Summary: Kahu's gone, but that doesn't mean this family is anywhere near recovered and normal.

Felix, forced into a loveless abusive relationship, has turned to self-destructive and dangerous methods to get away from being forced to say his vows. Helping him cope safely are his best friends Kaylee and Hatsune, and his sort of sister-in-law, Kyra, who might have her own agenda.

Eden has been sent away to get herself together and truly recover after what happened at the hands of Vita, traveling to the Kingdom of Zariya with Sam and assisting newly crowned Queen Liana in ruling a kingdom (and being alive in general).

Meanwhile, the stone wielders face their own challenge in the form of Alexa's lost father, Dorian. With Psychic Jared unknowingly becoming the madman's puppet the longer he reads a false book of prophecies, he must figure out how to prevent the future he reads of, even if it means taking in young Amhar Darbonne as his own. Quantic Jared and Alexa handle their own shortcomings and confidence issues. Hana and Kagami just want to know what the hell is going on, but this isn't the Worldbender series if people don't get dragged into other people's bullshit.

Joselyn, newly found after three years in search of Liliana Vess, needs to hold onto the teachings of Gideon and work to keep improving herself, finding unexpected support in the form of Rhydian and his band of Outcasts.

With the threat of Dorian, their most deranged and dangerous villain yet—since he would rather go for the kill than monologue them to death—the entire family has to come together for one final fight that will determine the fate of the Multiverse, and hopefully defy a dark destiny once and for all.

OoOoO

Chapter 1: The Princess Bride (more or less)

After the initial system shock of the Phoenix eye on his wrist, Felix was content staring out the window. It only drained his energy, since his power came from his grace and not an internal fire like most magic wielders. So if he wanted to, he could smite his kidnappers and get away. But then where would he go? He couldn't fly, so he would just be floating around aimlessly.

He looked to where his cellphone had been confiscated along with other random things. He didn't care all that much, but then noticed his phone started ringing loudly. The leader picked up the phone, trying and failing to make it stop. Felix smirked,

"Do you need help?" He taunted, looking out at the Lanes Between. The leader glared at him,

"Don't be so cocky. I'm the one in charge here." The phone continued ringing, "How do you make this thing stop?!"

"By answering the call." Through his powers, he was hiding the hang-up button, which was oddly satisfying watching this human be frustrated. Maybe since he was the prisoner here. All three were humans, he could tell. "What's your name?" He found himself asking, "It's been three hours, and I find myself curious." Perhaps he had a death wish, but he was curious and had still inherited some sass from his mother, which meant he could always make his captor's life hell if he wanted.

"Kate." She spat at him before answering the phone, "Hello?" Judging by her expression, it was his mother promising bloody murder if Felix wasn't released immediately, also bringing up there was a tracker on the phone.

The giant, Shamus, came down from the main section of the ship, "Boss, we have a problem." Kate looked to where Shamus was pointing, and Felix grinned at the sight of a familiar ship.

"I knew she'd come for me." Felix smiled, muttering this to himself just loudly enough that the trio of kidnappers heard. Kyra had explained that she was only using actual criminals for hire, so he was okay with scaring them.

"Probably just another traveler," Kate shrugged off, noticing Felix's expression, "What are you thinking right now? That your dearest love will save you?"

"I never said she was my dearest love," Felix snapped, knowing Kate was referring to Amaya, and even if she was talking about Kaylee, this still applied, "But yes, she will save me, that I know."

After about another hour of the ship following them, Felix could actually see Kaylee, and her expression showed she was trying to find out how to take down the ship without killing him in the process since he wouldn't be able to get out of a burning ship.

The warrior, Gavra, grabbed Felix by the wrists, digging the spiked cuff deeper in. On instinct, Felix yelped, and the whole ship crash-landed at the bottom of the cliff.

Kate got out of the rubble, "What the hell was that?!" Felix shrugged,

"Don't know." He then took a step back towards the water as Kate pulled out an angel blade,

"I'm saving this for our destination since I don't want to carry a corpse, but one more stunt like that will have this slitting your throat." She slammed a second Phoenix eye cuff on him, and Felix fell slack in the giant's arms and felt himself get tied to the man as Shamus climbed up a rope, carrying all three of them.

