Meanwhile...
The Great Forest

Shadow had glided nearby the trees moments after seeing Hope right in front of him, Runa, Bubbles, Lucy, Rouge, Omega and the five chao. As he did so, he jogged through his memories. Images of memories he hadn't experienced before ran through his head. This proved that Shadow had a connection with Hope, but he shook his head, bringing himself back to reality.

No. I can't trust these illusions. They're playing mind tricks on me, he thought.

Soon enough, Shadow's right forearm landed on a big tree trunk. This caused him to stop and let out multiple breaths.

As Shadow let out multiple breaths, many thoughts ran through his head. I tried to get these images out of my head, but they kept coming. What's going on with me? Why am I remembering those images? It's like I'm hopping from one universe to another.

Shadow took a glance on his left. Right before him was a log. And behind the log was a lake.

Shadow's eyes widened as nostalgia overtook him. A memory of himself, Rouge and Omega talking with Leo ran through his head.

Shadow looked down and sighed. If Leo were here right now, I would've consulted him immediately. Right now, I just need to reflect myself.

With that, Shadow pushed himself back to his proper standing position. Then, he walked towards the log and sat on it. Right in front of the lake.

Shadow looked at his own reflection. Then, in his imagination, Leo appeared beside him. Leo turned to Shadow and laid his hand on his back. Then, he stroke it gently.

Shadow wanted to experience this, but he knew that Leo was not with him, and that the Leo he saw was just in his imagination.

Just then, Leo disappeared in Shadow's vision. In a split second, there appeared Runa. Shadow's eyes widened and he gasped in surprise.

Runa turned to Shadow with a reassuring smile and laid her hand on his left shoulder. For some reason, he wanted to experience how it felt for Runa to sit beside him while reflecting himself. But once again, he knew this was his own imagination.

Runa disappeared in Shadow's own vision.

Just then, a familiar figure walked towards Shadow. Shadow didn't see her, but you could see her through the lake's reflection.

Nothing else occurred in Shadow until the figure spoke up. "Hey Shadow?"

Shadow was snapped back to reality. He turned behind him to see Hope, with a concerned look.

Silence occurred in the air. A few moments later, Shadow turned back to the lake. Hope transferred her right foot on the other side of the log. Then, she did the same to her other foot. After that, she lowered her buttocks on the log. Her presence was beside Shadow on his right.

Hope turned to Shadow in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just... haven't sorted out my thoughts," Shadow said.

"I understand," Hope said. "Runa told me how much her memories got mixed up. She said she could even remember things she hadn't experienced before. I guess that's why you asked us to leave you alone."

"Yes. I tried getting the images out of my mind, but they kept coming back. I don't know why I remember the memories of things I've never experienced before. It's like I'm hopping from one universe to another," Shadow said.

"I see," Hope said. "Look, I know I haven't experienced having mixed-up memories, but I know there must be someone who caused all this to happen. Earthquakes are becoming more frequent and more portals are appearing out of nowhere."

Hope turned to Shadow with a reassuring and positive smile. "For now, let's not think about those memories. It'll make things more complicated." Hope wrapped her arms around Shadow. "Whether you know me or not, you'll always be my ally... and my friend."

Shadow was taken aback by Hope's embrace. Then, a few moments later, an image of Maria appeared in his head. This was the second time Maria appeared in his head after he encountered Hope. The first time it did was when Hope landed in the middle of the Great Forest nearby himself and the rest of the group. For that reason, Shadow could tell how Hope was similar to Maria.

As a result, Shadow relaxed and let the feeling of Hope's embrace keep him warm. A friendly smile appeared on Shadow's face. "Yeah. Thank you, Hope."

"No problem," Hope said.

—————————————————————

A few minutes later...

Hope had pulled herself away from Shadow. Then, she and Shadow rose from the log and walked back to Runa and the others.

