services without causing major damage. Her claw-like nails also helped her to climb trees but needed to be trimmed or filed down once in a while. Although Sona had the same gray color, dark blue blaze and sterling silver markings as her brother, there were some differences. Under both of her eyes was a row of freckles. While Takoda had pastel green eyes, Sona’s were dark green with flecks of gold mixed in. She also had a slim frame and dark gray ears. Unlike Preed and Nyack who had a single horn on their snouts, Sona, Tulio, Nova, Carmine and Takoda had a second smaller horn that sat behind the first, much like the rhinos from Africa. The only Akrennian subspecies with two horns were those from the Northern and Western regions. Sona’s shirt was emerald green and white with a gingham pattern along with dark brown pants.

“You decided not to stick around?” Takoda asked.

“Pfft…please, Nyack has the biggest mouth I’ve ever heard.” Sona answered.

She paused to shake herself causing her mocha brown freshwater pearl necklace to rattle. Sona, like many Akrennian females often made jewelry using leather, wood or metal. Other materials included pearls, seashells, feathers, beads and precious stones. Sona had one bracelet on her left wrist that matched her necklace and a band on her right made from malachite.

“Anyway…I suppose you two aren’t showing up back here tonight.” Sona concluded.

“What’s tonight?” Takoda asked.

“Uh, the courtship...does that ring any bells?” Sona replied.

“I forgot about that!” Preed confessed.

Twice a year, unrelated male and female Akrennians would try to find a mate. Some pairs would stay and raise their families, others would leave and join a clan from a different region. It wasn’t unusual for a pair to attempt to start a clan of their own. This is what happened with the Southwest clan several years ago. It started out with a female from the Western clan and a male from the South. Almost all Akrennians from the Southwest clan were descendants of that pair as well as subspecies who joined from other regions. The Southwest was only one of eight clans, the others were scattered in different areas. It had been a year or so since Sona, Takoda and Preed had left with a group of other single adults. Three of them plus Nova, Tulio, Nyack and two females were the only ones who came back. The rest of the group had left to join clans that lived on the West coast and up North. Sona had seen the outcome from earlier and wasn’t happy about Nyack being the next leader, either.

“Uh-huh…well, we’ll find out what everyone else thinks of our new alpha.” said Sona.

“Did you see that crowd afterwards? They love that guy,” Takoda replied.

Sona’s lowered her ears slightly.

“Well, not everyone…”

She then noticed Preed’s injuries which were bandaged up but still had blood stains on them.

“You can stop staring.” He told her.

“I wasn’t staring! You’re not the only male who got hurt today.” said Sona.

Preed looked over at Takoda who had a gash on his upper left arm that had been wrapped in bandage tape.

“That’s true.”

Preed lowered his ears, feeling uneasy of what he was about to say.

“Listen, after all that’s happened I…I think it’s time I left.” He admitted.

Takoda and Sona looked at each other then at Preed.

“Leave? As in, leaving the Southwest Clan?” Takoda asked.

Preed shook his head.

“No, Takoda I mean leaving Akrennia entirely.”

Both Sona and Takoda started to say something but Preed spoke first.

“Look, I made up my mind…things just…haven’t worked out, that’s all.”

“Oh,” was all the twin Akrennians could say.

“I already told my parents…they were surprised, but understood my decision to leave.” Preed explained.

“I don’t know what I’ll find out there, but it’s got to be better than this.”

“Come again?” someone asked.

All three sets of ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. It didn’t take long for them to recognize who it was.

“Oh, it’s you Nyack.” said Sona as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“What’s going on here?” Nyack asked.

“Nothing much, we were just talking.” Takoda answered.

“Did I ask you? I was talking to Sona.” Nyack told him, making Takoda back up slightly.

“Hey, you don’t talk to my brother like that.” Sona growled and stepped forward.

“And you show some respect, I’m your new alpha after all.” said Nyack.

“Not until Runako and Kia say so. They’re still the leaders of our clan,” Sona pointed out.

“But after today, I’ll take Runako’s place…in the meantime, I still need to find a mate.” Nyack announced.