Felix looked down and saw Kaylee down below, taking a second to make sure he wasn't still stuck in the wreckage. She then saw him being carried up the cliff face and grabbed onto the rope as well, starting the climb up it.

"Oh my god," Gavra exhaled, "She's climbing. This isn't Amaya Sardothien."

"Nope." Felix sent them all a grin, "That's my dear friend, the greatest warrior in the multiverse."

"Shit." Kate muttered, before turning to Shamus, "Go faster, buffoon! I need to cut the rope once we reach the top, and she is gaining on us."

"Well yeah," Shamus mused, "There's four of us and one of her. And the Nephilim's wings are heavy." Kate then got out the angel blade to go for Felix's wings, only for said Nephilim to scream loudly, forcing her to cover her ears. Shamus, who hadn't let go of the rope, now had blood trickling from his eardrums.

Felix waved down at Kaylee, "I'm fine, other than the Phoenix eyes on my wrist!" He felt a bought of fatigue, needing to close his eyes. Since he couldn't fly, it would be suicide to jump off, no matter how tempting.

They made it to the top, with Kaylee not far behind. Kate scrambled to cut the rope to the top, but Felix used his power to make sure that even if Kaylee fell, it wouldn't kill her.

Kate and Shamus grabbed him and ran, leaving Gavra to dispose of Kaylee. Felix knew that the warrior would mean nothing to her, and she'd get past him without issue.

With the giant running, they got a reasonable distance before they saw Kaylee chasing after them, guns at the ready. Kate forced Shamus to be the new obstacle and continued running with Felix.

Kate then pulled out a pouch, "Horse!" A horse attached to a prison cart appeared. She quickly put anti-magic wards on it and threw Felix in, moving fast.

Kate had forced the horse into a slow gallop. The cart wouldn't be able to handle much stress; she didn't care if Felix was banged up though.

After a long while, she looked back and saw the woman far off, but not too far off, meaning she had just defeated the giant. Kate had crossed into Ashara territory about an hour before, so now she could stop wherever she liked. She found an old, abandoned tomb not too far from the road and directed the horse over to it. She had a plan to get rid of this woman herself. After all, if you want someone dead, you have to do it yourself.

She tied the horses to a tree and unharnessed the one from the cart. She picked up Felix and carried him inside the tomb, laying him down still tied up in the largest room, making sure to gag him and keep the angel blade floating around his throat to ensure he didn't try anything.

She was going to take this woman down with magic. Kate was guessing the woman had some, at least, since no one could defeat Gavra or Shamus without it. But Kate's skills were well-developed; simple, but few could best her. The plan made her smile viciously.

Kate only had to wait about twenty minutes before the woman stepped into the large room, and Kate almost gasped at the human girl wearing Okte leathers. Though she could also be a witch.

"Hello there, who might you be?" Kate asked.

"That is none of your concern," Kaylee answered, her voice young yet menacing.

"Oh, I think it is. See, you're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen," Kate gestured to Felix, "and I can't have that."

"The Prince is not some piece of chattel to be traded or stolen." Kaylee snapped, pulling out two guns.

"No, he's worth a lot more than that, isn't he?" Kaylee grimaced a little at Kate's words, "If you want him, you're going to have to duel me for him. No, not with weapons, with magic. You do have magic, don't you?"

"I might." She still didn't put down her guns.

"You bested my swordsman, which means you're very clever. You also bested my giant, which means you're strong. But defeating them isn't easy; you probably had to use a little something extra, didn't you?"

"No, not particularly." Kaylee crossed her arms, still holding the guns, looking down at her outfit, "I was told these sent a message."

Kate smirked, "We will duel with magic. The winner gets the Prince. Agreed?"

"I'll defeat you and take him away." Kaylee said, "Now if you don't mind, could we get this over with?" She then looked in Felix's blindfolded and gagged direction, "Don't worry Felix, we'll be leaving soon."

