After deciding to blindly take a step into the unknown to find out the truth, the teens rushed to make arrangements. Calling their guardians, packing whatever they thought was needed, trying to explain to moms why they were suddenly rushing out with their friends without sounding like an insane person.

Anya sent a quick text to her grandmother about her staying at Lily’s for the night, before walking after Lily who had disappeared into her room. Anya knocked, despite knowing Lily would always let her in, and opened the door. Might as well give a bit of a warning.

Something Anya had always admired about Lily was her ability to find the right words and plan ahead. So when she stepped into her best friend’s room, Anya almost melted when she saw that Lily clearly had the situation under control. Lily looked up from the small pile of things on her bed, smiling.

“It’s going to be okay, Anya. If there is a storm, we’ll get through it together.”

Anya felt her heart swell and decided to show it by flopping onto Lily’s bed.

“Ugh, why do you always know exactly what to say,” Anya turned her head to look at Lily. “You’re perfect.”

Lily giggled. Anya decided she liked that sound.

“Thank you, Anya, I try my best. Now get up from on top of the first aid kit I need to pack it in here.”

Anya unceremoniously rolled over to the other edge of the bed. With her face pressed against the mattress, her thoughts started running. Her friends were clearly expecting the worst, but what was Anya expecting? For everything to be fine? It was clearly not fine, as her memories were filled with images of burning buildings and screaming people, but she had no idea how bad the situation could actually be. Was she falsely expecting everything to turn out alright, just because she was going back home?

Could Anya even call Commonia a home anymore? She hadn’t lived there for nearly 13 years and could barely remember how her bedroom looked, let alone how the culture worked. But something in her longed to be back, longed for things to go back to the way they had been when she was a child. Realistically, they never would, as her parents were most likely dead and her whole entire country had suffered some kind of war, but that still didn’t erase her feelings of longing.

Deep in her thoughts, she barely registered the fingers that were running through her hair, slowly brushing it out, and starting a braid to keep it out of the way. Taking a deep breath, she let her worries go. They could be dealt with later. Right now she needed to figure out a way to get back.

“Welcome back from the land of worries. Are you ready to go?” Lily said as Anya turned her head up from the soft pink sheets. Anya nodded and let Lily help her get up from the bed.

---

Anya’s mind was blissfully empty the entire walk to the bus stop. She was vaguely aware that her friends were talking around her, and of Lily’s hand on her arm gently guiding her into the bus.

The group squeezed themselves into four seats, Carla sitting in Felicity’s lap and Sam with his legs up on the seat. The other passengers didn’t comment on it, which the group counted as a win.

It didn’t feel real. Just two days ago they had first checked out the shack, and the dusty mysteries within. Now, they were on their way there again but to find something completely different from the ghosts they were trying to find the first time around. How could they have known that some innocent breaking and entering could lead to such a mess?

The pathway Anya had already walked on twice now looked much more foreboding, promising adventure. Anya wasn’t fully sure if she was ready for that adventure, but she wanted answers and thus, she continued. Lily followed close behind, probably to make sure Anya wouldn’t backtrack suddenly. Sam and Felicity were talking about computer stuff not far behind Lily. Anya had no idea what all the stuff about motherboards and circuits and resistors was about but she chose not to ask, instead deciding to pay attention to the dirt under her feet. Carla walked quietly beside Felicity, holding her hand.

The gang stopped in front of the shack. The clearing hadn’t changed at all, aside from the position of some leaves due to wind. The sunlight made the whole circle seem like it was glowing in an auburn light, and the run down building itself seemed to be glowing. It would have looked quite calming and magical, if it wasn’t for the knowledge of what lay beyond the shack, and what the group had to do next.

Anya had a hunch that something in the box with her name would help them get back, but how was a whole other mystery. She was endlessly thankful that Lily was with them, because Anya’s first and only instinct would have been to throw whatever helpful they found in the direction of where she had first seen the portal and the mysterious brunet.

Out of all people, it was Sam who started leading the way. Maybe he just wanted this to be over with, or maybe he needed to check himself into the psych ward. He moved with confidence, almost as if he was in a trance or under a spell. With all the magic they had encountered in the past couple of hours, Anya wouldn’t have been surprised.

The stairs were creaky, making noise with every step they took. Anya clearly remembered the stairs being fine the last time. She stared at them for a few seconds before turning to the incinerated room at the top of the staircase. The dust and ashes seemed to be spinning around the room, like the wind was blowing them around. There wasn’t as much as a breeze to be felt.

As the group progressed into the small hallway where Anya had unknowingly first gotten a glimpse into her old life, she halted and stared out of the window. Anya’s gaze was met with darkness, the moon shining onto the calm waves of the ocean she had seen last time too. Stars littered the sky, shining brighter than Anya had ever seen in her streetlamp filled neighbourhood. She moved on from the window, hoping that the stars and waves weren’t a sign of a calm before the storm.

Through the storm together, Lily had promised. Anya hoped that she could keep that promise. And that the storm wouldn’t be a literal one. Anya frowned at herself for a moment for not bringing waterproof shoes, but then focused back on what was happening right there and then.

Behind the next door was the only clean room, the study, where it had all begun. It looked exactly the same as last time. Sturdy wooden furniture, weirdly well preserved cardboard boxes and shelves filled with miscellaneous objects and trinkets.

The wall where the portal had previously been on was now completely blank, save for some flower stickers stuck to it. Anya wasn’t sure if she had done that or Cora, but she knew it had been one of them.

Wait. Anya had been in this room before?

Her head spun around and she gasped for breath. She remembered now, vividly, how she and Cora had played in this study before. But none of it made sense. The shack was clearly in this world, but her childhood had been in the other. What was going on?

On the outside Anya just sighed and jumped up to sit on the desk before Sam could make that space his seat.

“Okay so, what now?” Carla asked, sitting on the floor.

“We make a portal I guess?” Anya answered.

“Wonderful!” Carla clapped their hands together and continued staring at Anya like they were trying to look into her soul.

“Do you know how to make anything but fire, Anya?” Felicity asked in turn, more confident than she had been in weeks. Anya would have been proud but unfortunately that confidence was used to question her.

She was proud anyway.

“I… do not,” Anya admitted. The whole group groaned in response. “There’s a book in the box though, maybe something there will help?”

“What box?” Carla and Felicity asked at the same time, high fiving right after as they realised their coordination.

“A creepy box with my name that I drank a bottle of glitter from, hold on.” Anya turned around, moving boxes until she could easily remove the one with her name on it. “In here.”

Lily crossed her arms, extending one forward and signalling for Anya to get on with it already. Anya dutifully opened the box.

It contained the same items as before, minus the potion Anya had drank. Trying not to think about how that hadn’t exactly been the smartest idea, Anya dumped the contents of the box onto the desk beside the spot she was sitting on. Her friends gathered around like a cult who had just found their objects of worship.

“That sure is stuff,” Sam said, picking up the wire crown and turning it around in his hands.

Lily clapped her hands together. “You try to find something helpful there, me and Sam are gonna go check out the blank wall.”

“What about us two?” Felicity asked, pulling Carla closer. Carla immediately responded with leaning against Felicity.

“Could you go through the other boxes and see if there is anything useful there?” Felicity nodded in response and moved to the other wall of shelves to give Anya some space.