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Chapter Text

 The Raven Queen had had this particular problem on her hands for over a millennia. Two liches gone rogue and one child-soul who stubbornly refused to move on in any way. Keats wouldn’t enter the Astral Sea and he’d shut down every conversation about reincarnating thus far. She had ended up letting him enter her service on a temporary basis even though he was far too young to hunt those who had broken her laws. Instead, she kept him by her side and watched over him the best that she could. From time to time, she would send him on small missions in the world or as a messenger to the other gods. But for the most part, he waited for his brother and sister to return.

Istus had another problem, though this one was far newer. The threads of her tapestry had always been extremely well planned out, each color and each subtle movement planned out millennia before they needed to be stitched into place. At least, until something came along that surprised even her. It wasn’t a birth or a death or even a war, it was seven birds heralding a storm. It was seven entirely new threads and a potential destruction for her tapestry should she weave them wrongly. And they were each of them made of surprises. Instruments of Fate were rare and now she had seven of them on her hands.

There was a potential solution to both problems, but neither of them were certain. Fate was so very tenuous with these seven new souls.

“They need to be tied to our world.” The Raven Queen was certain of that. “If they’re going to do anything about this snarl you spoke of.”

“And they are certainly trying to forge a life.” Istus had seen the love forged across worlds and the magic efforts to ensure that these two could have the life and the family they longed for. “The child would bind them here, ensure they do not run again. But will he agree?”

“One of their weapons has landed in the hands of his brother and sister. These seven are already tied to them. Ensure they cross paths and he will agree.”

Istus nodded once then, slowly.

“Then let it be done. And we’ll have to hope that it will be enough.”

It wasn’t until he approached the darkened doorway on the side of the funhouse tent that Barry Bluejeans realized he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Worse yet, he had no idea what he was getting his son into. The two year old held braced on his hip gazed into that darkness curiously, his thumb in his mouth and his other hand reaching up to tug on one slightly pointed ear. But if the letter was telling the truth, the key to finding his wife was here. Really though, he should have left Angus with someone. Anyone.

Too late for that now.

“Ready, buddy?”

Barry looked down at his son and Angus smiled back up at him, showing off the gap between his baby teeth. Barry nodded once and Angus copied him. Then he looked up at the names over the door once again. Barry and Angus Bluejeans. This would be fine. They would find Lup and leave and that would be it. Everything was going to be fine. Steeling his courage, he stepped through the doorway into the darkness and then through into an indescribable brightness forged of colors of light he could only barely describe. He took a few more steps forward before setting Angus down beside him, holding tight to his hand. That was when he heard the voices.

“Welcome to Wonderland. I do hope that you’re ready to— Wait a moment. Lydia, look at him.”

A half a second later, a dark haired elven man blinked into existence before them, leaning down to look at Angus. Then a woman appeared beside him, looking back and forth between the two of them curiously.

“Lydia, are you seeing this?”

The woman started to reach towards Angus and Barry pulled his wand, uncertain.

The next thing he was sure of, everything was, categorically, not fine. It was barely even what Barry would categorize as passably alright. His head was pounding, his wand had traces of a spell he didn’t recognize swirling around the tip, and the two strange elves were still holding his son. He pulled himself back up to his knees, trying to clear the fog swimming through his mind. It felt like molasses, thick and disorienting. But he had to get to Angus, that much he was sure of.

“I can’t believe it, Ed.” The woman’s voice was soft, gentle even. She sounded like she was in awe. “It really is him.”

The other elf, Edward, leaned in to examine Angus more carefully. He too, was smiling, and his voice was full of wonderment.

“It certainly is. Little Keats, brought back to us after so long.”

The little boy turned, seeing his father, and started squirming as he tried to get back to him. Even still, he argued. He didn’t have all that many words to his name just yet, being only two, but he had more than enough to repeatedly tell them his name was Angus and he wanted his daddy. Lydia swore as she very nearly dropped him and then set him on his feet again. He started to run towards Barry only to be caught around the waist by Edward.

“Keats, no. You can’t go with him. We’ve wanted you back for so long. You need to stay with us.”

“My name’s not Keats! I’m Angus!”

Edward held him against his chest, wincing at the boy kicked him hard in the thigh. Lydia rounded on Barry then, tears on her cheeks and fury in her eyes.

“What did you do? How did you get him? He was supposed to come to us.”

Barry leveled his wand at her chest. He didn’t know all that many offensive spells. Or at least, he was pretty sure he didn’t. The spell he’d cast moments before still eluded him somehow and he was beginning to feel a gnawing dread in the back of his mind, wondering if perhaps he wasn’t developing latent sorcerous power. It seemed unlikely at his age, but stranger things had happened. Still, he would cast every spell in his repetoire and make new ones up on the spot if that was what he had to do to get his little boy back.

“He’s my son. He’s not Keats, he’s Angus. Now give him back.”

Lydia growled under her breath, looking at that wand with dislike. Then she disappeared and reappeared beside her brother.

“He’s right, you know. The soul is the same but he doesn’t remember us. And his body is all wrong.”

Edward gripped Angus as tightly as he could, trying to keep the boy from kicking him again.

“Then we’ll simply have to remind him, dear sister.”

When they vanished again and took Angus with them, Barry knew one thing for certain. He would burn Wonderland to the ground if that was what he had to do to get his son back. And if they hurt Angus? Well, then he might just burn Wonderland down regardless.

Angus sat on the floor between the two elves, his arms crossed over his small chest and annoyance written on his face. As a rule, half-elven ears weren’t nearly as expressive as those of full elves, but he’d still managed to get his pointed back in his annoyance. Edward sat on one side of him and Lydia sat on the other, each of them pleading for him to listen, to see reason, to understand that they had loved him for so long and they just wanted to do what was best for him. But they kept calling him Keats and that was wrong. Though, he did really like the teddy bear they’d given him. It was tattered and old but it felt right hugged against his chest. Almost like it was a friend that he already knew.

“How come you keep calling me Keats? That’s not my name.”

Lydia reached to brush his curly hair out of his face and Angus leaned away, glaring at her. She sighed a little and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight.

“Because you are Keats. Your soul is the same soul as our baby brother, Keats. Do you know about souls?”

Angus shook his head, his thumb slipping once more into his mouth. Edward shook his head as well.

“He’s too young to know those things, Lydia. How old are you, anyway?”

That got a gap-toothed grin and Angus held up two fingers.

“Almost three. But two for now.”

Lydia’s eyes widened. That was so very young, even for a half-elf. He was so small, so smart. Just like the brother they’d lost. And yet.

“Do you think you could maybe try being Keats?”

He shook his head again, hugging the bear tightly.

“I keep telling you, I’m Angus. I don’t know anybody named Keats.”

Edward scooted a little closer.

“But you could try,” he insisted. “You could be our little brother just like before. And we’d give you everything in the world. Anything you wanted.”

And then the door slammed open and the human man from before, Barry Bluejeans, stood there wreathed in red lightnings that sparked over his skin. Edward's head snapped up and his eyes widened, his ears flicking back. He knew perfectly well what that lightning meant and he suddenly understood the subtle power he'd felt under the human's skin. He grabbed his sister's arm as he scrambled to his feet, pulling her back away from Angus. 

"We didn't hurt him!" He shouted. "We wouldn't. Just- Just let me explain, alright?"

Chapter Text

Barry crossed his arms over his chest as Angus hid behind his legs, just slightly peeking out. Then he sighed, looking over at Edward and Lydia. They were staying close to each other, Edward slightly in front of Lydia in a protective way that struck him as so very familiar. 

"Alright, explain."

Lydia hesitated for a moment, watching as the lightning began to settle back inside his skin. Then she began her tale.

"Keats, please, just try and drink a little more of this?"

He tried, he really did. But it was nearly impossible for the little boy to swallow without starting another bout of coughing at this point. There was blood on his lips again and he turned away, trying to cough into a handkerchief instead. Lydia was shaking, her nerves were shot. Each wracking cough that tore through her baby brother was like another stab to her heart and there was nothing she could do about it. Each healer they'd tried had said it was too far, too well established in his lungs. It would take one of the gods to heal him now and the gods weren't answering. She smoothed his hair back away from his face, wincing as she brushed her fingers against his skin. He was burning hot and clammy with sweat. Even still, he shivered under his thin blanket. 

