The next few years passed slowly as Kai learned how to handle kids in a way that didn't result in him murdering them. They had settled in California under cloaking spells that anyone looking for them wouldn't be able to break.

Kai was kind of proud of himself as it came time for their eighth birthday. The twins had grown quickly and he could already see the differences in their personalities.

Josie was the quieter one, who felt things deeply. She was shy but extremely kind. She loved stories and learning new things. She reminded him a lot of his sister, except more accepting and curious with a dark side that rarely ever showed itself.

While Lizzie was the talkative and wild twin. Both twins held strong opinions but Lizzie made her's known no matter the situation. She was confident and liked to cause trouble, whether it be with magic or not. She also had a quick temper that was difficult to quell.

She was turning out to be a lot like him, especially after they learned she was bipolar. Which was a whole nother situation that he had to learn how to manage.

Both twins had proven skilled at magic. Josie loved learning spells and had quite a few useful ones in her bag. And Lizzie just loved causing chaos with her magic. She didn't know as many spells but the ones she did know, she could use to their fullest extent.

Kai had been watching their progress, trying to see if one was obviously more powerful than the other, but they seemed pretty even. The only hint that one may be more powerful was the power that Lizzie was able to put behind her spells compared to her sister.

But Josie also knew more spells than her, which made them more even.

It had almost been four years since he had taken them. Kai had wondered as they got older if they would have questions about their past and how he would answer them, yet neither twin felt the need to ask.

Not about why they weren't with their parents or about why they were with him. Kai on some level knew that they knew. At least Lizzie did.

Josie might but she seemed content to ignore the implications of their technical kidnapping. Lizzie also didn't seem to care at all but she wasn't against making sly comments or using it against him if she was angry or upset.

She had learned the art of guilt-tripping and had proven to be great at it. Also at lying. He couldn't tell whether or not he was proud or disappointed because she had used it multiple times on him. Josie, thankfully, wasn't that great at lying, with the exception of her ability to play innocent of her sister's actions.

Any situation that she got into that needed her to lie, she got out of easily since Lizzie typically did it for her. The two were great at tag-teaming.

He would be annoyed if he wasn't impressed. They gave their teachers a run for their money and the twins loved finding new ways to get out of school.

Mostly by upsetting their teachers or doing magic, so that he has to come to compel their teachers and take them out of school.

He had considered taking them out completely and homeschooling them but he actually wanted them to learn things. Kai was a lot of things but a teacher was not one of them.

He didn't have the patience nor the experience to do it. And knowing the twins, they would find ways around doing the work.

The school also allowed the twins to have socialization, not that they actually socialized with any of the other students.

In the words of their judgemental teacher, they were anti-social and their only friends were each other. He had tried to get them to bond with the others but they refused.

He understood at the end of the day why. The kids were human. They could never truly know anything about the twins and could never truly understand them.

However, that didn't change the fact that the twins refused to interact with anyone that wasn't each other or a teacher. It wasn't healthy but he knew at the end of the day the twins had no desire to befriend obvious humans.

It was a dangerous game, he knew. The twins' opinions of humans weren't great, and while he technically agreed with them, the problems it could cause later on worried him.

People could get hurt, which could, in turn, lead to them getting hurt and that was something he was trying to avoid.

He needed them to be able to empathize with them but Lizzie was a stubborn brat and Josie, while the nicer twin, tended to follow Lizzie's example.

He looked down at the news article about a new private school in Virginia. The Salvatore Boarding School. It was a school for the supernatural.

Its existence told him all he needed to know. The Mystic Fall idiots had somehow survived the devil himself. It was honestly kind of impressive how lucky they were. The number of times they should have lost was astronomical.

He had considered it. The school. A place where they might actually try and make friends. Kai was a douchebag. He could admit that, but he cared about the twins, and at the end of the day, the likelihood of the twins ending up at the school eventually was high.

They needed to be socialized or they may take a path much like his own. Also, he needed to do more research on the merge, which was difficult to do when he had children to watch over.

However, he wasn't planning on sending them yet. And it would be a choice that they would have to make themselves. Especially since it seemed like the students there weren't taught how to fight or survive. Instead, they learned how to blend in.

Not ideal for siphoner twins that were born in a world where they would be hunted for simply existing.

