Lincoln Chambers needed a distraction. Flick and Joselyn were gone again, off on their mission to help save those two who were stranded on that other world. And as much as he hated the idea of his wife and daughter running off into danger yet again pretty much immediately after getting away from Fossor, he also couldn’t possibly object. Not in good conscience, anyway. The only reason he even had Felicity and Joselyn back at all was because of the two they were going off to rescue. And waiting a bit longer wasn’t an option, if what he’d heard about these Fomorian creatures was anywhere near accurate. If they waited and something happened to those two in the meantime, neither his wife and daughter, or Lincoln himself, would forgive themselves. Horrible as it was, unfair as it was, they had to go right then to save those two.


    And yet, as much sense as all that made, as much as it was absolutely the only option, some part of Lincoln had still wanted to object. He wanted to tell them to make someone else go. Hadn’t his family done enough to deal with all this? There was no shortage of powerful people out there who could rush to pull those two off the Meregan world. Why did his wife and daughter, who had literally just barely been rescued themselves, have to be the ones to go?


    It was a stupid question, of course. And one he would never voice, even as it insisted on bouncing around through his head. They had to go because that was who they were. Flick had been saved by those two, Elisabet and Dexamene, and she wasn’t going to sit around letting someone else pay them back for that. It wasn’t who she was. And it certainly wasn’t who Joselyn was. He could’ve said that much even before he knew about her being the leader of some Heretic Rebellion. Just as the sheriff of a small city in Wyoming, she wouldn’t have just sat back and let someone else run into danger to save another person.


    To object now, as much as he might’ve wanted to, would’ve meant objecting to who they were. It would have meant raising his protest against everything his wife and daughter stood for. Terrified as he was about what could happen right after he got them back, Lincoln couldn’t do that. Because loving them meant accepting that they would run into danger to save another.


    But even if he couldn’t object, even if he had accepted (for the most part) that the two people he loved most in the world had to go off on this horrible mission, Lincoln still couldn’t just sit around doing nothing while waiting to hear back. He’d drive himself insane just pacing around the cabin, or walking by the lake. There was nothing he could do about their trip, no way for him to help or even keep track of them. They were off on another world, in another universe. There was nothing he could do about it.


    Fortunately, Lincoln had other family members to worry about. His parents–something was wrong. And it had taken him a long time to figure that out. Mostly because right after Flick had disappeared, Lincoln sent a message to his parents to let them know that Flick had surprised him by taking a full summer load of classes, so now she was taking the semester off of that fancy school of hers. Which meant he could take her on a long camping trip off the grid. Just the two of them on an extended vacation, he’d claimed in the message. Getting away from everything.


    It was stupid. But he just–with Flick gone, taken by the same piece of shit who had taken Joselyn for so many years, Lincoln couldn’t deal. He could not possibly have talked to his mother and father without spilling the whole situation, and that–even if they could use the potion to make them remember, it would’ve been too much. He couldn’t drag his parents into this whole mess and try to explain… all of it while also losing his mind over his missing daughter.


    It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. But he just could not deal with trying to talk to them while all that was going on. So he’d sent the message about going off the grid, let them know to send any calls and emails to the same locations, and then shut down communication. He didn’t dare open any messages from them in that time. Hearing his mother lament about not hearing Flick’s voice on her birthday, all while knowing where his daughter actually was, might have just broken him.


    But hey, as it turned out, he needn’t have worried about messages from his parents making him feel even worse about the situation. Because there weren’t any. As in none. Checking his email and the voicemail that he’d been studiously ignoring over the past… how long had it been? Months? Time really flew when your wife and daughter were imprisoned by a violent amoral sociopath. Either way, there was nothing. No email and no voicemail. Nothing at all.


    That… was wrong. Totally wrong. The only reason his parents wouldn’t have left dozens of messages was if… if something had happened to them. And the fact that they hadn’t left anything since his own messages, not even a response to it, meant…


    His parents were missing–had been missing for that whole time. It was the only explanation. The guilt of that, the sudden rush of realization as the truth dawned on the man, had nearly sent him to the floor. It had been all he could do, that day as his wife and daughter set about their business getting ready to go do their own mission, not to bring it up.