Once Shadow and Hope were near Runa, Bubbles, Lucy, Junior, Rouge, Omega and the five chao, they noticed Rouge and Omega waiting for them. They also noticed Runa, Lucy, Bubbles and Junior playing with the five chao. Runa wanted to wait for Shadow and Hope to come back, but she had to entertain Lucy, Bubbles, Junior and the five chao, so that they won't get bored. Right now, Runa helped make up the games for Lucy and the others so that they would be entertained. Right now, they were playing tag.

As Shadow's and Hope's footsteps approached the group, Rouge hovered her right hand over her eyes as a smile appeared on her face.

"Ah, so they finally arrived," Rouge said.

"Affirmative. Hope must've gotten through Shadow well," Omega said.

With Junior, while he was playing together with the five chao, Runa, Lucy and Bubbles, he suddenly caught a glance of Shadow and Hope. A split second after he saw them, his face lit up with sparkly eyes and an open-mouthed smile. His feet stopped. Then, he ran towards the others.

Once he got to Runa, Lucy, Bubbles, Rosy, Mystico, Bearace, Juniper and Shania, Junior raised both his hands, causing them to stop.

Surprised expressions appeared on everyone's faces. Then, concern appeared on Runa's face. "Junior, what's wrong?"

In response, Junior pointed in Shadow and Hope's direction.

"Shaddy! Hope! Dey come owt!" Junior called out.

Runa and the others looked at what Junior was pointing at. A few seconds later realization came to them.

"Ah, I see," Runa said.

"Looks like Shadow and Hope came back!" Bubbles said with a bright smile.

"I hope their conversation is going well," Lucy said.

Juniper turned to Lucy wih a reassuring smile. "Chao, chao, chao-chao! Chao-chao, chao, chao, chao, chao-chao!"

Lucy turned to Runa, mentally asking for a translation. At the same time, Runa turned to Lucy with a smile. "Juniper said she's sure it went well. After all, Hope is Shadow's friend."

"Chao-chao!" Juniper said, nodding in agreement.

"Anyways, let's go to Shadow and Hope. We'll hear how it went," Runa said.

Everyone nodded in reply as they responded differently.

"Right," Lucy and Bubbles replied in unison.

"Chao-chao!" the five chao said.

Junior hummed confidently while nodding.

With that, Runa, Lucy, Bubbles, Junior and the five chao walked towards Shadow and Hope, who were just reunited with Rouge and Omega.

Once they did, everyone huddled into a circle.

Runa turned to Hope in concern. "Did everything go well?"

Hope turned to Runa with a bright smile. "Yup."

"Now that we're regrouped, we'll check in G.U.N. and ask them for updates about Sara's whereabouts," Shadow said.

Rouge turned to Shadow with a smile. "I was wondering if you still remember or not."

Shadow turned to Rouge. "Of course, I remember. Sara is family. And no family gets left behind."

Upon hearing this, everyone else was surprised. Then, a few seconds later, smiles appeared on everyone's faces — except for Hope's. She was still surprised.

"Wow, Shadow. I never knew you could call someone a 'family,'" Hope said.

Shadow turned to Hope. "She's... someone I can relate to... besides Runa. Sara and I both have extraordinary powers and we experienced being deemed a threat," Shadow said with a soft and slightly sad tone. Then, determination ran across his face as his tone switched to a serious one. "I cannot lose a family like her. Not on my watch."

Then, Hope's surprised expression turned into a determined smile. "In that case, let's—"

Hope stopped mid-sentence as a big earthquake suddenly occurred in their area.

Everyone's bodies wiggled, but they managed to maintain their balances. They looked at their surroundings.

"Another earthquake," Shadow muttered.

"I detect a powerful essence coming below us," Omega said.

"Omega, what did you see?" Runa asked.

Before anyone could reply, a portal appeared below Team Dark — plus Hope — Runa, the five chao, Bubbles and Lucy. Everyone gasped in shock.

"What the—?" Lucy reacted. "What is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!"