When the coughs subsided again, he fell back against his pillow, trying to catch his breath. He was holding tight to her hand, gasping for air his lungs couldn't quite hold onto. Lydia froze then, staring at him in horror as she realized he wasn't getting a breath in. And there was more blood. 

"Ed!" She screamed for her twin and he dropped the bucket of water he carried up from the stream, the wood shattering on stone as he ran to join them. "Ed, he's... he's not... he's..."

Edward knelt beside Keats' small bed and tried to get him sitting up again, tried to give him a way to breathe. 

The little boy sounded like he was drowning. Only the fluid was in his lungs. And it was his blood. He was choking on his own blood, struggling to force air into lungs full of that which should, by rights, be sustaining his life and not killing him.

The twins exchanged a desperate look, trying to find anything they could do to stop this, anything they could do to save him.

But there was nothing. Nothing they could do as he fought for air and clung to them and clung to life. Nothing they could do as his lips tinged blue and he fell back into Edward's arms. As he fell still, Lydia scrambled for him, tears streaming down her cheeks as she grabbed his shoulders as tried to bring him back into wakefulness.

"Keats! Keats!"

Edward's grip around Lydia's shoulders tightened as she shook slightly, tears on her cheeks. Angus had stepped out from behind his father as Lydia and Edward told the story, each passing the words back and forth as they struggled with the weight of it. 

"And that's it. That's how we lost him."

Barry exhaled slowly, looking them both over.

"And that's why you became liches."

He wasn't sure how he knew it. He wasn't even sure how he knew they were liches. But Barry Bluejeans was more sure of this than he was of anything else in his life, as sure as he was of the weight in his chest. And then Edward nodded to confirm it, his gaze on the floor. Lydia reached out towards Angus and then her hand dropped and she turned away. Angus looked up and tugged at Barry's denim jacket.

"Dad, can we be nice to them?"

Barry looked down and then knelt, putting an arm around his son.

"They tried to take you away from me, buddy."

Angus turned, hiding his face against his father's side for a moment. Then he looked up again.

"They were nice though." He mumbled. "And they just want a baby brother."

Barry frowned for a moment and then looked back over at the elven twins standing opposite him. For a long moment he was silent. There was something about them that was so familiar it hurt. He just wasn't sure what it was.

"But you're not their brother," Barry said, tone reasonable. "And we don't even know them."

Angus scuffed the toe of his shoe against the brightly colored floor and then shrugged.

"They're sad."

With a long suffering sigh, Barry looked over at Edward and Lydia. Edward was looking down but Lydia had her eyes on him now, her expression full of a painful hope. How could he say no to both of them and Angus?

"Alright, alright, but we're setting some ground rules here. First, no kidnapping. And his name is Angus. Got it?" Edward and Lydia exchanged a look and then nodded, so Barry went on. "We'll figure other stuff out from there but uh... but you two better not be bad influences. I can practically smell the necromancy coming off of you and alright, sure, same. But I'm responsible with mine. And I don't want him learning bad habits."

Edward nodded quickly and Lydia followed a moment later. Then they exchanged a guilty look. 

"There are a few things..." She started.

"We'll clean that up." He finished.

Barry blinked a few times, then he frowned, leveling his most disappointed parent expression on the twins.

"Clean up what, exactly?"

Lydia's ears flicked up and her expression turned almost guilty. 

"Wonderland..."

Edward rushed on though.

"But it won't take us long to fix everything. You'll see."

They were so eager for attention, he realized. They may have been centuries old elven liches but they acted like teenagers. Teenagers, he could handle. Angus was grinning now and darted out from behind Barry, moving as quickly as his toddler legs could take him towards something Barry hadn't notice before. Between everything else, he hadn't had a chance to really look around the room before and now he saw that there was a child-sized bed off to one side and dozens of toys scattered around. Angus had gone straight for a small stuffed silver dragon that he picked up and hugged tightly along with the teddy bear he'd already been holding. Edward and Lydia were both watching him curiously and Barry walked over to join them.

"Those are your brother's toys?"

It was only half a question but they both nodded their confirmation anyway. Barry watched Angus play happily for a moment and then turned to the twins.

"You know he isn't your brother. It... it can be the same soul but that doesn't make them the same the person. Souls are only a part of the equation."

They both nodded, ears flicked back once more.

"We know that," insisted Lydia. "But that doesn't matter. We can protect him this time. We could do that before. Even if he's different. Even if he's not like... like Keats was. It doesn't matter. He's still our brother."

There was a part of him that was strangely surprised she didn't finish that up by telling him it was an elf thing that he wouldn't understand and then calling him Barold. He didn't know who used to call him that, but he knew someone had. He ran his thumb along the wedding band he wore and wondered for the thousandth time if maybe this was some little aspect of his wife he was remembering. It could be. It could be.

Angus ran over then, holding up the bear to show Barry. Edward smiled and then glanced at Barry for a moment before grabbing his sister's hand.

"Come on, we need to clean up. We promised, after all."

They vanished from sight and Barry nearly jumped out of his own skin before he remembered. Liches. Of course they could do things like that. They were liches. Then he sat down to play with his son until they got back from cleaning up whatever it was they were cleaning up. Later, he would need to set out more ground rules, he thought. Things about making sure Angus would have privacy and the freedom to be himself. He was only three, after all. But it didn't seem like anything would be a problem. Edward and Lydia seemed like they wanted other people around as much as he did, like they would do anything he said as long as they got to be around Angus. He could make that work. 

"So, what're you gonna call your bear, bud?"

Angus shrugged a little.

"He's already got a name, I just don't know what it is yet. I'm gonna ask when they get back."

Chapter Text

The next few years passed quietly, for the most part. Barry quickly learned that just because Edward and Lydia weren't actively seeking out people to come to Wonderland, that didn't mean people wouldn't come anyway. And some of them were hostile as they searched for something that called them but they didn't understand. They couldn't know what it was because none of them remembered. But Edward and Lydia knew what it was, and they showed the bell to Barry where Angus wouldn't find it. 

There was something about the crystal bell with it's etched diamond designs that drew Barry to it, but at the same time, he knew to pull back. It was dangerous, he was sure of that. He could feel the danger in it. He kept his arms crossed over his chest as it looked at it, making doubly sure he couldn't reach out to grab it. 

"What is this thing?" His voice was a bare whisper but it still echoed in this chamber at the center of Wonderland. "Where did you even get it?"

The twins were quiet for a long moment, one standing on either side of him. Then Edward shrugged a little.

"It's called the Animus Bell. Or at least, that's what it calls itself. It..."

He hesitated visibly and his sister picked up the thread.

"It let us do things that no lich can normally do, go far beyond the normal limits of our powers." She paused for a moment. "And it can... it can kill. Painlessly, instantly, irresistibly."

She hugged herself, looking down.

"It calls out. It wants to be used." Edward's ears flicked back and his gaze too dropped. "You hear it, right?"

Barry paused. Did he? He certainly felt it, but did he hear it? Yes. He did, a voice that almost sounded like his own, strangely, offering him a chance to live forever. He almost laughed at that idea. Live forever without Angus' mother? Without the woman he couldn't really remember but knew he loved more than life itself? That wasn't even remotely a question.

"Yeah, I hear it. Doesn't mean I want to take it any more than I did a minute ago."

Edward laughed, the sound almost pained. Then he moved back away from the pedestal they kept it on.

"Well, good for you, Barry. Because it's taking everything I've got not to."

Then he grabbed his sister by the arm, pulling her back. They couldn't risk either of them grabbing it again. They had done so many horrible things with that bell in hand. They had hurt so many people. They couldn't risk going back to that and losing what they had now.

Barry had no idea what was going through their minds as he turned away as well, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Come on, let's go see if Ango's up from his nap yet. I know he was looking forward to his first magic lessons and I maaay have told him you two were going to help show off some cantrips."

Angus sat in Edward's lap, though he was leaned forward and attentive as he watched the way Lydia was shaping her mage hand. Barry nodded as she finished snapping it into existence. It was a simple enough spell, with very little that could go dangerously wrong even in the hands of a six year old with his first wand. 

"Think you've got it, Ango?"

The little boy gripped his wand tightly and got to his feet, nodding eagerly.

"I got it, Dad."