    He couldn’t tell them, couldn’t let them know there was a whole other problem. They were already going into some of the worst danger imaginable. Lincoln would not distract them with anything else. Instead, he kept it quiet and tried to solve the situation himself. Just in case he was overreacting, he tried contacting his parents directly to no avail. Several calls to their cells had gone unanswered, even when he used the emergency sos code they’d established.


    They were in trouble. Fuck, they’d been in trouble and he’d been so wrapped up in being worried about his wife and daughter, he’d completely missed the danger his own parents were in!


    That was a whole new flood of guilt and despair. One that he’d almost let himself succumb to after Flick and Joselyn left, before getting himself under control. There could still be a simple explanation. There could be, much as he doubted it. This… this was something far worse than just a simple downed cell phone line or them being snowed in. Yes, they were in Alaska and yes there had been some bad storms up there recently, but it just wasn’t–that wasn’t it.


    So, Lincoln had his distraction. He couldn’t do anything about what Jos and Felicity were up to, couldn’t help them or even find out what was going on until they made it back (and they would make it back, he insisted to himself repeatedly). But he could find out what was wrong with his parents. That was a problem he could focus on. Because as many possibilities as there were for what was going on with them and what had happened, at least they would be on this world.


    He wasn’t going to investigate the situation alone, of course. For one thing, as much as he liked to think he was progressing in his study of magic, he wasn’t anywhere near good enough to create a portal all the way to his parents’ last known location in Alaska. He had other help.


    “Ready to go, Mr. Chambers?” Sean Gerardo, the young man several years older than he should have been thanks to years spent in solitary confinement, asked. Sean himself was another who was worried about someone who had gone on the mission to rescue Elisabet and Dexamene. Several someones, actually. Not only had essentially his entire old team gone together, but Roxa as well. Sean would have gone, except for an injury from the fight with Fossor’s forces. It had taken most of the night to heal, and he was still limping a little bit. From what Lincoln had heard, the young man had asked Roxa to go in his stead to help his friends. Not that she took much convincing.


    Before Lincoln could respond, Vulcan trotted up beside his owner and partner with a bark. He was accompanied by the young… half-Native American and half (one-quarter?) Reaper, Aylen Tamaya. “Yes,” the girl spoke up, “I believe we are. Right, Professor?”


    “Virginia is fine, Aylen,” Dare herself, the final member of their group, announced as she joined them. “Or Miss Dare, if you prefer. But yes, if Mr. Chambers doesn’t have anything else first?”


    Lincoln, for his part, retorted, “If you’re Virginia, I think you can call me Lincoln. And yes, I just–” He stopped, pausing before pushing on. “I want to thank you three–” A low, pointed growl from Vulcan made him correct himself. “Ahem, I want to thank you five for all this.” He over-enunciated the proper number with a nod upward to where Aylen’s own cyberform hawk was gliding watchfully over them. “Booking a flight and heading up there myself was doable, but probably not nearly as effective.” He was doing his best to keep his voice light, trying not to let them see just how worried he was about the whole situation. His parents going dark for so long could maybe have an innocent explanation. After all, he told them he was going dark first. And they were in Alaska. Not even near any of the cities. From what he’d heard, they were going with Al to an old cabin that their old friend had up there. It was possible that between spotty cell service and their own distraction by the beautiful scenery that weeks had passed without them thinking about checking in. Doubtful, but possible. And it was the explanation he was hoping for.


    Stolen story; please report.


    At least he knew they hadn’t been taken by Fossor before his death. There was no way, from everything everyone had told him about that piece of shit, that he wouldn’t have used that to torment Felicity and Joselyn. The fact that he’d never brought it up, even on the cusp of his death, proved that he didn’t know everything about it.


    So, that eliminated the psychotic (and thankfully dead) Necromancer as a potential suspect. Unfortunately, they didn’t exactly lack for others. The more he thought about it, the more worried Lincoln became about the whole thing. Which was why he was doing his best to focus on the possibility that it was all innocent and not completely lose his mind in front of the others.