“Sure, like any female in the Southwest clan would want to spend the rest of her life with you.” Sona said in a sarcastic tone.

“And why not? I’m strong, brave, handsome…” Nyack was cut off.

“Controlling, dominant with a short temper.” said Sona.

Nyack snorted at Sona’s remark.

“Sure thing,”

“Listen, I’d like to stick around and chat but I should go home and pack.” said Preed
Nyack frowned, the tips of his ears twitched at this.

“Pack? you going on a trip?” he asked.

“That’s nothing for you to know about.” Preed answered, flaring his nostrils.

“I still think you’re a loser.” Nyack admitted.

“Don’t you have anything better to do, Nyack?” Takoda asked, it was clear he didn’t want the other male to hang around much longer.

“All right, I’m going…” said Nyack.

He started to leave but then noticed Takoda was staring him down.

“Am I not moving fast enough?”

“What do you think?” Takoda asked.

Nyack shook his head at the question.

“Never mind,”

And with that, he left.


Flashback ends…

“That was the last time I ever saw Nyack.” said Preed.

There was a moment of silence, the only sound that could be heard was crickets chirping and the wood crackling as the campfire burned.

Stith blinked her copper brown eyes, having just sat through the story.

“So, you’ve been a loser for...ever?” she asked.

“Wha…?” Preed sputtered, then he realized what Stith had said and let out a small growl, narrowing his bronze colored eyes.

“Anyway…I left the next day and I was on my own ever since.”

“So, that’s how you lost part of your ear and got that metal plate on your head?” Ashley asked.

“No, no that was from an accident at my old job as dockworker.” Preed answered.

“But if you lost your horn, how come you got one, now?” Nelson asked.

“It grew back,” Preed answered.

“That wasn’t the first time I had been away from home…truth be told, I failed at most of the jobs in my clan. Sheep herding, fishing…you get the idea. So, my parents sent me to school. After spending so much time around humans it’s a wonder I can understand Akrenni after mostly speaking English for three years. I still remember the day I left for good…”

Stith, Akima and Ashley groaned.

“Not another one,” said Stith, realizing Preed was about to tell another story.

Flashback begins…

(Recommend listening to Carried Away Across the Ocean by David Arkenstone for this part of the story, look for the song on YouTube).

“Last call… shuttle 88 bound for Tau 14, New Marrakech and Vusstra.” Was what was heard over the P.A. system.

The sun rose over the horizion, with the sky switching from blue-black to a golden yellow. As several Akrennians lined up to board the shuttle, Preed looked back in the direction he came. Last night, he packed a few of his belongings: some cloths, a photo album, his laptop and a geode which had dark blue agate around the rim with snow white quartz crystals in the center. For a minute, he thought about going back, maybe could give his ticket to someone else. After a second, Preed shook off the idea; he had already said goodbye to his parents. It took him twenty minutes to reach the docks, even though he took a short cut along the river to avoid being seen by Nyack or anyone else. After purchasing a one-way ticket, he sat on a bench and waited. The docking area was no different than a gate at an airport. The walls were painted a dull shade of white, the carpet was midnight blue and slightly worn from daily foot traffic. Aside from a small café, water fountain and a few other things, the place wasn’t anything to write home about. Grabbing his leaf green backpack, Preed got up from where he sat and went to get in line at the check in desk. Looking back one last time he could see the mountain range in the distance.

“That’s it…this is goodbye.” He said to himself, after his ticket had been stamped, Preed continued on his way. A few hours later the shuttle made its first stop at Tau 14, apart from two adult Akrennian sisters and their younger brother, Preed was the only one whose destination was Tau 14. Before Preed could do anything, he was accidently knocked to the ground by a large figure.

“One side, Akrennian.” said Firrikash as he ran by.

After getting up and brushing the dirt of his shirt, Preed took in his new surroundings.
Tau 14 was located near a large asteroid belt and was packed with people. It was very industrial to say the least. Looking on a bulletin board that hung on the wall of the shuttle station, Preed decided to see what jobs were available. After browsing for fifteen minutes, he was about to give up when he saw an opening for a job at one of the loading docks. It took half an hour for him to locate the employment office which was somewhat crowded with humans and such. Getting an application slip from the front desk, Preed was about to fill it out when he heard a voice.