They all watched as he mimicked the gestures and the words to the spell, his small face tight with focus. Slowly, a bright blue shape began to form. It didn't quite look like a hand. Instead it was more like an exaggerated cartoon glove. But it was moving around and he could control it. Edward laughed and clapped excitedly and the glove-hand vanished.

"Dad! Dad! I did it! Eddie, did you see? It worked! Just like Lydia's!"

Edward froze for a moment, startled to hear the old nickname on Angus' lips. It had been so very long since anyone had called him Eddie. Only Keats had ever used that name for him. A smile curled his lips, his ears flicked up.

"You did great, Angus. Absolutely brilliant."

Barry was grinning as well, not even realizing that anything had changed.

"Great job, bud. Think you can do it again?"

Angus nodded, just as excited as before, and raised his wand. This time, when he formed the mage hand in the air, he started playing around with trying to actually use it for something. He directed it to pick up one of his books and laughed with glee as he used it to put the book back on the shelf. With a huge smile on his face, he looked up at his dad again.

"Can I learn another one, Dad? Can I?"

Barry laughed and caught his son up around the waist in a hug.

"Not today, bud. It's time for dinner. But you did amazing."

There was only one thing that nagged on Barry's mind during those quiet years living in Wonderland and raising his son. He still didn't know where Lup was. Truth to tell, he didn't remember much. He knew her name. He knew he loved her more than life itself. He knew that the weight in his chest, that feeling of emptiness was because she was gone. And he could dimly remember her smile. It wasn't a lot to work off of. Certainly not enough to see about getting any sort of scrying or locating spell done. And anyway, he'd already tried that. Instead, he tried to focus on raising his son and not on the weight that pulled him down. 

Then one night, while Angus played with Edward on the floor and Barry sat ostensibly planning out their next few magic lessons, Lydia looked at him oddly.

"What are you doing that for?"

Barry looked up, adjusting his glasses uncertainly.

"Doing what for?"

Lydia raised one eyebrow, her ears flicked back.

"You keep twisting that ring. You do it any time you think nobody's looking and you're thinking, and you get this look on your face." 

Barry exhaled slowly. He'd been here for years now, with the twins acting more like family than anything else. The four of them had fallen easily into being some sort of strange family unit with one parent, two teenagers, and a child. There was still something missing though, and he was the only one who knew it.

"Ah..." He trailed off for a moment, looking down. "I was just thinking about... You remember why me and Ango came here in the first place, right?"

Lydia was quiet then, shaking her head. Then her ears flicked back and she looked him over again as she muttered something that sounded like 'human customs, right.'

"You're married, aren't you? And you were looking for..."

Barry nodded slowly.

"For my wife. Angus' mom. Her... her name is Lup. And... and something must've happened because that's all I can remember. One minute, I'm sure I was with her, and then the next it was just the two of us and I can't remember a lot from before. Angus doesn't remember anything. He was too young."

They both looked across the room at the sound of laughter just in time to see Angus push Edward down, both of them laughing as they play-wrestled. 

"It's not that I'm not happy here. Hell, this place is great. And... and I always wanted a family like this."

Something passed across Lydia's face then, like shock and surprise but a much wanted surprise. Like some sort of dream she'd never really thought could be was coming to pass. Then her ears drooped again.

"But you miss her."

"Every single day," Barry confirmed.

Lydia looked down for a long moment, quiet. When she looked up again, there was a confident surety to her gaze and a grin across her face.

"We'll find her. We can do that. Promise."

Before Barry could say another word, she vanished from in front of him. He blinked a few times and then smiled. He didn't know if they really could but it was sweet of her to offer. Then he wondered at that look on her face. Had Lydia not realize they were a family now? That he thought of the pair of him as his kids as much as Angus was? Sure, they were probably older than him but they were semi-immortal undead elves who were basically stuck as teenagers forever. And they could pretty clearly use some parents.

Then he heard a thud and looked up again just in time to see the thirty seconds before disaster. Angus had slipped on something while playing with Edward and he'd fallen. The six year old screwed up his face, trying to decide if he was okay. Barry waited, silently counting in his head. Odds were, Angus had just startled himself and he'd be fine. Then Edward reached for Angus' favorite bear, whimsically named Byron Bear by his previous owner, and held him out. 

"How about we play with him for a bit instead, alright?"

Edward's ears were pinned back, worry plain on his face. Barry sighed a little, turning the page of his notes. The twins got like this any time Angus even maybe got hurt or just needed to sleep or had a bit of a cold or any number of minor normal childhood things. He knew why though. The way they'd lost their brother, he'd be surprised if they weren't a little traumatized. He just needed to periodically remind them that all of this was normal and that Angus was fine.

That night, after Angus was tucked safely into bed and Barry had retreated to his own room for a bit of reading, Lydia waited for her brother. Edward walked down the hall from Angus' room, stretching as he walked. The twins had a dedicated place they called their bedroom, but honestly neither of them had so much as tranced since they'd completed the ritual to become liches. Why bother? It wasn't like they needed it and there was so much they could be using those hours for. 

"Brother dear," Lydia leaned against the wall, idly examining her nails. They were a neon blue just now, one that matched the dye in her brother's hair. Though they had chips and she really ought to redo them. "I had a conversation with Barry earlier and I think I've found a way we can repay him for bringing our darling baby brother back into our lives."

Edward's ears flicked up with curiosity as he tilted his head to the side just slightly. 

"Is that so, dearest sister? Do tell me all about it."

She hooked her arm in his as he reached her and turned to walk beside him.

"Did you realize he's married, brother dear? And that his wife is missing?"

"I had no idea." Edward tapped a finger against his lips, deep in thought for a moment. Then he grinned, turning to face her. "We're going to find her, aren't we? And you already have a plan, of course."

Lydia laughed, the sound echoing down the hall until she remembered the child sleeping in the small room at the end and covered her mouth. Then she nodded eagerly.

"Of course I have a plan, dear Edward. When don't I have a plan?"

Chapter Text

The hard part was that they couldn't really leave Wonderland. Sure, that had never been a problem before when it came to finding things, or people, but this time they didn't want to just cast a wide net and hope. They needed to find a more direct way to track this woman down. It was going to be hard though, given that they only knew her name and that she was an elf. Then again, they'd managed to lure victims into Wonderland with less.

Edward put his hands up, his ears flicked back as he looked at his twin.

"We can't- Do you hear yourself? If we use the Bell, we can kiss all of this goodbye. And I am not about to lose our brother, not a second time."

Lydia stepped closer and Edward stepped back until his back hit the wall. 

"He'll forgive us if we bring his wife home. And it's not like we're going to use it to hurt anyone. Just to find her."

Quiet hung between them while Edward considered her idea. Then he bit his lower lip for a moment, turning slightly in the direction of the Animus Bell where it was tucked safely away in the center of Wonderland, in a place Angus would never find it. 

"Let's save that as a last resort, alright? I'm sure there's something else we could do. We just have to find the right spell."

Lydia hesitated for a moment before nodding. Neither of them wanted to touch that thing, neither of them wanted to risk what they knew would happen if they did something that made Barry think he needed to take Angus away from here. He wouldn't hesitate for a moment. Then she grabbed her brother by the arm and dragged him into their room.

"Brainstorming session. Grab a notebook and start writing down everything. No bad ideas here, darling brother, we'll cull the list when we're done."

An hour or so of yelling and writing later, with some frantic searching through their spell books and the various and sundry things that people had left in Wonderland along the way, they'd managed to narrow the list down a bit. First and foremost, they would need to verify that Lup was even still in the Prime Material Plane and that she hadn't been scooped up by one of the Raven Queen's busybody Reapers. That was dangerous and potentially messy, but Lydia had ideas. Next, they would need to narrow down possible locations to focus their search on. Scrying might be able to help there, and Lydia was fairly certain that a hand mirror she'd acquired through the centuries had magical properties related to divination magics. One of them would have to figure out exactly how it worked, but they had time. 

And then there were the final two pieces of the plan. First, they would canvas the spell casters of the world in an attempt to locate Lup. Either they would find her or someone who knew her, hopefully. That was easily enough done with a bit of programmed magic. Although, they would have to be sure to filter out Barry and Angus. Couldn't have them catching on to the surprise before everything was ready, after all. Then finally, when they'd narrowed down an area to search, they could find someone to go there and try to physically locate her. Or else they could go themselves and risk the chance that one of the Reapers finally tracked them down. And then they would finally be able to give Barry what he had given them.