    Virginia spoke first, shaking her head at his attempt to downplay things. “You are part of a much larger family now, Lincoln. Whatever is going on with your parents, be it innocent or not, we will be there to help you handle the situation.” She paused briefly before continuing. “And even if this turns out to be a simple case of losing contact, it is perhaps time to bring them into the fold.” Her eyes met his, seeming to stare straight through him as she spoke in a soft yet oddly intense voice. “Speaking truth to your family, sharing your life with them, your triumphs and trials, is a true gift. Your parents love and trust you, and you them. Never waste that, Lincoln. Bring them into the truth while you can. Keep them safe, and allow them to share in your life. All of your life.” She glanced away. “That is the most important advice I believe I could ever give you.”


    There was something… important there. Lincoln liked to think that he was far from an idiot. It was obvious that the woman was speaking from personal loss. Was it simply about the parents she had lost as a child with the attack meant to kill Virginia herself? Or the fact that she’d somewhat recently learned that the first man to take her in, the Akharu called Tiras, was still missing? Or the continued imprisonment of Gaia, whom she had also seen as a parental figure?


    All of it, most likely, of course. Every single one of those situations had clearly fueled the feelings that Virginia was showing right here. And that made perfect sense. Yet he still couldn’t shake the thought, the instinct, that there was more to it than that. And above all else, Lincoln was a man who was accustomed to following his instincts. Especially lately.


    But now wasn’t the time to poke at that, if he ever did considering the woman’s right to privacy. He had his own family situation to handle before he worried about poking at hers, so he pushed those thoughts aside for the time being.


    Thankfully, Sean was already stepping in with a convenient distraction to help Lincoln turn off those instincts, holding up a small vial of grayish liquid. “This should do the trick, Mr. Chimera-Blood. Pulled it out of a Hill Troll the pack dealt with a few days ago. Been stored away, so it’s still fresh.” Pausing, he added, “You don’t have to drink it, do you?”


    “Squeamish?” Aylen idly asked, tilting her head a bit to look at the boy while Sovereign landed on her abruptly-raised arm. “I’d think you’d be fine with that, given… well, everything.”


    “Not exactly,” the young man replied before pointing out, “but there’s a difference between vampires or wolves getting blood, and an ordinary, average human dude. I meant for his sake.”


    Lincoln shook his head, with a glance toward Virginia. “No. I’ve practiced with it a bit and all it takes is skin contact.” With that, he held his hand out, palm up. “Haven’t done a troll yet.”


    Popping the top off the vial, Sean poured the blood out into Lincoln’s hand. It sat there for a moment, then gradually began to be absorbed into his skin. As always, the man felt a tingling sensation, a rush similar to static electricity washing over the skin the blood was touching and then gradually moving through the rest of his body. It made him gasp slightly, before giving a full shudder, extending his arms out to shake them sharply while cracking his neck.


    “Wow,” the man managed. “Now that’s a rush. Feel like I just drank seven cups of espresso or something. That–that’s a lot of energy.” He cracked his knuckles, giving a short nod. “Ready.”


    “Troll strength and regeneration should be the best way of keeping you safe against whatever might be out there,” Virginia reminded him. “But don’t forget that you’re not trained to fight. If something happens, play back-up and keep yourself safe. I’m not–” She paused before pointedly continuing, “I’m not going to tell your wife and daughter that I let you get hurt. Understand?”


    Lincoln gave a short nod, before the woman turned, pulling a small stone from one pocket. “I spent the past hour keying this to the area you mentioned. It should take us straight there.” With those words, she activated the spell on the stone, tossing it to the ground. A moment later, the stone itself disintegrated and a doorway had appeared in its place. It looked like an actual door, standing there in the middle of the grass lot behind Lincoln’s cabin with nothing supporting it.


    At her own insistence, Virginia opened the door and stepped through first. The open doorway revealed the Alaska scenery that Lincoln had expected. There was a lake straight to the right (almost in the exact same spot the lake here at the Atherby camp was, which felt disconcerting), a beautiful forest to the left, and the cabin he’d seen a few pictures of straight ahead. There was also, unfortunately, no sign of his parents just yet. Not that he’d expected it to be that easy, but there was always the slight hope.


    Sean and Vulcan went next, before Lincoln followed with Aylen and Sovereign bringing up the rear. Immediately, the girl sent her cyberform hawk soaring off into the sky to get a look at the surrounding area, as Sean took his metal dog to sniff around for any interesting scents.