When the twins were old enough they could make their own decision. Kai already knew that the no black magic rule would make it automatically unappealing to them but they also might be willing to conform if it means they get far more freedom in terms of magic.

He didn't know how it would go if they decided they wanted to go but he would make sure they were capable of protecting themselves and each other to the best of their abilities.

For now, he would focus on the now and figure out what cake to get for their birthday. He had all the gifts wrapped and the main preparation for their party was all done with the exception of the cake.

His nieces of course wanted different types. Josie wanted an ice cream cake, while Lizzie wanted a devil's food cake. He was trying to figure out if there was a deal for two smaller cakes of different flavors.

Kai looked up as laughter came from the other room and Lizzie ran in.

She was smirking as she raced over to him. He barely was able to put his laptop to the side, so it didn't get crushed by her as she jumped on him.

"Uncle Kai, can we watch a movie?" She asked, looking up at him.

"What movie would that be?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to watch Harry Potter," Lizzie said, then she shot an annoyed look towards the other room. "But Josie wants to watch a princess movie."

"Let me guess you came to an agreement?" Kai asked, knowingly. What did Lizzie concede in order to get her sister to agree to watch her pick?

"Yep, she gets her choice of cake for our birthday and I get to pick the movies for the next few weeks," Lizzie said, looking proud of herself.

Kai fought the urge to snort, of course, Lizzie got the better end of the deal. "Ok, let me order the cake and we'll go watch," He said, amused.

"Yes," Lizzie said, cheering, before bolting to the other room.

Once the cake was ordered, Kai followed and found the twins curled up on the couch waiting. Laughing as Lizzie gave him a look for moving too slowly.

Sitting in between them, he turned on the movie. The rest of the night continued as Josie pointed out all the stupid things she found about the magic that Harry Potter showed, while Lizzie ranted about how Dumbledore was the villain all along.

And Kai had to admit, she had a little bit of a point. Seriously, placing a kid in an abusive household for the so called 'greater good'? That's some bullshit.

"No, but seriously, he's so stupid," Lizzie said, glaring at the screen. "He's also crusty looking."

Kai choked on his spit. What the hell did she just say?

"But he's the leader of the light side," Josie said, giving Lizzie a look from Kai's other side.

"So? It's the ultimate plot. Rise as the wise hero - killing a bunch of your own supporters at the same time - and you can control everything without anyone realizing," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes.

"So you're saying the death eaters are the good guys," Josie asked, questioning her sister's sanity.

"Of course not - they're literally another version of white supremacists - but Dumbledore is also not a good person," Lizzie raised her head in a way that meant she wasn't going to back down from this.

"I still don't get why Dumbledore is bad," Josie said, frowning. "If he was, wouldn't everyone know?"

"No, because he's manipulating everyone," Lizzie said like it was obvious.

"You mean like you do?" Josie said, giving her sister a questioning look. Kai coughed in his hand to cover his laughter.

Lizzie paused. "That's different. I don't pretend like I'm not doing it or that it's good, he does," She said, crossing her arms.

"Fair, I guess," Josie said, nodding.

Kai rubbed a hand over his face. What was this conversation he was witnessing? How did his life turn into this?

"He also kept a bunch of stuff from Harry that put him in danger, he shouldn't be allowed near children," Lizzie said, brow furrowed as she drove her point home. "A good person doesn't make kids into soldiers."

Kai fought the urge to point out that they were literally younger than everyone in the movies, but held his tongue knowing Lizzie would just attempt to burn him alive if he dared ruin her momentum.

"Then you have all the bad things that happened at Hogwarts, why were no adults doing anything?" Lizzie kept speaking before Josie could reply. "Because of Dumbledore."

"Lizzie, it's a movie," Josie said slowly.

Kai tensed as Lizzie's eyes narrowed, knowing this was about to take a bad turn.  "Okay, kiddos, that's enough of that," He said, turning off the tv. "Bedtime."

"Aw, but Uncle Kai, I'm not done though," Lizzie pouted.

Josie snorted. "Boo-hoo," She said, making Lizzie turn to glare at her.

"Incedi-"

Kai's hand covered Lizzie's mouth quickly, giving her a disapproving look. "No lighting your sister on fire," He said, sternly.

All Lizzie did was roll her eyes, while Josie stared at her with the most offended look possible as if she didn't antagonize her sister.