Edward leaned back, lounging in a chaise as he considered the right wording for his programmed sending. Lydia dug through the various and assorted items strewn throughout the room trying to figure out where she'd left that damn mirror. 

"How does this one sound, Lydia, dear?" Edward cleared his throat dramatically. "Hello! Is your name Lup and are you looking for an exciting opportunity? If you said yes to those questions, you should respond to this sending!"

Lydia paused, setting aside a long bow that was taller than she was and sparked with electricity.

"Edward, dear, do you take constructive criticism?"

He waved that off.

"Never in my life."

"Good," Lydia said, turning entirely to face him, her hands on her hips. "Because this isn't constructive. What the fuck?"

He just rolled his eyes. 

"Fine, fine, we'll workshop it a little before we send it out." Then he leaned forward in the chaise, resting his elbows on his knees. "Do you really think all of this will work?"

Lydia's gaze turned to steel for a moment before she turned away with a casual wave.

"It will, darling brother. And if we can't get her to come here on her own, then we'll just summon her. It's a simple conjuration spell. It shouldn't be hard for the two of us."

Edward nodded slowly and then smiled. He couldn't wait to see the look on Angus' face when they gave him his mother back. Maybe she would even be like Barry and accept that they were all one big family now. That would be nice. He could barely remember what it was like to have a mother.

"And if we have to go down that road," Lydia continued. "Then we'll make sure to talk to Barry before we just pull her here. Less messy that way, hopefully. But we shouldn't need to. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want to come to Wonderland given the right inducement."

That drew a slow grin out of Edward. Of course. They'd never had any trouble luring people to Wonderland before, why would that change now?

A woman sat in an inn, sipping a mug of tea as she considered her next move. A gleaming white staff rested near to hand, one she couldn't help but periodically reach out to touch. Just to be sure it was still there, of course. Then she felt a bit of magic tingling in the air around her and very nearly snapped a shield into place before she recognized the feeling of a sending.

"Hello! Are you Lup? Do you know someone named Lup? If yes, please respond or come to Wonderland. I promise, it's worth your while!"

Her hands tightened around the mug as she fought not to drop it. For half a moment, she'd thought she knew that voice. But that wasn't Lup's brother, that wasn't Taako. He sounded similar but not quite the same. Like Taako seen through a funhouse mirror. And whoever he was, he was searching for Lup. 

That settled things then. Lucretia knew exactly what her next move had to be. She was going to Wonderland. Now she just had to find it.

An elf lay back in a cot, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the wooden beams of the wagon ceiling. He could hear his assistant banging and bustling outside, getting set up for the show that night. Sooner or later, he would need to get up and make sure he had the menu set and everything ready to go. Not that he would have a problem if he was short ingredients. The transmutation magic was half of the show. 

There was a particularly loud bang and he sat up, ready to lean out the window to shout. Then he stopped, ears flicking up as he felt the unmistakable sensation of magic washing over him. 

"Hello! Are you Lup? Do you know someone named Lup? If yes, please respond or come to Wonderland. I promise, it's worth your while!"

Something about the message struck a chord with Taako. It made him feel warm and like there was hope blossoming in his chest. Except that he had no idea who this was or who they were talking about. Lup? Wonderland? And he absolutely did not know the elf on the other end, though the accent was unmistakably elven. 

Rather than respond, he pushed the window of the wagon open and leaned out slightly.

"What's all the noise out here, Sazed? Don't you know, cha'boy needs his beauty sleep."

Chapter Text

Edward dropped into the seat next to his sister, watching Angus go through his lessons. He was laughing as he tried to copy the gestures his father was making with his wand. It was supposed to be his first non-cantrip spell but things didn't seem to be going so well just yet. And things weren't going well for the spell the twins had had running in the background. Which was why Edward sighed and leaned over to rest his head on his sister's shoulder.

"It's been months, Lydia. Months and nothing. Not so much as a peep."

Lydia sighed as well. All of their efforts, all of their work, and nothing. It was like Lup didn't want to be found. Or worse. Stretching dramatically, she lounged halfway across him. 

"Well then, we're just going to have to escalate, aren't we?" Then she grinned, tapping one temple. "You know, dear brother, we did discuss kidnapping a Reaper and that plan is still very much on the table."

The silence hung between them for a moment before Edward looked up at another startled laugh. Shards of ice hung from Angus' wand and glasses and Barry had a thin sheen of ice over his front. He shook himself out, the ice crystals falling to the ground while Angus giggled. 

"We can't do it here then, dear sister. You and I both know what the Reapers will do if they find Barry. We can't have that. We can't even let them know where he might be."

She nodded slightly, considering.

"What do you propose then?"

Edward laughed softly as Angus tried again, a clear shard of ice shooting out of his wand only to melt a few feet away.

"That we lure them somewhere else, and I think I know just the place. After all, dear sister, how long has it been since we went home?"

The old manor house had largely been consumed by the plants that had once made up the garden. It was a shadow of its former self, the paint faded and the walls far reduced. But in the end, to Edward and Lydia it would always be home. He walked along what had once been the path to the front door, the flowers alongside it scattered out of the tidy rows they had once been in. It was easy to see where they had been though, if you knew where to look. It was easy to see all of the house as it had been. His form flickered for a moment, fashionable clothing giving way to the dark robes underneath. Then just as quickly, it settled back into place as he smoothed his hand over his shirt. It was uncomfortable being outside of Wonderland at times, but this was important. Far too important to be put off. 

Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Lydia still back by the overgrown roses near the front of the yard. Back near where the three memorials stood, somewhere under all of that. She wiped her eyes and then moved to follow after him, steel in her gaze and in her spine.

"Do you have the gem, my dear brother?"

Edward nodded and made a gesture in the air, opening a pocket dimension. His hand disappeared through the opening for a moment before he produced a sapphire the size of his fist.

"Right here, Lydia, dear."

She nodded once and started for the door, opening it with a gesture rather than a touch. They could have gone around, gone through any of the gaping openings in the walls. They didn't and as they moved, illusions filled in the empty places their memories traced over in an instant. Edward followed after, his fingers just barely not brushing the walls. They moved not towards the stairs that would lead up to abandoned bedrooms, but towards the back of the house and the old kitchen. The stairs there would take them into the cellar. It would be best, and easiest, to stage this scene there. After all, didn't the Reapers always expect them to be doing the same things? Dark and forbidden rituals in dank and musty places on nights with no moon. It was trite and cliche. But at least they could use those expectations to their advantage just this once.

The cellar was dark and Lydia flicked her fingers, conjuring candles into the corners. They didn't need them to see, of course, but it was all about ambiance. Even here, they had a show to put on and they were going to do it up. Edward produced a small jar of black chalk powder and began to sketch the lines of a circle on the floor. This was the most important part, really. And it needed to be carefully hidden under a second decoy circle. This one would be designed for containment, meant to hold the Reaper long enough for Edward to get a binding into place. Then they could extract the information they needed before they escaped. 

Once he had the circle in place, Lydia moved in to create a circle of her own in white and blue chalk powder, with several artistic splashes of blood just for the drama of it. She paused several times, looking the whole scene over before she decided it was right and began arranging her candles just so. 

"Edward, darling, can you see how long we have until full dark?"

He headed towards the stairs with a little wave.

"I'll be right back, Lydia. And double check your candles. The east one looks off."

Her head snapped to the errant candle and her ears flicked back as she moved towards it.

"Is that so..."

He just laughed as he made his way back to the ground floor and out the back door with a flick of his wrist. The sun was setting behind the trees and the garden they had once cared for, had once spent hours lost in games of hide and seek in, was all but returned to the forest. There was a splash of faded color under an overgrown bush and Edward pointed towards it, drawing the object out with his magic. It hung in the air as he turned it this way and that, his ears pinned back. It was a wooden pull toy, the paint as faded as everything else here and the string long since gone to dust. But the essence of the toy dog was still there. It had been drenched several times and there were even mushrooms growing on it. Clenching his jaw tight, he cast a prestidigitation, cleaning it off the best that he could. Then he tucked it safely into his extra dimensional pocket. Maybe Barry would know how to clean it the rest of the way. Or maybe he could find a spell that would do it.

