Kai led the twins out from the hiding place, and over to where his dad was waiting. Both of the girls immediately grabbed onto his hands, looking very nervous.

He looked up as they approached, and Kai noticed a flash of disgust in his eyes as he observed the three.

"You found them," Joshua acknowledged, tilting his head as he looked at the twins, who pressed themselves closer to Kai.

"They're willing to hear you out," Kai said, glancing down as he felt their grips tighten.

"Very well...first things first, what are your names?" Joshua asked, kneeling down.

"Lizzie," Lizzie answered and nudged her sister.

Josie shifted uncomfortably. "Josie," She introduced.

Joshua's eyes instantly widened upon hearing the name but other than that he didn't react.

"Last name?" He inquired.

"Saltzman," They said in unison.

He nodded, considered the young girls.

"How old are you?" He asked, beginning the interrogation once again.

"We're 9," Josie answered, sharing a look with her twin.

"9?" Joshua repeated, blinking in surprise.

"We're smart 9-year-olds," Lizzie boasted with a smirk at her twin which made Kai laugh in amusement.

Joshua nodded, and his face became serious. "Where are you from?" He asked, looking between them

"Mystic Falls," Josie answered, with a shrug.

"And where is that?" Joshua inquired, with a raised eyebrow.

"Virginia," Lizzie replied.

Kai looked down at them in surprise. "You two are a long way from home, aren't you?"

"You have no idea," Lizzie muttered, and a smile appeared on her face when she heard Josie snort in agreement.

Joshua pursed his lips as he considered those words but he decided to continue his line of questioning.

"What are the names of your parents?" He asked, observing the twin exchange strange looks.

"Rick Saltzman and Carolina Saltzman," Josie said, hesitantly as she changed a few things about the name. It was too late to change their last name but they could lie about this.

Joshua nodded with a frown. That didn't fit...unless they were lying or had been raised by people who weren't their actual parents.

"Where were you before you appeared here?" He inquired, trying to gather more information and he ignored Kai, who was staring at him in confusion.

"At our school," Lizzie answered, with a shrug.

"School?" Joshua repeated, confused. "You were in class or on break when you came here?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at his dad, not understanding how they could appear here.

"Boarding School for the young and gifted." Josie said, leaving out the first part of the name. "It's not very well known."

Josie wasn't technically lying.

It wasn't well known with humans which made up the majority of the population of the planet.

"Our parents run it," Lizzie said, with a proud look on her face.

Joshua nodded, deciding to leave that line of questioning alone for now.

"Why did you run?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We thought you had kidnapped us," Lizzie said, defensively.

"You're first thoughts when you think you've been kidnapped is to attack?" Joshua said, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

Both of the twins shrugged in response, not knowing how to reply.

"That is a very reckless thought process, it could have ended with one of you getting hurt." Joshua pointed out,

"But it didn't," Josie argued.

"Also you have to admit, it's bad that two 9-year-olds outsmarted your people," Lizzie commented with a smirk, as Kai coughed under his breath, trying to hold back laughter.

Joshua's eyes darkened at the implied insult but then he shook it off.

"Do you know if you have any way to get home?" He inquired, looking between them.

"I-I don't think we can," Josie whispered as the realization hit her that they may never see their parents again.

"I think we're stuck here," Lizzie agreed, sharing a pained look with her twin.

"But there has to be a way right, there's always a way with magic....right?" Josie said, worriedly.

"Hmm," Joshua narrowed his eyes as he considered those words. "Magic can do a lot but it can't fix everything." Was what he finally settled on saying.

Lizzie froze, swallowing past the lump in her throat. "What's going to happen to us?" She asked, fearfully.

Kai didn't hesitate as he knelt down, glancing between the two.

"It's going to be okay," Kai said, and Josie looked at him through teary eyes, so he pulled her into a hug, similarly to what she did earlier. He looked at Lizzie, who was hyperventilating.

"Lizzie," He said, sharply.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "We're never going to see our parents again. Our friends, aunts, and uncles...we don't even have our own stuff." She said, voice rising from her panic as a lightbulb shattered on the right. Kai reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"Shh, it's going to be okay." He said, ignoring his surprised dad.

"How do you know?" Lizzie asked, quietly after a few moments.

"I know because I'm smart," Kai stated like it was obvious.

When both twins calmed down, they faced Joshua, who was looking at them thoughtfully.

"I see you've taken a liking to my son..." He acknowledged, and he nodded to himself. "For now, you may stay with my family but you must respect my rules and listen to me, is that understood?"

The twins exchanged conflicted looks.

If they didn't accept they would have nowhere to go but they also didn't like the man. Then again, Kai would be there so it wouldn't be as bad.

"Okay," They agreed

<><><>

Joshua brought the twins to his house and told them to wait outside with Kai while he explained the situation to the rest of the family.

Kai led them to a patch of grass and sat down with them as they waited.

"What do you guys like to do for fun?" He asked, curiously.

"I like drawing and doing magic," Lizzie said, with a grin. Kai smirked at those words and looked over at Josie.

Josie nodded in agreement with her twin. "I like doing magic too, but I also play piano," She said.

"Ugh, piano lessons were booooring," Lizzie said, looking scandalized that anyone could like such a thing.