As Lucy said the last word, she and everyone else got sucked into the portal.

—————————————————————

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Most of the group screamed as they continued falling through the portal. Runa pulled Junior close to her as if to not let him hit his head when they landed on the ground. Seeing this, Juniper, Bearace, Shania, Rosy and Mystico tugged on Runa's dress and buried themselves in it.

Bubbles and Lucy hugged each other. As for Rouge and Omega, they flew over to catch up with them. Because Rouge had wings and Omega had rocket boosters. As for Hope, she clinged onto Shadow by wrapping her arms around his back. Shadow was tensed at first, but he decided to let her be because he had connections with her from what he thought might be "another world."

As Shadow continued falling along with them, he suddenly spotted something on the corner of his eye.

Right before his eyes as a black hole. Above it was a building, surrounded by black clouds and lightning. Shadow couldn't catch little details, but he could tell that it was a temple.

Shadow's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Most of the group screamed again. A few minutes later, they landed on the grassy ground. Seconds after they landed, the portal closed.

Shadow laid his palms on the ground. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. His right foot landed on the ground. With the help of his right knee, he pushed himself up even more. When his left foot landed on the ground, he kept pushing himself until he stood.

Shadow turned to his surroundings. He could hear groans as everyone else slowly rose on their feet. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Runa rising on her feet with Junior in her hands and the five chao still tugging on her dress. So far, she was struggling.

Shadow immediately glided towards Runa, the five chao and Junior. Then, he held out his hand. "Are you alright?"

Runa immediately took Shadow's hand and pulled herself back on her feet. She turned to him and nodded with a smile. "Yeah." She then, laid Junior on his feet. "I'm fine."

Junior shivered with fear after he landed on the ground.

As Runa gently removed the five chao from her dress and laid them on the ground. Each time she did, all she noticed on their faces were fear and dizziness. After Runa placed the chao on the ground, she knelt down and pulled them to a hug gently. After that, she gently stroke them comfortingly.

As Runa did so, Junior walked towards her, with his body still shaking in fear. Once he got to her, Runa wrapped her arm around him.

As Runa did all this, Shadow turned to everyone else who were already back on their feet.

"Is everyone alright?" Shadow asked.

"We're fine, Shadow," Lucy said. Her face was full of bruises and a couple of scratches. "Just a few scratches and bruises."

Bubbles raised her arms as she lit up to a bright smile. "I am alright and well!"

"Yeah, I'm good," Hope said with a reassuring smile and her hand raised.

"We're okay, Shadow," Rouge said with a friendly smile.

"Affirmative," Omega said.

"Hey, Runa! Shadow! Lucy! Bubbles! Junior! Guys!" a familiar female voice called out.

Everyone turned to see where the voice came from. Then, their eyes widened in shock.

Could it be...? Shadow thought.

Is that...? everyone — except Hope — thought.

Right before the group was a familiar figure. And that familiar figure... was Sara.

...Sara?! everyone — except Hope — thought.

Who is that girl? Hope thought. And how did she know Shadow, Runa and the others?

Once Sara got to the group, Bubbles was the first to share a hug with her.

"Sara! I'm so glad you're alive!" Bubbles exclaimed. A few seconds later, Bubbles pulled away from Sara.

Everyone else huddled around Sara. Smiles appeared on their faces, but Hope's eyes were full of confusion.

"We all are," Runa said.

"Chao-chao-chao!" Shania said joyfully with her right arm raised in the air.

Shadow and Runa chuckled.

"Yes, Shania. She's finally back," Shadow said.

"Actually, about that..." Sara said.

This caused everyone else to turn to her.

"My real name is not Sara. It's Dalia," Sara said.

Everyone turned to her in shock. "What?!"

Lucy crossed her arms. She looked at Sara, now known as "Dalia," with suspicion, but her eyes were full of curiosity and confusion. "If your name is Dalia, why did you adopt the name 'Sara?'"