Back in Wonderland, Barry sat in the quiet reading through one of the books the twins had in their collection. It was a fascinating tome focusing around necromantic theory and practice, with an emphasis in the latter. Sure, there were parts of it he was strangely certain were wrong, but it was interesting to read nonetheless. Particularly since Angus was curled up next to him with a book of his own. He was just starting to get into chapter books and they'd found a detective series that he was enthralled with, even if he still needed help with the words from time to time. Then there was a sound and Barry looked up, closing his book slightly. The twins were out, gone back to their old house to get something or other, they'd said. They'd said it was important and he hadn't questioned beyond making sure it wouldn't be dangerous and that they didn't want him to come along. But what he'd just heard was absolutely the magical doorbell, the one that signified that someone new had entered Wonderland. He set the book on the small table beside him and stood.

"Stay here, Ango. I'm gonna go see what's going on."

The little boy turned the page in his book and nodded, only half listening. That was fine. Barry ruffled his hair and headed out of the room into the older part of Wonderland. Maybe whoever it was would just leave when he told them the hosts weren't here. Then he just sighed and made sure his wand was in his pocket. Every one of them could feel the Animus Bell at times, there would be no way someone who had come here couldn't. Odds were, he would have to do something about it. 

He didn't expected to find a young woman who looked like she was maybe twenty despite her white hair and the way she carried herself. She was holding tightly to a white wood staff that shimmered with barely contained power. He rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment before giving her an uncertain smile and a little wave.

"Uh... hi. So, I'm gonna guess you're probably here for the game, but-"

Then she cut him off, her eyes huge and alarm clear on her face.

"Barry? Barry, what are you doing here?"

He took a half step back, hand not quite going to his wand where he'd tucked it into his pocket. 

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

It was odd, but he could have sworn his answer brought some sort of relief to her face. It was just for a flash though and there was no way he could be certain. Then she took a breath and stood straighter.

"I am... Madam Director. Of the Bureau of... Balance. And I research the places I go before I go there, Barry Bluejeans. And that includes who I might find there."

If it wasn't for the fact that she knew his name, he would've been convinced she was making all of this up as she went along. The way she kept pausing between her words, the way she was doing everything in her power to exude authority and gravitas. Except that she did know his name and she said she knew other things, about the other people who lived here. That would include Angus.

"Alright, fine." He did pull his wand then, holding it tightly in his hand. "Then tell me, Madam Director, what were you hoping to find here in Wonderland? What were you looking for?"

It was her turn to take a step back, her gaze flicking between his face and the tip of his wand.

"I was looking for someone and I thought someone here might know where I could find her. It would seem I was wrong. Unless..." She paused for a moment. "You didn't send out a message, did you? A magical one?"

He shook his head, even more confused now. 

"No? As far as I know, no one here did."

"Well then... I won't keep you." She looked him over one last time, pausing to note little details but he wasn't sure what. "But... for what it's worth, I'm sorry about everything that happened, Barry."

She turned, heading towards the doorway once more, and his grip on his wand tightened. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What was happening right now?

"What did you do? What are you talking about?"

The woman shook her head and then glanced back over her shoulder at him for a moment.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't remember. But it won't be much longer. I promise. I'm going to fix this."

Chapter Text

Lydia knelt beside her circle, a knife held in one hand, while Edward faded back into the shadows of the room. He wouldn't try invisibility or anything like that. After all, it wouldn't work. A Reaper would find it just as easy as they did to see through. No, he would trust to simply staying out of the Reaper's line of sight long enough to cast the spell. Or, well, at least long enough to get them trapped in a magical circle. Then he could afford to take the hour it would take to properly cast.

The chanting filled the room as Lydia began the spell she had long since memorized. It was a resurrection, reaching directly into the Astral Sea to draw forth a single soul from the other side. It was what they had tried all these years. It wouldn't work and both twins knew why now. But that didn't matter. What mattered was creating a disturbance. What mattered was attracting attention. And if there was anything that Edward and Lydia were good at, it was attracting attention.

Then they heard the sound they were both waiting for, one that sounded like a knife tearing through fabric that always heralded the arrival of a Reaper in service to the Raven Queen. Lydia's head snapped up at the sound and she moved before the scythe could come down. Darting across her circle, she was careful not to hit any of the lines. The Reaper followed her, blindly intent on his mission, skeletal face somehow intense.

"Now!"

Edward's voice rang out and the containment circle snapped to life, the dark lines of chalk glowing with a faint purple glow. The Reaper slammed into one of the sides of the prison and then tried to bring his scythe down through it. Neither worked. Then he turned to face Edward, his appearance rippling for a moment as he changed from a skeleton to a handsome dark-skinned man in a dark suit. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Edward with red eyes that seemed to glow slightly. Lydia moved next to her brother, a smug smile on her face. Then she gestured for her brother to start casting his next spell while she spoke.

"Hello there, dear Reaper. I do hope you find your accommodations to be adequate since you're going to be there for a bit while my darling brother casts his little spell. Unless of course you'd like to answer our questions without coercion?"

The Reaper's jaw tightened and he looked back and forth between the twins for a long moment, saying nothing. Lydia sighed softly, tilting her head to the side.

"At least let me know your name, dear. After all, it is going to take him a whole hour."

Again, he glanced between the two of them before trying to slice his way out of the circle. The scythe hit the magical barrier with a resounding ringing like the inside of a bell and he sighed. Holding his scythe up, he let it vanish before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Kravitz."

Lydia smiled brightly at him, the expression pure artifice.

"Wonderful to meet you, darling. And wasn't that easy?" Then she grinned. "I'm Lydia, by the way. And my dearest brother is named Edward. And you, Kravitz darling, are going to help us make our friends very, very happy."

Kravitz rested one hand on the translucent barrier, his eyes following the blue shimmering lines that arched away from him across the surface like electricity. 

"And how's that?"

He did his best to sound disinterested, bored even, but Lydia could see the way he was examining everything in the room. He had gone far beyond simply trying to find a way to escape. They had intrigued him, it seemed.

"We're looking for someone. I don't suppose the name Lup means anything to you, does it? She's an elf, we know that much."

He was quiet after that, but she could see the gears turning. He did know something, he just wasn't saying. Well, that would change soon enough.

By the time the hour had passed, Lydia was bored. Kravitz hadn't stopped pacing in his temporary prison and it was starting to get on her nerves. Instead of focus on that, she'd decided to take some time to paint her nails. Was it entirely illusory? Yes, of course. She was a lich. But still, it was something to keep her mind off her twin chanting in the corner and the Reaper. And then his eyes glazed over as Edward finally came to the end of the spell.

"There. It took." Edward grinned slowly, ears flicking up. "Kravitz, was it? Wonderful, darling. Now then, why don't you tell us everything you know about a woman named Lup."

It was frustratingly little but Kravitz opened the bounty book to let them read the page on Lup. She was a high elven wizard with a specialization in evocation magic. Fascinating. More interesting still was the high death count tied to her bounty along with her status as a lich. And she had a brother, a twin. Edward gestured for Kravitz to turn the page and his eyes went wide.

"Is that Barry?"

Kravitz growled softly under his breath.

"Barry Bluejeans. Necromancer, lich, dozens of deaths to his name, and he keeps evading me."

Edward's grip on his wand tightened.

"And you're not going to look for him anymore. Understand?" Kravitz nodded and Edward smiled. Planar binding really was a lovely spell. "And if Lup isn't in the Astral Plane and you don't know where she might be... Kravitz, go find her brother. Find Taako and see if he knows where she is. I'll leave some paper here so he can leave us notes about what you learn. Report back at least monthly."

Kravitz nodded slowly and then took out his scythe.

"I'll have to locate Taako first. He's also wanted. Eight deaths without visiting the Astral Plane."

The twins exchanged a confused look. Eight deaths? How? Well, no doubt they would get their answers eventually.

"Then get moving, dear."

Lydia waved cheerfully and Kravitz nodded once before vanishing through a portal. Thankfully, he stepped to another part of the prime material plane. Hopefully, it would be a while before he managed to break through Edward's control. They stood there for a moment, just looking around. Then they moved without speaking. It was time to leave, time to go back to Wonderland. They'd been gone for too long.