“Hey, you.”

The Akrennian looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw a light grey humanoid creature standing there.

“Ya lookin’ for work?” he asked.

“Uh…yes, I’m here about the job on the loading docks. Know anything about it?” was Preed’s reply to the question.

“You’re asking the right guy, the name is Chowquin, I’m the one who posted the ad.” He said.

“Oh…well, I’m Preedex Yoa.” The Akrennian answered.

“You’re new to these parts, ain’t ‘cha?” Chowquin asked.

“How’d you know?” Preed asked.

“I can tell, you’re one of those college grad types…look Yoa…lose the fancy talk…around here we don’t use a ton of school words.” Chowquin explained.

“Noted,” said Preed.

Chowquin nodded.

“C’mon, I got some questions to ask you and paperwork to fill out.”

Without needing to be told twice Preed got up and followed Chowquin. As they walked, the two of them struck up a conversation, mostly about the details of the job.

“Here’s the rules, ya clock in at eight, lunch is at noon for one hour…we start shuttin’ down around four-thirty and clock out at five. Got that?” Chowquin explained.

Preed simply nodded as he followed Chowquin up a flight of stairs in what looked like an apartment building.

“Next thing is housing…I got a one-bedroom place nobody’s using, rent is four-hundred a month utilities included. There’s an insurance plan for all employees. Anyway…”

Chowquin stopped short and placed the card-key in the slot before pulling it back out and opening the door.

“This place is fully-furnished, had it cleaned out after the last tenant left.”

He switched on the light, revealing the interior of the apartment. It was just as average as could be. Cream colored paint on the walls, small living room with a couch, flat screen TV and coffee table. The kitchen had a microwave, small stove, a sink and fridge but not much else. There were two doors on one end of the hallway, obviously the bedroom and bathroom. Overall, it wasn’t exactly five star but livable. To Preed, it almost reminded him of the dorm he had back in college.

“The laundry room’s on the second floor and one tip, don’t use the dryer on the far end…the door sticks.” Chowquin warned.

“So, what do you think? I mean it ain’t exactly fancy but hey, you won’t find too many locations that are this close to the job.”

“It’s fine…” said Preed.

“Good, I’ll let ‘cha get settled in…here’s the card-key, lose that and the charge is two-hundred to replace it and if you’re ever locked out, call this number. My neighbor’s a locksmith, he’ll get the door open for ya.” said Chowquin as he placed a blue and silver card-key plus a piece of paper on the kitchen counter.

“Any questions?”

“Just one, what happened to the previous tenant?” Preed asked.

“Moved to a Drifter colony, had family he’s been tryin’ to find for ages.” Chowquin answered.

“See ya, first thing tomorrow.”

And with that, Chowquin closed the door. Once he was gone, Preed went into the bed room and unpacked a few of his belongings, placing his cloths in a chest of drawers and setting his laptop on a small desk in the corner by the window. He looked out at the other surrounding buildings, it fit the profile of a working class neighborhood, resembling something that was a common sight in a certain parts of a metropolitan city such as San Francisco or New York. Most of the buildings further away were either high rises or warehouses of some sort. The sound of a dog barking in the distance could be heard as well as a few crickets.

‘Well, it’s better than nothing,’ thought Preed.

Six months had gone by and Preed had adjusted to life on Tau-14 as well as his job. He quickly learned the ropes and just how hard people worked here, something he knew too well back home. Loading and unloading crates had proved to be a challenge; but it wasn’t so bad. The location of the docks was outside the city limits. Warehouses which made up most of the buildings there, were used for storage. Many of the metallic shipping containers held items ranging from construction equipment and electronics to luxury goods. It wasn’t unusual for a break-in to occur which resulted in a spike in security. Late one afternoon at the docks, several crates were being loaded onto a ship heading for a drifter colony. One of the cables on a forklift, however snapped and the crate came tumbling down.

“Look out!” a female human worker shouted.

The crate containing four large barrels of fuel hit the ground and burst into flame almost instantly.