Dalia turned to Lucy and gave her a smile. "I didn't adopt the name 'Sara.' Apparently, the orphanage caretaker gave me that name." A nervous smile appeared on her face. "Though, I never thought about asking the orphanage caretaker why until now. But no one cares, right?"

Just then, a reminder popped into Dalia's head. "Oh. By the way..." She turned to Hope and pointed at her. "...who is this? Is she your new friend?"

Shadow gestured to Hope as he turned to Dalia. "This is Hope Kintobor. She is a friend of mine from... another dimension."

Shadow turned to Hope and gestured to Dalia. "Hope, this is Sar— I mean, Dalia. She's a close friend of ours."

(A/N: Everyone else introduced themselves when they first met Hope.)

Hope held out her hand to Dalia as a bright smile appeared on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Dalia."

Dalia's reached her hand to Hope's and they shook hands. Her eyes closed tightly as a smirk appeared on her face. She chuckled. "Nice to meet you, too, Hope. I hope we can be friends."

Then, something that popped into Dalia's head made her want to laugh, but she ended up chuckling because she didn't want to offend Hope.

"Ah. What do we have here?" a new female voice asked.

Dalia's and Hope's hands immediately pulled away. Everyone turned to where the sound came from.

"Mom!" Dalia said, surprised.

Everyone else turned to Dalia. "MOM?!"

At the same time, the five chao reacted. "CHAO?!"

"That's right," the same female voice spoke.

Everyone turned to where the sound came from again. This time, the readers were given a chance to see a smiling, slightly elderly woman with fair skin, black hair tied to a single braid and green eyes. She also wore a black hanfu with pink flower patterns on it. She also wore black flats.

The woman had a close-eyed smile as she said, "You're friends of my dear daughter, Dalia, aren't you?" She paused. "In that case, let's have tea in my house."

—————————————————————

Living Room, Dalia's House

When you enter Dalia's House, the first thing you noticed was the living room.

The living room contained a fireplace just further ahead on the slight left. In front of it was a brown, tall, cozy, rotating armchair with a couple of patterns on it. On the other side was a red, cozy armchair. Beside it on the left was a rocking chair. In front of the rocking chair and the red armchair was a red sofa. In front of the sofa was a dark brown, wooden, low table. A white teapot with blue patterns was in the middle, with a plate of cookies beside it. The walls were maroon while the ceiling and floor were mahogany.

Dalia's mom sat on the brown armchair. Runa sat on the red armchair. Shadow sat on the rocking chair. The rest — except Omega, who couldn't fit through the door — were sitting on the sofa.

Each of the group had a teacup full of tea. Although, not everyone had preferences for tea. Shadow preferred Indi drinks and warm coffee (although, he only drinks it when he's eating tiramisu), Runa preferred hot chocolate, while Junior, and Bubbles preferred water and milk.

Runa was able to adapt to drinking tea because it tasted different than a regular tea. Junior, Bubbles and Shadow, on the other hand, ate cookies.

As the whole group drank tea and ate cookies, Dalia's mom spoke, "It is a pleasure to meet you all, Runa, Shadow, Hope, Rouge, Lucy, Bubbles, Rosy, Mystico, Shania, Bearace and Juniper. Thank you for taking care of my Dalia. I wondered what happened to her before she got here."

"No problem, Miss..." Runa trailed off.

"Please, call me Jiyang-Jiyang,"  Dalia's mom said.

Confusion appeared on Runa's face. Jiyang-Jiyang?

"Anyways..." Dalia's mom turned to everyone else. "...why don't you guys stay here for the night, as a thank you for taking care of Dalia?"

"Sure!" Bubbles said with a nod.

"Yup," Lucy said with a nod.

"Yeah!" Hope said.

"Of course," Rouge said. "I'll tell Omega we're staying."

"Chao-chao!" Rosy, Shania and Bearace said joyfully in agreement.