Kai sighed. "Definitely bedtime," He said, shaking his head.

The next day, the twins were up early, excited about the prospect of going to a carnival that was in town for a limited time. Kai was probably going to regret it, but he promised them after they missed the last one, that they would go.

The carnival was packed, with loud music and yelling that made Kai want to bash his head in. Lizzie pulled him along with her as she headed straight to the game area, where she most likely wanted him to cheat. Josie was on his other side, watching everything around them with wide eyes.

"Come on, Uncle Kai, I really want the wolf," Lizzie said, pointing upwards at a medium sized grey wolf that had purple eyes. Hopefully, she wouldn't destroy this one like she did the last.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it," He said looking down at her.

"Promise," She asked, narrowing her eyes.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Promise, Lizziebear," He said, glancing towards Josie. "What one do you want?"

Josie frowned, thoughtfully. "The bear," She said, looking at the one in the back with pink eyes. It was the same size as the one Lizzie wanted. Thank god for small miracles - he had been worried they would want one of the giant stuffed animals.

Moving past the twins, he paid the carnival guy and grabbed the rings to throw on the bottles. Tossing them easily, he used magic to direct them so that they landed perfectly.

"Yes!" Lizzie said, grinning, while Josie leaned close to watch them land. "Go, Uncle Kai."

A few minutes later, they were heading to rides with the twins holding each of their stuffed animals happily. When the day was almost done and the twins were all tired out, Kai led Lizzie with Josie in his arms, back towards the front of the carnival. When he reached a certain part he paused, making the twins look at him confused.

Setting Josie down, he looked at them. "I'm going to be right back, okay? Don't move," He said, resting his hands on each of their shoulders.

"Okay," Josie nodded, tiredly.

"What's happening?" Lizzie asked, confused.

"Nothing, don't worry," He said, smiling. "It will only take a moment."

He moved away from them and towards where he sensed something strange. He looked around as he turned into an alley-type area, but there was something there.

Then, Kai felt a presence behind him, before everything went black.

<><><>

"Liz, where did Uncle Kai go? Why hasn't he come back yet?" Josie asked, looking around confused. "He said he wasn't going to be gone long."

Lizzie frowned. "I don't know. I think something's wrong," She replied, looking around them. She felt like there were eyes on them but saw no one.

People were moving all around them yet none seemed to take notice of the two kids that were starting to panic. There was a sinking feeling settling in Lizzie's gut.

The bad feeling was worse than before.

"We have to find him," Lizzie said, turning to her sister.

Josie swallowed. "And if we can't?" She asked, nervously.

"We will. He has to be around here somewhere," Lizzie said, starting to walk in the direction their uncle had gone. It was the best idea she could think of, but it relied on their uncle doubling still being over there.

Josie caught up to her, grabbing her hand. The single motion was enough for Lizzie to realize how scared she actually was.

"It'll be okay," She whispered to her twin in an attempt to reassure her. "He just went to go check something."

"I know, I just feel like there's something else happening," Josie said, squeezing her hand.

The tension in Lizzie's shoulders wasn't obvious but it was there. "I think you're right, but I don't want to think about that right now," She said, her eyes flickering around her as they walked.

Then something changed. The people around them seemed to freeze in place, trapped in time almost. The twins stopped abruptly.

"Lizzie?" Josie whispered, fear filling her eyes.

"Jo," She said, turning to her. "We need to run. We need to run now."

With that, she yanked her sister in the other direction and took off running. They ran as fast as their short legs could carry them, avoiding the frozen people that acted as obstacles in their path.

Turning the corner, Lizzie and Josie ran down the steps, but Josie's foot caught on something on the last step and she went sprawling to the ground, Lizzie being pulled down with her as a result.

Lizzie flinched slightly as she hit her funny bone on the ground. The twins stumbled back to their feet, but they weren't alone.

Around them were people they've never seen before in their lives. The man in the front nodded to the others.

"Knock them out."

Lizzie went to shout a spell, but couldn't as a wave of dizziness came over her and blackspots appeared in her vision. Fighting to stay awake, she saw her sister go down, unconscious.

And she soon followed after.

A/N: Hoped you enjoyed. Would love to hear what you thought of the chapter. Thanks for reading!