“Fire!” someone shouted.

Before anyone could react, flames began to spread.

“Everybody run!” yelled female Mantrin.

Firrikash and three human workers, two men and a woman plus the Mantrin who was the shift supervisor that day started to run. They turned around watching as the fire continued to spread out and heard their co-workers cries for help. The large wall of flames and extreme heat blocked them from going back and the others were trapped on the opposite side.

“We better call somebody.” said Firrikash.

Three weeks later…

After the accident down at the loading dock, Preed found himself sitting in Chowquin’s office, although his injuries from the fire had been treated, he had lost most of his left ear and a metal plate now covered the side of his head. Chowquin came into the room and sat at his desk. He sighed as he looked over some paperwork.

“You wanted to see me?” Preed asked.

“Yes, it’s about what happened three weeks ago. A lot of people got hurt that day and…because of it, I’ve had to lay off a few and Preed…that includes you.” Chowquin announced.

“What?!” the Akrennian shouted, nearly falling over.

“I know, I know…believe me, I didn’t like telling this to the eight other folks that got cut.” Said Chowquin.

“Listen, the insurance will cover the medical costs and unemployment is already in place…by the way, here’s your final paycheck.”

Preed looked at the cream colored envelope that had been handed to him and sighed.

“So, that’s it then.” He concluded.

“Eh, don’t sweat it, didn’t you tell me your Pops was a professor?” Chowquin asked.

“He taught at a community college and my mother is a journalist…” Preed answered.

“I got nothin’ more to say,” said Chowquin.

He had said so himself Preed was a college graduate and it wasn’t like anyone with a diploma or GED couldn’t find work elsewhere.

“Looks like I’m out of a job,” Preed sighed.

“So…what ’cha gonna do now?” Chowquin asked.

“Don’t know yet.” Was Preed’s reply as he got up and headed for the door.

“Well, you’re on your own from here on out.” said Chowquin.

Without saying a word, Preed left.

Chowquin pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the paperwork scattered on his desk.

“Ohh, I hate this job…” he muttered.

After packing up and vacating the apartment, Preed headed back to the shuttle station. Where would he go now? was the question that was on his mind. Going back home was the last thing he wanted to do. He sat on a bench trying to figure out what to do next. Preed was in such deep thought he didn’t even notice when a copper colored Akrennian with tan markings and lapis blue eyes approached him.

“Preedex, is that you?” Nova asked.

At hearing his name, he turned around.

“Nova?! What are you doing here?”

He recognized her plum colored shirt and light gray pants anywhere.

“Just stopping for fuel, my Dad’s group is on tour again.” Nova explained as she sat down.

“Oh…so, how have things been back home?” Preed asked.

“Eh…all right I guess, hasn’t been the same since Nyack became the new alpha, his mate Zurina is the only one who manages to keep it together.” Nova explained.

“He found a mate? There’s a shock.” said Preed.

“Tell me about it, but you know, Zurina…she was one of the few females who could put up with him.” Nova continued.

“Yes, that’s true.” Preed said, nodding in agreement.

“What happened to your face?” Nova asked, noticing the metal plate and Preed missing most of his left ear.

“There was an accident at my job, three weeks ago…I got hurt, badly.” The male Akrennian explained as he lowered his head.

“I see…” was all Nova could say.

“Anyway…I was laid off earlier today and…now I have no clue about where to go from here.” Preed confessed.

“Well, just so you know, I’m not trying to talk you into going back to Akrennia.” said Nova.

“Then what do you think I should do?” Preed asked.

Nova shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s all you, but what I do know is if you plan to keep livin’ on your own, you’ve gotta get a job somewhere.”

The sterling silver star on her leather wristband glistened in the day light, making Preed look away for a moment.

“I suppose I’ll start looking.” He sighed.

Nova nodded, her ears perked up at the sound of a vocal cry from Carmine.

“Well, that’s my ride…I gotta go.” She said before getting up.

“Take care of yourself, Nova.” Preed told her.

“Ohh, I will…” Nova said with a laugh, before she walked off.