It was nearly a month before Kravitz managed to get his hands on a flyer for this traveling cooking show before it arrived in town. He stood near to the front of the crowd, his appearance that of a living person. Taako was... intriguing. The elven man was gorgeous, of course, and he knew it. He was also arrogant and a show off. But honestly? He was talented enough to warrant it. Even with how simplistic the transmutations he was enacting were, Kravitz could see the skill there. The way he held his wand, the casual confidence in his spell casting. The way he kept meeting Kravitz's gaze and grinning.

When the show was over, Taako stepped out into the audience, a tray in one hand as he offered samples to the waiting crowd. Kravitz took a piece of the tender beef, savoring the spices and rather enjoying the fact that he'd decided to come to the show as an attendee rather than as the invisible specter of death.

He waited until the crowd receded, until it was just him and Taako and the show assistant who was cleaning up. Taako leaned against a tree, idly watching his assistant working. Then he turned, smiling slowly when he saw that Kravitz was still there.

"Fancy you sticking around, handsome. What's your name?"

Kravitz smiled, a little flustered despite himself. It was alright though, Taako didn't know who he was or that he was technically here on something like business.

"My name is Kravitz." He hesitated for a moment, trying to decide how best to broach the topic he'd been sent here for. Instead, he looked nervous. "I was wondering, Taako. How would you like to have dinner with me?"

Well, that wasn't even remotely what he was supposed to be asking about. But that was fine. He could ask about Taako's sister later. And deal with the fact that the man had a bounty on him as well... later. Taako was eyeing him curiously, looking him up and down. Then the man grinned and held out a hand.

"I would love to. Got somewhere in mind?"

Kravitz hadn't planned anything that had happened so far, let alone what came next, which meant he had nothing like a plan from here. Then he thought about a small restaurant he'd seen once in the city of Neverwinter. How far was Neverwinter from here? Nearly instantaneous if he decided to just cut a portal like he usually did to travel. But would Taako take it in stride that he was the Grim Reaper? Or would he, a death criminal, panic and run? Probably not worth chancing it just yet.

"Well..." Every town had an inn, right? They usually at least had decent stew if he remembered anything from his life so long ago. "I've got a few ideas."

Soon enough, they were sitting at a small table tucked into a dimly lit back corner with a bottle of wine to share and a pot of fondue between them. Taako dipped a crust of bread, swirling it around in the molten cheese before raising it to his lips and savoring the bite. Kravitz felt distinctly like he was watching something intimate that he should not be seeing. At least not on a first date. Assuming this was a date.

When had he decided he hoped it was a date?

"So, Krav. Can I call you Krav? Much as I'm enjoying the fondue, my guy, you seem like you've got something on your mind. If it's how you're going to talk me into a date numero dos, don't worry, I've already got some ideas of my own, if you're interested."

Oh. Oh. Well, that answered several things. Kravitz almost wished he had a pulse in that moment just because he knew if he did, he would be blushing. Otherwise, he just looked awkward. 

"That... was certainly one of the things on my mind, yes. I've really enjoyed myself tonight, Taako." Then he paused, trying to decide how to word the questions he needed to ask. "This may sound odd, and if it does, I'm sorry but I have to ask. It's important."

Taako reached for his wine glass and took a sip, gesturing a little for Kravitz to continue.

"Well, whatever it is, go on."

Kravitz nodded slightly, the orders the twins had given him running through his head like a refrain.

"Taako, do you know where your sister is?"

Chapter Text

Edward strode into the room, an illusory apple in his hand as he walked. At the last moment, he properly conjured one into it's place and tossed it to the little boy who had gotten up from playing. Angus caught it with a whoop and then ran to hug his big brother tightly. 

“You were gone for days, Eddie! Where’d you go?”

Edward laughed, scooping Angus up in a fierce hug.

“Lydia and I went to our old home for a bit. Just to check in on things. But... look what I found.”

He reached into the pocket dimension at his side, glad that he didn’t need to fiddle with a mage hand here. He was back in Wonderland and he may not have been using the Bell, but just being here and near it made all of them more powerful just by their nature as liches. Then he held out the pull toy with a flourish.

“I know it doesn’t look like much now but I bet we could fix it right up. Especially if we ask your dad.”

Angus took the toy dog with one hand, hugging it tightly as he held on to Edward with the other.

“Daddy’s making dinner. Come on!”

Lydia slid in on his other side, ruffling his hair as the three of them headed off towards the small kitchen.

“Anything happen while we were gone, baby brother?”

Angus nodded, but he made a face as he did.

"Somebody came to play your game. Daddy answered the door and he said she was weird. I think he got scared though. Why would Daddy be scared of anything?"

That stopped the twins in their tracks. A woman had come here, while they were gone. It couldn't be Lup, right? Unless... Unless...

Alright, it was entirely possible they'd been overhasty in kidnapping themselves a Reaper. But now they had a Reaper! And he was off searching too which meant he wouldn't be causing problems for them. So really, they'd done a good thing, in the long run. Though they probably should check through their stash of treasure and see if there was another sizable gem in there, just in case. Couldn't have Kravitz getting ideas and haring off after their year and a day. Or at least, couldn't have him turning around and coming after all of this.

They turned the corner into the kitchen to the smells and sounds of Barry getting a big pot of soup going, the whole place smelling strongly of garlic and roasting chicken. Edward sat Angus on his booster seat at the small table and dropped into his own chair, leaning back. Lydia slid in next to Barry, automatically reaching to pick up the knife to help chop vegetables.

"Sooooo, Angus said someone popped by while we were gone."

Barry glanced up from stirring the pot and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a woman did. And she seemed to think someone had sent out a magic message. That wouldn't have been you two, would it?"

Lydia's ears flicked back and she glanced over her shoulder at her twin. Edward's ears were standing up straight with alarm. She leaned in, finishing out the next carrot before she answered.

"No? Did she say anything else? Maybe a name?"

For a long moment, Barry just looked at Lydia, the expression on his face one she hadn't seen leveled at her in a long, long time. It was undoubtedly parental suspicion. And she felt her chest go tight at the thought. She didn't want him to think she'd been doing something wrong. She was doing this for all of them, after all. For their whole little family. Then he shrugged.

"I mean, not what I'd call a real name. She said she was uh... Madam Director? Of the Bureau of Balance, whatever that is."

Why the hell had she said any of that? Bureau of Balance, indeed. What kind of name was the Bureau of Balance? Seriously, and she was supposed to be a writer. Lucretia opened another notebook and started to scribble down notes, automatically moving her feet out of the way as the small cleaning robot puttered through. Once again, the robot was chased after by a gangly teenage boy with a clipboard and she glanced up to watch him. She could wish Maureen’s son had taken to her more than he had. But all Lucas wanted to do was work on his experiments either alone or with his mother, certainly not with an interloper in the form of his mother’s alien girlfriend. Not, of course, to imply that the Millers knew everything. But they knew about the ship and that was enough for Lucas to make comments when he knew she would hear and Maureen wouldn’t. The fact that she was only about ten years older than him was absolutely not helping. 

Not, of course, that that was what she should be focusing on now. No, she should be focusing on the fact that she'd gone chasing a lead that offered information about Lup and she'd found Barry at the end of it. Granted that he hadn't known who she was, but he'd certainly been there. And he thought she'd been there for something else, to see other people. Odd. Odd... Well, she didn't know anything about who else might be there beyond, hopefully, little Angus, but it sounded like he'd found friends at least. That was good, wasn't it?

So why did she feel like she'd swallowed something bitter? Ah, yes, of course. He'd been afraid of her. Her old friend, her brother, had been afraid of her. And that stung deep. But he had no reason not to be and she'd given him none. He didn't know who she was and she'd waltzed into his life, knowing who he was and claiming to know all sorts of things. Of course he'd been afraid. She buried her head in her hands for a moment, trying to decide what to do. When she opened her eyes again, there was a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Maureen's concerned face and smiled a little.

"Is everything alright, Lucretia? You've been quiet since you got back from the Felicity Wildes. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Lucretia sighed and leaned against Maureen as she sat beside her on the couch.

"Yes, and no, and... Oh, I don't know. I found something, someone, and I have ideas but..."

Maureen reached for the notebook on the small table, looking it over. Then she smiled, tapping one part.