Mystico laid a hand on Rosy's shoulder. "Chao-chao-chao, chao-chao, chao, chao-chao, chao-chao, chao-chao,chao-chao, chao, chao."

Juniper nodded in agreement. "Chao-chao!"

"Mystico and Juniper are right. Even though we're staying for the night, we all have to be careful," Runa said.

"It's our first time here in this land. We may not know what lies ahead of us," Shadow said.

Junior nodded with a hum.

"Correction: This is your first time in this dimension. You're in the world where Inhumans live," Jiyang-Jiyang said.

Everyone — except Dalia — turned to Jiyang-Jiyang in shock. We're in another dimension?

"After we finish our refreshments, you can watch me training Dalia. She's been getting better with her Chaos Aura lately," Jiyang-Jiyang said.

Confusion appeared on everyone's faces.

"Chaos... aura?" Shadow asked.

"That's what we call Dalia's powers. It is destructive, powerful and crucial. I'd it goes out of control, there will be disastrous consequences," Jiyang-Jiyang said.

Shadow nodded. "I see." Then, a thought ran in his head. That must be similar to my Chaos Powers.

Runa nodded with a smile. "Count us in, Jiyang-Jiyang. We'd like to see how far Dalia's training goes."

—————————————————————

A bit later on...
Outside the city in the Inhuman World

Shadow, Runa, Junior, Bubbles, Hope, Lucy, Rosy, Mystico, Bearace, Juniper, Shania, Rouge and Omega and Jiyang-Jiyang watched as Dalia shot a blue aura from her fingers on the dummies surrounding her. The aura Dalia shot at the dummies was made in lasers.

After a few shots, Dalia turned to her right and shot her blue aura at another set of dummies. Concentration appeared in her eyes.

An impressed smile appeared on Jiyang-Jiyang's face. Everyone else was filled with awe and surprise. Bubbles let out a "whoa" while watching Dalia.

Jiyang-Jiyang turned to Bubbles with a smile. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"She must've had controlled her Chaos Aura for half a year," Shadow said.

"I'll say. That is one hardworking lady," Rouge said.

"I agree," Hope said.

"Once she controls her powers, I hope G.U.N. will give her proper training," Omega said.

"She must've been practicing. I've had a feeling she worked hard for the past half year," Runa said.

"That's right," Jiyang-Jiyang said. "Although, there's still a long way to go before her Chaos Aura is fully controlled. She needs to learn how to make blasts without causing destruction recklessly."

"We're glad to have you as Dalia's mentor," Lucy said.

"Chao-chao!" the five chao said, nodding in agreement.

Everyone else nodded. You could hear Junior humming while he nodded.

With that, everyone turned to Dalia, who was still taking down the dummies with her powers.

As Junior continued to watch, his hands clenched to his fists. Then, he raised them to his chest level as his neutral face became a determined one. "Dawia... work hard!"

Everyone turned to Junior.

Junior raised his right first in the air. "Junior... work hard, too!"

Jiyang-Jiyang giggled. "I see. What are you working hard for, Junior?"

Junior turned to Jiyang-Jiyang. "Junior... work hard! Better!"

"Ah, I see. You want to work hard to become a better person like Dalia is working hard to control her powers... right, Junior?" Runa asked Junior with a kind smile.

Junior turned to Runa. He opened his mouth before it curled up to a smile. He nodded. "Ung!"

Jiyang-Jiyang giggled. "Okay." She walked towards Junior, knelt beside him and ruffled his hair. "Don't work too hard, okay? You might get tired and hurt."

"Ung!" Junior said with a close-eyed smile.

Shadow chuckled at Runa's actions towards Junior, but as soon as he saw Jiyang-Jiyang's actions, something occurred in him, but not in a good way. He didn't know how to explain what he was feeling, but he knew that things might not be good in the end.