Preed watched her leave, he sniffled a little…realizing just how much he missed being back home. He stayed there for a while, thinking but snapped out of it when a breeze kicked up and a page from a newspaper hit him in the face. Preed yelped in surprise and pried it off. He noticed the page was from the classified ads. One in particular caught his eye. Which was:

Help wanted
Serious inquires only
Call Korso for details.

Without a second thought, Preed grabbed his backpack and left the station. He ran off to find the nearest video-payphone…wherever it was.

Flashback ends…

“So you made the call and eventually, you met Korso.” Cale concluded.

“That just about sums it up…I’ve been working for him since then.” said Preed.

“You ever thought about going back?” Akima asked.

“Sure, but there’s no way I could ever show my face again. Not after all that’s happened.” Preed answered.

“Ok, subject change…first thing tomorrow I need to start training Shadow for next month’s dog show.” said Akima.

“Can we help?” Ashley and Nelson asked.

“Yeah, if your Mom says it’s ok,” Akima answered with a smile.

“Got to admit, there’s nothing like the great outdoors…sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and…” Cale stopped mid-sentence when he noticed his stick was missing.

“Hey! Where’s my marshmallow?!”

Gune swallowed and looked at him.

“Oops! Sorry.” said Gune.

“Aww, that was the last one!” Cale groaned.

For the rest of the evening the sound of laughter could be heard. One thing was certain, it couldn’t have been nicer ending to a long day…

MORE TO COME…

Well, that’s it. After getting some reviews I tried to fix some of the problem areas in this story. Hope I made some improvements. Anyway…some info about the names for my characters, I used some that were unique and different so here’s the names, origins and their translations/meaning in English:

Nyack-African-Translation: Won’t give up

Tulio-Latin-Translation: Lively

Takoda-Native American-Sioux tribe-Translation: Friend to everyone

Runako-African-Translation: Good-looking

Kia-African-Translation: Hill

Sona-Indian -Translation: Gold

Carmine-Italian-Translation: Song

Nova-Latin-Translation: New

Zurina-Spanish-White

Character last names:

Kambo-African-Translation: Hard-worker

Devaki-Indian-Translation: Black

Rolden-Teutonic-Translation: Famous

Donnan-Irish-Translation: Brown

Quotes and materials from the following: The Parkers, Catdog, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode: ‘Crush’, Massungu Ni Ikou season 2 episode: Jack & Mame’s Day, Pound Puppies episodes: My fair Rebound, Salty, The Really Weird dog, The Great Yipper Capper and Homeward Pound. Kim Possible season 1 episode 2: Sink or Swim, Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco, Lilo & Stitch, The Sandlot and Balto. I like to use quotes and such from my favorite movies and TV series.

If anyone asks where the conversation in ‘Akrenni’ language between Carmine and Nova came from, I got the idea from watching a clip from the movie George of the Jungle. I basically took the dialogue and using Google translate, translated it from English to Swahili.

Because the library near me doesn’t have any of the Titan A.E. prequels and the movie novelization, I couldn’t find much background info on the characters so I used what information I came across in reviews plus some of my own ideas. I spent 2 weeks on this chapter not just writing but also doing research.

When writing original characters, I write them with a certain actor or actress in mind so I have a rough idea of what they would sound like if they were in a movie or TV series. If you’re not familiar with the cast, I’ve listed for the characters introduced here I highly recommend looking them up.

Anyway, chapter 3 is in the works and will probably be up in a couple weeks. After that, updates might slow down because I’ll possibly be going out of town. later this month but I plan to have the 3rd chapter posted before my trip. I’ll still have internet access so I can check my messages and read reviews but it might be limited so I probably won’t reply right away.

Aside from that, stay tuned!

Reviews and suggestions are always appreciated.

Ciao for now!

I've read chapter one. Not bad, although since I know virtually nothing about Titan A.E. a number of things confused me. I'm also kind of puzzled about the cat at the start, since you described her so lengthily and then just ran her right off the set, so to speak.

I'll read chapter 2 at a later date.

Thanks for the feedback, I recommend anyone who hasn't seen this movie look it up before reading the story.

I noticed a few problem areas in the story which I plan to fix.