"Bureau of Balance, huh? You know, that's not an awful idea. You could use help after all."

Lucretia looked down at her own notes then, considering. That was true, she did need the help. Especially if someone out there was looking for Lup for who knew what reasons. She needed to make absolutely sure she found the Relics and her friends before they could, whoever they were.

"Well then, I suppose we should start recruiting, shouldn't we, love?"

For a long moment, Taako just looked across the table at Kravitz. It wasn't that he wasn't intrigued. Oh he was absolutely several kinds of intrigued when it came to this man sharing a pot of fondue with him. He also didn't know what he'd just been asked, was the thing. He'd sure heard the first part but it was like the rest had just turned into static.

"Wanna try me again on that, handsome?"

Kravitz hesitated, seeming confused. Then he shrugged a little.

"I was just wondering if you knew where--"

And he did it again, the words dying away into static and noise with no content that Taako could understand. It wasn't like it was some other language, that would at least sound like words. This didn't even sound like something a person with a mouth should be able to pull off. 

"Where what is? This is gonna sound real wild, my dude, but you keep like... cutting out there?"

Kravitz tried again, saying a single word, probably, but Taako couldn't even make out the shapes his mouth was making. It was like something was blocking it from actually reaching his mind through any means. There were probably spells that could do that sort of thing but why would someone cast one on him? He was a traveling chef and tv personality, nothing else. And Kravitz was looking at him expectantly, like he was supposed to have the answers to some big mystery.

"Whatever you're saying, I can't hear it. Just a whole bunch of crunchy crinkle noises like you're trying to grate tin foil."

"Well, that's certainly... evocative." Kravitz frowned slightly, drumming his fingers on the table while he contemplated the last of the fondue. Then he shook his head a little before taking the knife off the table and slowly peeling up the hard crust of cheese left at the bottom where it had cooled. He held it out with a little smile. "Here, this is always the best part."

Taako took it, his ears almost fluttering as he actively tried to avoid the blush that was rising. So, this man was a charmer, it seemed. Weird face noises or not, he was absolutely keeping him. He took the thin crust of cheese and split it in half, listening to the way it cracked. Then he held out one half.

"How long are you in town, Krav?"

Kravitz accepted the cheese and took a bite before answering.

"I don't know yet. How about you?"

Taako's grin only grew with that answer.

"Leaving in the morning, but you're more than welcome to tag along. Our next stop's in Glamour Springs."

Chapter Text

Somewhere in the darkness, a sentience grasped onto the first words she'd heard in several years, at least. It was magic, a spell, something that was beaming those words directly into her mind whether they knew it or not. Magic was something that could pass into her prison, and out of though that took significantly more effort. And these words mattered, even though it was hard to process them at first. How long had it been since she'd had something to latch onto like this? Since it had been anything other than just her, the darkness, and her thoughts? 

"-someone named Lup? If yes, please respond or come to Wonderland. I promise, it's worth your while!"

Lup. That was her. That was her name, the one she'd chosen and taken and made her own. And she had no idea who the person talking to her was or why they might be looking for her. Wonderland. What was Wonderland? Where was it? She didn't know. She also didn't know how to get out of the Umbrastaff, so really the whole point was moot, wasn't it? Even if she knew where to go, she couldn't. 

Then she remembered something, something important about the nature of communication magic, and frantically grabbed onto that magical signal, shoving as much power as she could into sending a single word back down the connection. Hopefully. Hopefully. 

"Phandalin."

That might lead someone to where she was. That might be enough to get someone here. She just wished she knew who they were. Then she stopped, suddenly realizing there was something else to worry about. Whoever this was, if they did find her, there was also a risk she was leading them right to the gauntlet. But... Well, only if they could open the vault. So maybe it would turn out alright. She just had to hope that for the first time in a long time, luck worked in her favor and not against.

Edward knelt to scoop Angus into his arms and froze, startling the boy he'd swung into the air. For a moment, his expression was distant, his eyes unfocused as he listened to something. His ears flicked slightly and Angus looked around, trying to figure out what he could possibly be hearing. There was no one else there that he could see. 

"Eddie? Eddie? Are you okay?"

After a long moment, Edward hugged Angus tightly.

"I got an answer! The spell worked!" Then he paused, realizing what he'd said. "Come on, little brother, we need to find Lydia before I say anything else."

They headed down the hall as quickly as Edward could go with Angus held tight in his arms. The door to Lydia's room flew open before Edward could touch it and she looked up from where she was studiously painting her nails a day-glo green.

"Don't you knock, dear brother?"

But Edward grinned, his ears flared wide with excitement.

"She responded, Lydia. I know where we need to go look. Or at least, I got the name of a town. That should give us something."

Lydia sat up straighter, carefully setting the brush back into the bottle.

"Where?"

She was all eagerness now, leaned forward towards him. Edward paused for a moment, glancing at Angus. The boy was looking back and forth between them, confused and interested.

"Phandalin."

Both of them were quiet, considering their next move. The name of a single town wasn't a lot to go on, after all. Then Angus tugged on Edward's sleeve, his small face screwed up.

"What are you talking about? What's a Phandalin?"

The twins exchanged a quick look before Edward sat Angus down on the edge of Lydia's bed and knelt.

"Alright, we'll let you in on the secret if you promise not to tell. But we're working on a surprise for your dad..."

The very next day, the three of them walked into the town of Phandalin. A quick illusion spell was all they needed to darken Angus' hair and make him look more like the two of them so no one would question it. And alright, yes, Barry might notice that all three of them were gone. But hopefully he would be busy all day working on magical conundrum they'd left in his hands. After all, he had a vested interest in making sure that Wonderland was entirely untraceable, magically speaking and they were so very happy to watch Angus while Barry worked. It wasn't a problem at all. What Barry didn't know wouldn't hurt him, just this once. And then it was back to the straight and narrow, they promised themselves.

Angus was practically skipping as he looked around and tried to take in everything all at once. And why wouldn't he? He'd grown up almost entirely in Wonderland. Even something so simple as seeing this many people all in one place was new. He darted ahead, pressing his hands and nose against the cool windows of a bookstore, eyes wide with excitement.

"Lydia! Look at all of them! And they've got the new Caleb Cleveland!"

Lydia knelt next to him, her own ears flicked up in amusement.

"Maybe we'll get you one when we're all done. But we're on a mission, darling, don't you forget that."

Angus stood straighter then and looked up at her, nodding seriously.

"To find my mom. I remember."

Lydia glanced back at Edward. His eyes were closed as he tried to locate the same mind and soul he'd contacted before. The downside to the way they'd had to engineer the spell to contact Lup in the first place was that Edward couldn't be entirely sure which of the magical signatures he'd connected to was the one that had responded. But now that they were physically here, he could at least try to reach back out and see which ones were near. Based on his little frown and the way his ears were set just so, he was still concentrating and not getting anywhere. 

"But while dearest Edward works on his tracking spell, how about we go get you that book?"

Angus looked back and up as well, his expression uncertain. Then he nodded slightly and reached for Lydia's hand.

"He'll be okay alone?"

Lydia squeezed his hand gently, silently glad they had enough power in reserves to project a physical form outside of Wonderland. 

"He'll be absolutely fine. Promise." Then she pushed the door open, a bell above their heads ringing softly. "Now let me see, Caleb Cleveland, right?"

The small boy bounced as he followed her in, excitement replacing worry.

"That's right!"

Kravitz wondered which would be less suspicious. Should he arrive before Taako did or after? After ran the risk of Taako seeing him portal in unless he was careful about positioning. But before would look just as suspicious given that one of them had a wagon and a horse and all that and the other was supposedly on his own with just his two feet to carry him places. Unless he got a horse? And what was he going to do with a horse in the Astral Plane? This was ridiculous. He could also just explain to Taako that he could teleport and let Taako make whatever assumptions he felt like making about what that meant. 

Which is how, after quite the argument with himself, Kravitz came to be standing in the local town square with his violin held under his chin and his bow in his hand. A hat sat in the dirt at his feet as he set the bow to the strings and slowly drew out the first note. This time, he would make sure he could pay for dinner. And perhaps even impress Taako a bit with his skill. Based on the talk around town, people knew that Sizzle It Up would be here soon and they were excited. Something about a messenger who had come through that way and spread the word. Among other things, the knowledge that another performer was coming to their little town meant that people were eager for any form of entertainment that might come their way and that included tossing some coins Kravitz's way for a song. 