—————————————————————

Later that night...
Dining Room, Dalia's House

The dining room was located further ahead in the living room. The dining room contained a large, dark brown rectangular table with seven dark brown chairs, and one beige and blue high chair surrounding it. The one who sat on the high chair was Junior. Shadow, Runa, Jiyang-Jiyang, Dalia, Bubbles, Lucy and Hope sat on the seven chairs. As for the five chao, they sat on a pile of pillows nearby the table.

Like the living room, the walls were maroon, while the ceiling and floor were mahogany.

Right now, everyone was eating dinner. The five chao ate fruits while everyone else ate what seemed to be various Chinese food. Most contained noodles and some spices if they wanted to add them to the noodles. Right, now no one wanted the spices, except for Jiyang-Jiyang.

As chatter spread among the group, Runa was about to take the first bit of her noodles using her chopsticks, but as its scent reached her nostrils, she stopped.

Runa had no idea why, but she felt like the feeling about staying for the night... was fading away. She laid the noodles back into the bowl and started reflecting for a bit.

Something is missing. I wonder what's causing it, Runa thought.

With that, Runa rose from her seat. This surprised everyone else, especially Shadow. They turned to her as they heard her say, "Excuse me."

Runa walked away from her seat and outside the dining room. As she did, she heard words like "Hey! You're haven't even started eating yet!", "Aren't you hungry?" and "What happened to you?"

After Runa exited the bedroom, Shadow was left among the others, concerned.

—————————————————————

Balcony, Dalia's House

Runa walked around Dalia's House to find a place where she could reflect herself. Soon after, she found the balcony, which was located on the second floor.

Right now, Runa stood in the balcony. Her hands and forearms laid on the balcony railings. A concerned expression appeared on her face as she stared at the city in the Inhuman world. Wind blew past her quills.

Nothing else occurred in Runa until she heard a familiar male voice asking, "Are you alright, Runa?"

Runa slightly jolted in surprise. She turned behind her to see Shadow walking towards her. As he walked to her left side and laid his hands and forearms on the balcony railings, she nodded in reply. "I'm okay. I've had a lot in mind."

"I understand," Shadow said.

Silence occurred in the air. After a few moments, Runa turned to Shadow. "Hey, Shadow?"

"Yeah?" Shadow responded, turning to Runa.

"Have you ever felt something wrong, but you never seem to put your finger on it?" Runa asked.

Shadow glanced at his hands and forearms. Then, his right palm faced his eyes. "Yeah. I have."

Runa was surprised. "Really?"

Shadow nodded. "Yeah."

Shadow placed his right hand down as he turned to Runa and proceeded to explain, "Earlier, when we were watching Dalia train..." An image of Jiyang-Jiyang's actions towards Junior ran through his head. "...I noticed something about Jiyang-Jiyang that I've never noticed before. I'm not sure, but I don't think she's ever made a genuine smile."

Runa continued to be surprised. "What makes you think that?"

"It's... complicated," Shadow said.

"I see," Runa said.

Silence occurred in the air again. Then, a few moments later, Shadow turned to Runa. "Runa, what is something you notice about Jiyang-Jiyang?"

"Actually, it wasn't about Jiyang-Jiyang. It's about the noodles," Runa said. "When I was about to take a bite of it, I felt like the feeling of staying here for the night is... fading away. I didn't know why and I wanted to find out, but... I couldn't seem to put my finger on it. At that moment, I knew something is missing. I wonder what's causing the feeling of staying here to fade away."

Shadow laid a hand on Runa’s shoulder. "Hey, it's alright, Runa. We'll figure this out. Both of us."

Runa turned to Shadow as she kept listening to him.

"We're both similar when it comes to feeling like something is wrong. So whenever we have free time, we can investigate and figure out what's missing," Shadow explained.

It took a few moments before a smile appeared on Runa's face. She nodded with determination. "Yes. Let's investigate when we have the time."

Shadow nodded. "Right."

Something popped into Shadow’s head and he wanted to get it off of his chest, but he knew that now was not the time. And so, he decided to keep quiet.

With that, Shadow and Runa walked back to the dining room.