Damien's POV-

I open my eyes slowly as I hear birds chirping. I look at Annie sleeping in my arms and I grin. "Annie," I whisper. "Wake up. You need to train and use telekinesis to get back home."

She stirs and I gently let go. "Annie." I tap her head. She jumps up, nearly smacking me in the head. "Woah. Hello there."

"Sorry. I was having a . . . nightmare," she says.

"About what?"

"All of you guys dying just like Shun did," she replies.

"We won't," I say. "I promise."

She laughs and says, "You can't promise that, Damien. You just can't."

"Why not?" I ask her.

"Because you never know when you are going to die."

I nod my head hesitantly. "I know that," I say. "We better get some training done though. We don't want our friends to die on us."

"Okay," she says. "Let me get changed first."

She runs inside and I follow her slowly. I go and get some different clothes on. I find Leroy sitting outside the door, purring. Maybe I should train him.

"Damien," Nailea says. I look up to see her leaning against the door frame. "How long does Aria have?"

"I don't really know," I say. "She probably has at least two days."

"I need to see her," Nailea says quietly.

"I know," I reply. "When Annie is able to get us there, we'll bring you. I promise."

"Also bring Leroy," she says. "He'll help."

I nod. "Did you leave or get kidnapped?"

"I got kidnapped," she says. "By one of my fathers cronies."

"Seriously?" I ask. "By your father?"

"Yeah. He was a cruel man."

"That's what Ember said."

"How does she know how cruel he was?"

"She went back in time with Ari," I tell her. "Since Ari is a time stopper, she has a watch which she could blow on and can go back in time."

Nailea nods. "I knew Ember would be an Elementalist. Its hereditary."

"Do you know why she was sent to this world?"

"Yes I do. I kept in touch with Beck for years until he just stopped contacting me," she says.

"He was in jail for a few years because of what he did to Ember," I say. "Why did he send her here?"

"Because Scarlet made him. She threatened him, saying she would kill Aria, Ember, and Jade."

"I can't believe Mom was like that," I say quietly. "She's nice now. Well, nicer than before."

"How did you stop her?"

"There was this saying from the language that Scarlet made. It was like a backup plan, just in case she got . . . evil, which she did. That's how we stopped her. It took her abilities away."

"Interesting. She was a smart one," Nailea said. "Well, still is, I guess."

"Yeah," I say. "I wonder what's taking Annie so long."

"She might be talking to the kids," Nailea says. "Her younger siblings."

"Yeah," I say. "Let me go find Annie."

"Okay," she says, petting Leroy. "I'll stay out here, waiting for you two."

I walk inside and go to the living room. I see Annie talking with the experimented kids. I sit down next to her and she smiles at me. "Hi Damien!" Joseph says brightly.

"Hi Joseph," I say. "Annie, we need to practice."

"I know," she says. "Kids, do you want to watch TV while Damien and I go outside for a bit?"

"Yeah," Veronica says, grabbing the remote.

"Where's Blaze and his kids?" I ask.

"I think the kids are with him in his room," Annie says. "I'm not exactly sure though."

"Okay," I say, standing up. I reach a hand out and she grabs it. I pull her up and we head outside.

"So what should I do right now?" she asks.

"Use Telekinesis," I say.

"I know that. But like do I lift heavy stuff?"

"No," Nailea says. "Try to teleport or reality warp yourself to a different spot in the yard."

Annie jumps slightly. "Okay," she says. "How do I do that? And what's reality warping?"

"Concentrate on where you want to be," Nailea says. "You will have to travel through the many layers of the universe. Be careful though. You could get lost and never come back. Reality warping is to manipulate reality by bending quantum strings in a localized area."

"Do you think I'm ready for it though?" Annie asks timidly.

"You've been ready for a long time."

Annie nods slightly. She closes her eyes and nothing happens. She opens them. "Why didn't it work?" she asks.

"Where did you want to go?" Nailea asks.

"Near the swing set," she says.

"Concentrate on that spot. Picture yourself there and you will be there," Nailea says. Annie nods again and I watch her as she closes her wonderful green eyes.

She stands perfectly still, concentrating hard. I wait for her to do something. She breathes out and disappears. She appears near the swing set. I cheer and say, "Woohoo! Good job Annie!"

"Thanks," she says, smiling at the ground. She starts to move toward me but Nailea stops her.

"Teleport back to Damien."

She nods, closing her eyes again. She does it quicker, appearing by my side. "Good. Now, it'll definitely be harder to transport three people and a Gorg to a whole different dimension. Try with Damien."

"Okay," Annie says. "Do I grab onto him?"

"Yep." She grabs my hand, giving me a small smile.

"Do I need to concentrate too?" I ask.

"It might help." I nod, closing my eyes. I concentrate on the spot next to the swings and feel my gut twisting. Pressure builds in my head and then suddenly goes away. I open my eyes. Annie is still holding my hand and we are next to the swing set. "Good job!"

I close my eyes and Annie follows suit. I feel the same sensation and I open my eyes. We are next to Nailea. "Good job," she says, smiling proudly. "I think you are ready."

"Let me say goodbye to my . . . siblings," Annie says, tugging my hand. "Come on Damien."

"Okay," I say, following my beautiful Annie. "Nailea, are you going to say goodbye to your husband and kids?"

"Yes," she says, following us in.

"Joseph, Veronica, and Ian! Come here for a minute!" Annie yells, grabbing the potion. The kids and Jessica, Annie's mom, come. "Oh, hi Mom."

"Hi my baby," she says, smiling. "Hi Damien."

"Hi . . . Mrs. Annie's Mom," I say and she chuckles. "We have to leave now. We're going to Didian to save Aria."

"Take us!" Ian says, looking up at Annie.

"I can't," she says sadly. "We need to get there right away and I'm not trained enough."

"We understand," Joseph says, grabbing onto Ian's hand.

"Annalise, be careful," Jessica says. "Blaze and I will take care of the kids while you're away."

"Okay," she says, hugging each of the kids. She stops at her mom. "I . . . love you Mom."

"I love you too sweetie," Jessica says, pulling Annie into a hug. "And please tell Aralynn that I'm here for her. She doesn't have to hate me."

"Okay," Annie says, pulling away. "We'll be back soon."

"Okay." We walk outside to see Nailea and Leroy. Leroy hops playfully, a harness attached to him. She hands me the leash.

"Ready?" I ask, looking at them.

"Ready." I grip Annie's hand while Nailea takes her other. I pick Leroy up, cradling him underneath my other arm. We close our eyes and I full my gut twist harder than before. The pressure builds and builds. It feels like my head in going to explode. When it reaches the highest pain point, it suddenly goes away. My feet land on earth and I open my eyes to a battle scene.

"What in the world is going on here?"