Even still, there was something setting him on edge. It was a feeling deep in his core, something like a chill if the cold still bothered him. Like having someone walk over your grave. That was a feeling he was intimately familiar with. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking around as he tried to find the source of the feeling. It could be a lot of things, really. Liches, necromancers, the followers of the Demon Prince Orcus, a large number of impending deaths, any of them could be the cause of it. He'd felt the same thing right before the city of Cordelia was blasted off the map, hadn't he? It gave him pause. He really shouldn't interfere if it was something like that. Keeping people alive? That wasn't his jurisdiction. Still... Taako would be here soon. And it was still possible it was one of those others things that did fall into his list of responsibilities. So he might as well poke around a little and make sure everything was alright.

He slung his violin case on his back and headed towards the tavern he'd spotted earlier that morning. He had enough coins to get a drink and maybe talk to a few people. That would at least afford him the chance to get a good idea of what might be going on here. Then he paused, seeing the now familiar Sizzle It Up wagon entering town. The chill feeling sharpened and refined as he watched the wagon approach. The man seated on the driver's bench was the epicenter, he was certain of that now. Somehow, someway, Taako's assistant was going to do something awful here. The problem was, Kravitz had no idea what that might be.

Chapter Text

Taako barely paid any attention as they pulled the wagon into yet another small town, at least until he remembered that he was going to meet Kravitz here. His ears flicked up in excitement and he sat up fast, pushing his hat off his face where it had been blocking the sun. He heard they coming to a stop fairly quickly and he leaned out the window to shout.

"Are we here or is this another fuckin' pit stop, my guy?"

Sazed jumped down from the driver's seat, tying the reins to a post meant for that purpose before looking back.

"We're here. Glamour Springs." He looked around a little, seemingly unimpressed. "Guess I'll start setting up."

Taako waved him off imperiously and ducked back into the wagon. Alright, he had no idea how long it was going to be before he saw Kravitz. The man could arrive at any moment. He could already be here for all Taako knew. So that would mean he needed to be prepared. That meant dressed to kill without looking like he'd put in any special effort. It was a challenge but a challenge he could certainly meet. He reached for the bag tucked near his mirror and opened it, considering his options. Definitely something restrained and classic, that seemed like Krav's style. And definitely those trousers that made his ass look fantastic. Today was a trousers sort of day, after all. He was going to be working. Mix that with a loose shirt and some flare. Perfect. 

Looking at the final result in the mirror, Taako grinned to himself. There was no way Kravitz was going to be able to take his eyes off him. Not with him dressed like this. 

Edward paced back and forth, his eyes on the spell held between his hands. What was bothering him was that it seemed to be pointing not just out of Phandalin proper, but down. Now that would be strange enough, but every so often, it was like the signal flickered out. He'd never seen anything like it before. It was almost like she wasn't entirely in this plane of existence. 

"Maybe she's just casting blink..."

He half muttered it, trying to figure out how to get below the town. Maybe he should go back and grab Lydia. They could find someone to watch Angus for a little bit and... And that absolutely wasn't going to happen. There was no way they would leave that little boy alone for any reason. Which meant he needed to figure this out on his own. Humming quietly as he tried to focus and determine the distance, he turned the corner and blinked when he saw a group of older children playing. It was a mixed bunch with a dwarf, a few humans, a half-elf, and a halfling. They looked up from their game, one of them grabbing the ball as he approached.

"Hello there, darlings. I don't suppose any of you would know what might be under this delightful town, would you?"

One of the children, the half-elf, approached and looked at Edward's spell curiously.

"S'that a tracker, Mister? My Ma cast a spell like that before. Are you looking for something?"

Edward sighed internally. He could find an inquisitive one.

"It is, I am, and as far as I can tell, it's under the town. So, if one of you would be so kind as to tell me what's down there, I would appreciate it."

The kids exchanged a look for a moment, seeming to have some sort of silent conference. Then one of them spoke again, this time the dwarf.

"Only thing down there's the mine. And that belongs to the Rockseekers. Whatcha looking for?"

A mine. Well, that would at least explain how she could theoretically be down there. But why? It only raised more questions. But he turned away from the children without answering them, intent on finding the entrance to this mine. It shouldn't be too difficult, after all. People worked in mines, right? That would mean there had to be some sort of obvious route from Phandalin down to the mine. From there, all he would need to do was wander around and follow the trail. It wasn't like anything in there could hurt him, he was already dead. Perks of lichdom and all that.

The spell in his hands flickered once again and Edward gritted his teeth, growling under his breath. If he lost the signal, there was almost no chance he was going to pick it back up. Not unless he could get the initial Sending to connect again. That was... possible. He closed his eyes, feeling for the mind he'd connected to before. Lup. Some part of him had to wonder why Barry had never just tried this. It wasn't like Sending was a hard spell. Maybe he just didn't know it. Or maybe it hadn't worked for him for some reason. That was entirely possible. The connection was fluctuating even now as Edward focused on it. It was possible it had been fluctuating so much at the time that Barry simply hadn't gotten enough of a connection to think it worked.

"Hello again, Lup darling, I'm in Phandalin outside a mine. Coming to get you, assuming I can find my way there. Be seeing you soon."

He stood there waiting for a response, silently counting the seconds it took. And then it did come.

"Near vault. Umbrella."

Edward blinked once. Twice. Thrice. Had she just said umbrella? Well, it wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever heard. Maybe it was a phylactery gone horribly awry. That could certainly happen. Hopefully, it hadn't been a purposeful choice of soul storage vessel. If it had, he suddenly found himself with a lot of questions about Barry's taste in women. He also wasn't sure why she couldn't seem to respond with the full twenty-five words the spell should be allowing. It could be some sort of interference. It could also be coming from inside a pocket dimension. Or she could just be a particularly weakened lich. That would be interesting to deal with. If she was, hopefully Barry would know how to help her because Edward and Lydia's only solution would not be appreciated, he was quite sure of that. 

But either way, he was going to need to find her first and that meant heading down into the mine. Reconnecting his tracking spell, he started following the first road that appeared to head out of town and into the hills. Odds were, that was what he wanted.

Lydia sat with her back to the well, eyeing the cupcake Angus was eating and rather wishing she could partake of it as well. Alas, the foibles of the incorporeal. It really did look good though, rich and chocolatey with a ganache frosting it. It was decadent and Angus had it smeared all over his face. She held the book, reading aloud from it for him even though he was more than old enough to read on his own. No one was ever too old for a story, after all. Not even her and Edward. 

Speaking of Edward, she hoped her brother would be back soon. It had been what seemed like hours. Looking up at the sky, she frowned. The sun was well advanced. They would need to get back to Wonderland soon if this surprise wasn't going to turn into the two of them getting in trouble for running off with Angus. Then the little boy nudged her with his elbow and Lydia only barely remembered to make her essence seem physical for him.

"If Eddie doesn't come back before I finish my snack, will you teach me another cantrip? I'm supposed to have lessons today, remember?"

Lydia frowned slightly and leaned over to prestidigitate away the chocolate smeared across his cheek.

"I don't know, we shouldn't get distracted from what we're..." Then she paused, laughing. "Oh nevermind that, Edward is handling all of the hard parts. Sure, what spell did you want to learn?"

The little boy grinned and shoved the last of his cupcake in his mouth, wolfing it down as fast as he could before blurting out "Fire bolt!"

And in that moment, Lydia regretted saying yes. She may already be dead, but Barry Bluejeans was absolutely going to kill her. And it wasn't like she could say no now. 

"Are you sure? I mean, that's..."

But Angus was already nodding excitedly and he'd pulled out his small wand. Lydia sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Alright, sure, but not here. Let's go out into that field over there and we can give it a try, okay?"

Scrambling to his feet, Angus grabbed the little bag from the bookstore and the box from the bakery. Lydia followed after him at a slightly more reserved pace, rapidly realizing just how out of her control this day had gotten. Sort of like her unlife in that way. And probably like her life before that. With a sigh, she chose a spot that was mostly dirt and began to sketch diagrams in the air in light.

"Alright, Angus, fire bolt isn't a hard cantrip to cast as long as you keep it under control..."