He tumbled into the bottomless pit. Stepping into a portal was always a wild ride through time and space. His body felt light, as if he had tricked gravity in a free fall. As if all the ballast he had wanted to leave behind had actually left him. It felt liberating. For a brief moment, he wondered how long this fall into nothingness might take. Did it really matter? He might as well fall forever. During his adventures, he had travelled between different worlds before, but this time, the transition seemed unusually long. Time was an illusion. At least, a very old and very wise man had once said those words to him. Suddenly, he felt a strong pull, like he was drawn to the ground with force. He could feel his full body weight again. The empty space around him began to vibrate, light and colours rushing by, and he landed hard on the ground, in a crouch. Feeling dizzy for a moment, he struggled to orient himself. He blinked a few times, trying to focus on the ground before him. His hands had touched down on concrete. A street, perhaps? Something rushed by, very closely, to his left. By the looks of it, he would bet it was a car. Slowly, he began to hear sounds, like someone had turned up the volume on a stereo from the mute position. He heard city sounds, mostly car engines. Someone was sounding their horn. His head snapped up, just in time to see another car approach. It was coming right at him. He wanted to jump out of the way, but his legs were still wobbly from the trip through the portal. The car was driving fast. Too fast. He stood in the middle of the lane, frozen to the spot, and prepared for impact. He cringed and lifted his arms out of a useless defence reflex. The car rushed right through him. He hadn’t felt anything. While he was still trying to process what had just happened, another car approached. He did not want to stay and find out if that trick, whatever it was, would work a second time, so he ran for the sidewalk and looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. What was this place? Everything seemed so different. Anyway, it wasn’t so bad. This was a town, not a desert or swamp or icy mountain top. He stood on the pavement, facing a busy street. The cars were driving on the wrong side of the street. People were passing him by, without taking notice. They did not even seem to see him, making no effort to avoid bumping into him. Suddenly, a man in a brown coat appeared directly before him, walking in the direction he was facing. The man had walked right through him from behind. How was that possible? Was he a ghost? Had he died? An old woman in a thick, green parka walked towards him. He deliberately stepped into her way. Although she looked right at him, she did not slow down, but walked on, as if he wasn’t even there. She, too, passed through him and marched on, none the wiser. How peculiar. He looked at the people around him a little more closely. They seemed… odd somehow. Their faces were strangely pale, a sick colour between light pink and eggshell, and they appeared elongated. Their noses were protruding from their faces at an odd angle, like a fleshy pointer. Their bodies looked rather roundish, with cylindrical arms and legs. Almost all of them were wearing thick coats, woolly hats, gloves and sturdy boots. It must be cold outside, he mused. He could not feel anything at all, no wind, no temperature, no touch. No pain, hunger or thirst, either. Maybe he was a ghost, after all. A city bus passed him by, then stopped a few metres down the street, to let a few passengers exit at the bus stop. Something caught his eye. He squinted. A green ninja suit. No, the picture of a green ninja suit. He hurried towards the image he had seen. It was printed on a backpack, worn by a boy who had just got off the bus. He was accompanied by a girl who was a little taller than him. He stared in disbelief. Lloyd’s face stared back at him. Something was written below his grainy image, but he could not decipher the script. He hurried past the boy to take a look at his face. To his utter surprise, the two children stopped abruptly, jerking back as they faced him. They actually saw him, he realised. He began to shiver. It really was cold outside. “Oh, my gosh, it’s Kai!” the boy exclaimed, gaping at the tall Red Ninja before him. The girl giggled. “Have you escaped from Legoland, mister?” The boy nudged her with his elbow. “Or maybe he’s giving away coupons for the toy store.” He turned to face Kai again. “Hey, I’ll take a coupon, sir! I am saving my pocket money for a new Lego set, anyway. What about it, eh?” The boy looked at him with his huge, blue eyes. Kai frowned. “What’s ‘Lego’?” He did not understand what the two children were talking about. The boy blinked. The girl, probably his big sister, narrowed her eyes at him. “He’s probably just some nut in a costume who escaped from the looney bin. Come on, George, let’s get out of here.” She grabbed the boy by the arm and started dragging him away with her. “No, no, no, no, wait!” Kai was desperate to keep talking to them. The girl glared at him. “Leave us alone! We don’t talk to strangers. Come on, George. Now!” They hurried off. Kai was determined not to let them get away before he would have his answers. He would stay on them and follow them, wherever they might be going. It was not easy to be stealth about it, however. His skin was bright yellow and his red suit was visible from afar. This world did not seem to favour any bright colours whatsoever. The children had noticed him following them, so they broke into a run. Turning around the next corner, he could see them enter an apartment building. He followed them up to the second floor and watched them hurry along the corridor. Kai pressed himself into a door recess and waited. The girl pushed the bell button at apartment number 201 and looked back anxiously over her shoulder. As soon as the door opened, the children slipped inside. Kai sprinted towards the door, catching it just in time before it fell into the lock. He waited for a few seconds, then pushed it back in and silently entered the apartment. Standing in the brightly lit corridor, he tried to decide what to do next. A female voice announced, “You can stay in your room for a bit, lunch will be ready in about ten minutes.” The voice increased in volume with every word. Someone was coming towards him.