    Lincoln, meanwhile, walked with Virginia up toward the front patio of the cabin. The two of them glanced to one another, before he raised his voice to call, “Mom? Dad? Uncle Al?”


    They’d reached the short steps leading up the patio in front of the door, but there was no response. Virginia held up a hand to stop him from proceeding, focusing her gaze on the cabin. From the way she was turning her head, he had the feeling she was seeing through the walls.


    “No one’s there,” she finally announced. “And… come here.”


    “Miss Dare, Mr. Chambers!” Aylen called, jogging up. “It’s the cabin, it–”


    “Yes,” Virginia interrupted gently. “Come, Lincoln.” With that, she guided him around the side of the cabin, one hand on his arm as though to steady him.


    Immediately, he saw why they were acting so oddly. Half of the cabin simply wasn’t there. The front half looked fine, but the back half had–it looked like it had been disintegrated, blown away along with a bunch of trees on that side.


    Seeing that, Lincoln felt himself stagger. He felt the rush of terror that he’d been successfully staving off ever since realizing that his parents had gone dark rising up to overwhelm him. He felt Virginia’s grip on his arm tighten as she literally stopped him from falling. A loud buzzing sound started to go off in the back of his head. No, no. No, please, what–why did, who was–


    A sudden bark interrupted Lincoln’s panic, snapping his gaze up and around. Sean was there, with Vulcan, who gave another sharp bark beyond them to–he turned.


    “Hello, Lincoln.”


    It was Calafia, the Committee woman who had helped save Lincoln, Twister, and Asenath back at his old house. The one who had helped Gabriel Prosser find Joselyn in the first place all those years ago, and who had also helped weaken the Bystander Effect on Lincoln himself. All because she owed Joselyn ‘more than she could ever repay’, according to the woman.


    “You,” Lincoln snapped despite himself. “What did your Committee do?” He felt Virginia step very slightly in front of him, even as Aylen and Sean took up their own positions nearby.


    There was a slight pause before Calafia spoke. “You are correct, in a way. Without informing any of us, even Ruthers, Litonya sent one of our newest members, Antaeus, to… collect your parents.”


    “Antaeus,” Virginia snapped, “your hardliner members must be even more desperate than I thought.”


    “Where are they?” Lincoln immediately blurted, stepping around Virginia to start moving toward the woman. “Where are my parents? You better not think that just because–”


    “Peace,” Calafia insisted, raising a hand. “We do not have them. That is the truth. Antaeus was sent, yet…” She paused before asking, “How much do you know about that friend of theirs, who owned this cabin?”


    “Al?” Lincoln shrugged, frowning. “Albert Caeus. He’s been around forever, since I can remember. They–”


    “Caeus?” Virginia interrupted. “Your parents’ friend’s name is Al… Caeus? Alcaeus.” Seeing his blank look, she added, “Heracles. Is that–” A nod from Calafia made her exhale. “Your parents’ old friend is Hercules.”


    “Holy fuck, dude,” Sean blurted abruptly. “How connected is your family?”


    Lincoln, meanwhile, was reeling. Everything–he’d known Uncle Al his entire life, since he was old enough to even remember anything. He was there all the time. And through all of it, the man who brought him Christmas gifts, the one who–who he’d always seen as an uncle, was actually Hercules? That, even more than everything else he’d experienced over the past year, was enough that he needed to sit down. Only one thing stopped him from staggering. “Where–where are they? What happened?”


    Calafia answered simply, “Antaeus attempted to confront them. He used a blast of power to destroy the cabin as a show of force. But before he could do anything more, they… disappeared.”


    “Disappeared?” Virginia echoed, squinting. “You mean Alcaeus used an emergency teleport.”


    “We don’t believe it was him,” came the response. “Antaeus insists the man wasn’t using any spells and spoke no triggers. It could have been tied to the danger of the situation, yet… we believe there was outside involvement. Particularly considering… how far the transport sent them, according to the scans we’ve done of the energy it left behind.”


    Her words, and her tone of voice, made Lincoln frown. “What… what do you mean? How far did the transport send them? Where are they?


    “Where exactly are my parents?”