"No, they're not. It's fun. I like creating music," Josie said, disagreeing with her twin.

"You're a boring person," Lizzie said, with zero hesitation which made Josie glare at her.

"Girls," Kai interrupted, looking between them.

"Sorry," They chorused, not looking sorry at all.

He gave them an amused look.

"Mm-hmm, I'm sure you are," He said, looking between them. "What spells do you know?"

Both of the twins' faces lit up.

"The main ones we know are incendia, motus...what else?" Josie asked her twin.

"Vatos, invisique, and some instinctive magic" Lizzie replied.

"That's a good amount," Kai said, looking slightly jealous. "Wait, what do you mean by instinctive magic."

"Magic that you don't need a spell for, something you just picture in your mind and it happens," Josie replied.

"Example?" Kai asked, looking puzzled.

"Pain spell that hurts vampires or telekinesis," Lizzie replied, with a shrug.

Kai nodded thoughtfully and was about to say something when he heard the from the door. So the three got to their feet, waiting for Joshua to reach them. And behind him was a woman carrying a baby, and with Kai's other siblings following behind.

"Hello, there, " The woman greeted, kindly as she knelt down. "My name is Maria Parker, and I am Kai's mother. And this little one is Nathaniel."

She motioned to the baby in her arms, causing the twins to look at him curiously.

"It's a cute baby," Josie said, looking nervously at the gathered family. She pressed herself closer to Kai, causing his sibling to be surprised when he didn't push her away.

"Thank you, what are your names, little ones?" Maria asked, smiling down at them.

"My names, Lizzie," Lizzie spoke for the first time.

"Is that short for something?" Maria asked, looking at the blonde twin, making her hide behind Kai slightly.

"Elizabeth," She replied.

"Beautiful name, and you?" She said, turning to Josie.

"Josie," She answered, causing Maria to blink in surprise, as did Kai's twin that was standing next to her youngest sister.

"What is that short for? Josephine?" Maria inquired.

Josie shook her head, "Josette," She corrected.

"Huh, that's very interesting. My eldest daughter has the same name as you." Maria said as if revealing a secret. "Jo?"

Josette stepped forward and looked down at the twins.

"My name is Jo Parker, it's nice to meet you." She said in a weirdly perfect princess kind of way as if she could do no wrong. And the twins took an immediate dislike to her.

So Josie simply nodded in reply to her words, however, that wasn't a Lizzie move, so unsurprisingly she had to saysomething.

"Are you a doll?" Lizzie asked, curiously and everyone stared at her confused.

"Uh oh..." Josie whispered to herself, which made Kai look down at her confused.

"No, why?" Josette said, confused.

"You're sure? Cause you sure look plastic to me." Lizzie said, with a mocking edge to her voice.

Josette froze in surprise and took a step back as Kai burst out laughing.

The rest of the Parker's started, while Josie groaned in annoyance.

"What my sister means is that you're pretty..." Josie said, trying to fix the situation.

"That's no-" Lizzie was cut off by Kai putting his hand over her mouth which made her start pouting immediately.

"Anyways, how about my other children introduce themselves?" Joshua suggested.

The eldest girl, other than Josette stepped forward. "My name is Mariana but call me Ana," She said, and Lizzie noticed that she seemed like she had a careless attitude.

Ana had dark brown hair that was in a pixie cut of sorts with blue eyes similar to Kai's.

Next, a boy with lighter hair than the rest and dark brown eyes, stepped forward, "Josiah, but don't call me that. It's Joey."

After that, a girl who was younger than them looked at them excitedly. She had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes.

"My name is Ally, we're gonna be great friends," She said, cheerfully, which made Lizzie raise her eyebrows in surprise.

This kid was way too happy for her.

"Alright, now that that is done, all of you go inside, I have something to talk to the twins about," Joshua said, and everyone immediately listened to him, except for Kai.

"Malachai," He said, warningly. "Leave."

"Why do you need to talk to them alone?" He asked, stubbornly.

"I said, leave now," Joshua said, glaring at his son.

"It's okay," Josie whispered, and he hesitantly went inside the house.

Joshua turned to the twins.

"You two are from the future," He said, putting his hand up to stop their exclamations of denial. "And you are my grandchildren, I did a spell that informed me of that. Which is why I am allowing you to stay."

Lizzie frowned at the man.

"I don't know if I will be able to get you home but I will do my best. For now, you will stay here under the guise of my daughters. Your names are now Elizabeth and Josette Parker. In order to prevent confusion, you will be called Josie by everyone, understood?" Joshua said, raising his eyebrow.

Josie nodded.

"Good...now you are both siphoners, and there are some rules that will be placed on you," Joshua said, and Lizzie frowned.

"Rules?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, you may not siphon unless I tell you, you can. You are not allowed to siphon from any of my children and if you do, you will no longer be allowed to touch them." Joshua warned, giving them a stern look.

"Consequences for disobeying include not eating, being locked up in the 'time-out' room, or hit with my belt. It will depend on what is done," Joshua said, making the twins' exchange looks of regret.

Why did they agree to this?

"We understand," Josie said, quietly.

Lizzie nodded, knowing better than to say something out loud.

Guess this was their life now...