No longer humoring the kidnapper, Kaylee shot Kate in the head. Instant death. She then ran for Felix, tearing off the enchanted chains, gag and blindfold.

Kaylee looked at the Phoenix eye cuffs on Felix's wrists, and how the fatigue had taken its toll. He saw her analytical power activate, and then she went over to Kate's corpse, grabbing a key to unlock them.

Blood immediately poured out of his wrists since the spikes had hit an artery. But since he was a Nephilim, it healed over quickly; but did leave scars.

Kaylee stood then and helped him up. They dusted themselves off as they left the tomb and looked at each other. "Now what?" He asked, "And thanks for the rescue." She smiled brightly, much more like the girl he knew,

"No problem. It wasn't hard, just try not to get yourself into trouble."

"Well...seeing as this kidnapping was staged as a way to avoid the marriage via our bargain hopefully increasing, and there will be more in the future..." Kaylee froze, shaking with rage for a second, before punching him in the nose.

"Seriously?! You could have warned me! Are you saying you were in no actual danger and I was terrified for you for nothing?!"

"Not for nothing. I actually was in danger, more so than expected with that angel blade. I would have warned you if I could get in contact with you outside of bargain time."

"Okay, that makes more sense. So I should just know for future reference that the kidnappings are a way of getting out of being a husband."

"Pretty much."

OoOoO

A couple of hours after they'd discovered the sword-fight's evidence, Amaya and Zoe found evidence of another scuffle. They'd crested a hill overlooking Ashara territory and saw unusual prints in the dirt. The only reason Zoe was here was because while she had faith in Kaylee being able to bring Felix home, Amaya couldn't know that. Her not going after her kidnapped son would cause suspicion.

Valeria determined this had been a hand-to-hand fight. The winner had continued down the road. After a short discussion, they decided to keep following the winner and the one person who still had Felix.

Shortly after they crossed the border, they found evidence that a horse with a cart had left the road, toward an old tomb. So they too left the road and headed toward the tomb.

Once they got closer, they saw said horse and cart just outside. They also noted the tomb had partially collapsed. The entrance was impassable. Valeria dismounted to investigate what she could from the prints left outside. She concluded three people had gone inside, but only two had come out.

Please not Felix, Zoe thought. When she looked at Amaya, she could tell the heir felt the same way. Felix may not love her, but she still cared.

After Valeria continued walking, they followed the direction she pointed out—the way the survivors had gone, and Zoe shifted into Stardust to help her leg. That trail led off the road, leading to a forest called the Perilous Woods. Even Zoe had heard of the forest and its dangers. No one survived once they'd gone into the forest. Amaya told Zoe that the Perilous Woods lay at the bottom of a steep hill. It wouldn't take them long to get there.

OoOoO

Kaylee and Felix reached a steep hill overlooking the Perilous Woods. It was the quickest, but not safest, way to a city that could help them out, since her ship had run out of fuel. She had the teleporter which would take them right back to the cabin, but they were deciding to take advantage of being in another coven's territory, to hopefully find a safe way out of the marriage.

"You're sure that's the best way?" Felix asked.

"Yes. But we're being followed, and I don't want you to get taken by someone worse. And looking at you, I'm debating if Amaya is worse." Felix was still too tired to deny that. But being with Kaylee made him feel safe, much safer than with the Sardothien coven. He knew Kaylee and Hatsune would get along especially since Kaylee couldn't give a damn about propriety.

Just then they heard a shrill cry. They'd been so absorbed in their conversation they didn't notice how far they'd gotten into the Perilous Woods. Well, Kaylee had probably noticed, but not sensed a threat until now.

"What do I need to expect?" Felix looked around, "I've heard about creatures here, and about quicksand and acid geysers."

"We'll just keep our eyes open." Kaylee shrugged as they walked, "If we get to the city successfully, maybe we can find a coven actually willing to find a legal reason you can't be forced to marry Amaya."

There was a rustling nearby, and something long fell toward them from the trees behind them. Kaylee instinctively pulled them out of the way. The long thing flew back toward the trees, but something came skittering out—a giant scorpion.

