~~~~~~~~~Third Person POV~~~~~~~~~

Frightened.

Nervous.

Unsure.

Lara stood beside her machines, hands behind her back, staring at the tall who just finished fixing the room.

He sat back on the throne with a sigh. "Finally back home."

Venom slithered onto his shoulders, Ryan scratching under his chin. "You get five meals today, Venom."

The green snake hissed in delight, then turned to the girl. "And thanks to you too, love."

"You're welcome, father."

He cringed at the word, raising a finger. "Don't ever call me that again. Use my name, surname, or just 'Boss', but never father."

"But.. y-you are my dad, we already have things in common, like being stuck in time..!"

He raised an eyebrow, getting annoyed. "Stuck in time?"

"Y-Yeah.. I've been trying to resurrect you since I was mine.. But when I was twelve, there was a malfunction, and I was trapped in time for ten years.."

"How pathetic."

She looked up at him, her ears flattening back as the man leaned back once more. "But you did succeed so I guess I owe you one. Though I still need you for my plan."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "Plan for what?"

"What do you think?" A smirk spread across his face, his fangs shining from the light. "For revenge, of course~"

"Right, for them killing you."

"I can't be killed. I simply leave my body for a short time."

"Twenty years doesn't seem that shirt of a time.." She muttered to herself, then looked at him again. "How do we start the plan?"

"Bold words, little one." Ryan stood up, walking over to a window as a small black orb swirled around his fingers. "Step one: we send them a subtle message." With a snap of his fingers, the orb zoomed out through the glass window and towards its destination.

The girl with the pink pigtails stared at the action, biting her lip as she got lost in her head.

So many stories surrounded the Riverton family.

The father was arrested, and killed in prison.

The mother disappeared in a very early age, most likely killed.

The oldest child disappeared from existence.

And the youngest one...

Ryan Even Riverton. The murderer. The monster.

A man who took someone's life for the very first time while still a child.

And that was her father, that was the only family she had.

It was her own fault she lost her mother...

But she wasn't gonna lose her father too. Even if he was a horrible person.

Chin up and arms behind her back. "Step two?"

"We wait for their arrival~"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though the first floor was packed with people, the atmosphere around was tense.

Nerve-wracking.

Who could blame them for being in such a mood?

Gabriel stared down at his food, slighting moving it around with his fork. The other kids sat around him on the table, while the adults stayed in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, jade had already finished her food, looking over at Cassie and Jake, who were visibly afraid of everything. "So.. where do you guys plan to go..?"

Cassandra looked ar Jake, who gave a small shrug, before back at Jaiden. "I don't know.. We have nowhere to go.."

"What if you stay here? Until you find a new home." Fiona offered.

Jake shook his head, raising his hands. "We don't want to be a bother."

"You wouldn't be bothering us!" Jade smiled. "We'd be more than happy to let you say!"

Both kids smiled at that. They had been alone for so long, it was nice to have people who were genuinely nice, who genuinely cared about them.

All of a sudden, everyone's blood ran cold when the ground began to shake.

No, it wasn't an earthquake. Before anyone could react, a crack began to form in the middle of the ground, quickly growing bigger and bigger.

It had caught off the front door, everyone standing up and stepping away from the opening. An idea quickly filled Gabe's head, forming a blur orb and throwing it at the wall. A layer of frost quickly spread all over the wall before it lit up in blue flames, destroying it and giving them all an exit.

Everyone ran out in a hurry, the adults carrying the younger children. The house slowly came crumbling down, piece by piece, disappearing into the dark abyss.

"Everyone okay..?" Aiden asked as he placed Sahara down.

Jade tried to hold in her panic. "Th- th-the house!!"

Sage placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, though we may be a bit rusty, Noah and I can bring it back with ease.."

A few seconds of silence passed by before Ivangelys walked over to the edge of the crack, kneeling down and looking into the darkness. After thinking for a while, she stood back up.

"Babe, I need your wings."

Hearing that, Noah picked up his wife, flying into the open space. Iv pases a finger against the rocky wall, black dust covering her fingertips.

She nodded up, Noah flying back to the surface and placing her down as she blew off some of the dust. "I see Riverton has sent us an early present."

"He doesn't waste a minute, huh..?" Sage gripped her sleeves.

Noah crossed his arms. "It's an invitation. He wants us to find him."

Moments of discussion kept their attention away from the children, who were all still in a lot of shock from the house scenario. Sahara had begun to cry, and Jade tried to comfort her by carrying and cracking her. Same way, Fiona was trying to keep both of her younger siblings calm.

However, Gabe kept staring at the adults as they spoke to each other.

Unspeaking.

Unmoving.

"Gabriel..?" Jade spoke in a soft tone, getting Fi's attention who walked over.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Gabe? Earth to Gabe!"

Both girls flinched back a little when the boy's eyes flickered to yellow for a second, his pupils thin and long, but soon back to their normal crystal blue. "Yes?"

"Are you okay..?" Jade asked, still holding the now sleeping Sahara. "Your eyes changed Just now."

"I've just been thinking."

They all then looked back to the house as it slowly reformed, a yellow glow forming around it, and then Aiden walked over to them. "Don't worry, things will turn out just fine. You guys will stay home with Sage while-"

"Why do I have to stay?" Sage walked over with crossed arms. "We need as many people as we can get to help."

"But, Sage.." He glanced down for a moment. "You know why you shouldn't fight.."

She placed a kiss on his cheek, smiling a bit with reassurance. "I'll be fine, Aiden, I promise.."

He stayed quiet for a while, and soon let out a sigh. "Alright.. Then you'll be staying in lockdown. Gabe, you're in charge, don't let anyone in or out. We'll cast a protection shield for extra measures."

"Will you guys be okay..?" Jade gripped a piece of her hair, a dark pit of fear filling her stomach.

With a kiss on her head, Aiden smiled. I promise we'll be back home really soon, my crystallight.."

Gabe places a hand on his sister's shoulder, and after some temporary goodbyes, the kids all locked themselves inside the house.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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