"A serket, great," Kaylee moaned. The serket's tail swung at them again, and Kaylee met it with a sword she pulled out of her pocket, which was initially just a pen. "There's really only one way to kill these things. Do you remember how to summon fire? Or have you been forced into the role of submissive fiancé too long." She forced the tail away and quickly jumped back.

"I know how!" He yelled as Kaylee ran to stand by him. With a flash of his eyes, the serket shrieked as it caught fire. It thrashed wildly, and Kaylee pulled Felix back into the trees to avoid it. They watched it, both subconsciously wanting to make sure it died. When it was no more than a lump on the ground, Kaylee walked out and poked it with the sword. The carcass crumbled and they both laughed.

A sudden hissing sound made them pause, and something shot from the ground at high speed.

Kaylee yanked Felix forward, but not before the acid geyser spurted onto Felix's leg. He screamed in surprise while Kaylee immediately dug into a bag for something to help ease the pain.

Kaylee draped his arm around her shoulder, watching as his power tried to combat the acid, which led to a constant cycle of pain as it healed and unhealed.

They'd made it several yards before Felix felt like speaking again, once Kaylee had bound his leg. "Well, I suppose we only have to worry about quicksand now," he commented. He smiled weakly as she helped him keep walking, also protecting his wings, "Kaylee?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's never come here again."

"I agree."

By now it was close to nightfall. They moved quickly, watching out for more hazards, and found a spot to camp for the night. They sat, and Kaylee was able to set the campfire without moving Felix from her arms.

She caught a rabbit for dinner, which was quickly devoured as neither had eaten all day. They were exhausted, so they curled up back to back and fell into a deep sleep, Felix's feeble wings wrapping around them.

OoOoO

Stardust and Amaya's small group stopped for the night on the other side of the Perilous Woods. Amaya had explained this spot was the only other place where the forest wasn't impenetrable.

Stardust stared into the forest while Amaya's guards set up camp. She'd heard of the dangers and hoped Felix had made it through without encountering any. And she hoped the person with him was Kaylee rather than a foe.

Amaya soon called her to the campfire, where they ate and talked for a bit before retiring for the night.

OoOoO

Felix woke in the morning, feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time, other than the pain in his leg. He hadn't had a nightmare all night, probably due to Kaylee's presence. He gasped quietly as he realized he had wrapped her in his wings like a blanket.

Several minutes later, Kaylee woke. It took her a few minutes to understand the position she'd shifted into and turned away, "Felix? We need to get going soon." She changed the loose bandages on his leg, helping him walk.

After an hour or so, the trees began thinning. More sunlight filtered in; it was enough to see their way and easily avoid the geysers and quicksand. A few more minutes and they could see the edge of the forest and witches were wearing silver on the other side.

"Who do you think they are? Allies or..." Felix whispered as they came to a stop to stare out.

"Could be anyone, but we won't know until we go out there," Kaylee replied.

"All right. Here goes nothing." They walked out together to find Amaya, Zoe and several of Valeria's guards.

The guards drew their swords, but Amaya hissed, and the swords were re-sheathed. Zoe, once again Stardust, and Amaya ran toward the disheveled pair.

"Felix!" Amaya exclaimed.

"Kaylee!" Stardust yelled, pretending to be scared, "It was you we've been following?"

Amaya looked at Kaylee and Felix in succession, finally noticing their joined hands. "Do you two need any medical attention?" She then saw Felix's leg, "Felix! We must return home as soon as possible." She looked at Kaylee. "Thank you for rescuing Prince Felix." She turned away to speak to the guards and her mother. "Pack up. We're returning home."

"Oh, I don't think so." Kaylee's demeanor changed to smug death lord, "Do you not remember the context of my first bargain with dear Felix? Three days in exchange for a rescue. But six days will be hard to keep track of... so I am bumping it up to a week." Their matching tattoos glowed to alter the bargain, changing it from three to seven.

"NO!" Amaya jumped down, ready to go for the kill, as Kaylee and Felix vanished into thin air.