A/N: There will be a lot of point of veiw shifts in this chapter, so pay attention.

Holly's POV

Holly fell face-first into a pile of lavender snow.
The slight breeze blew some into her eyes and onto her tongue.
She blinked, spitting bits of wet ice out of her mouth as she stared at her hands. They tasted like shards of glass.

Her fingers were wet from the sudden re-entry and small cryals of ice trimmed the edges of her nails.
She cautiously brought her hands to her face and traced it, feeling her numb features undrerneath her wrinkled hands.

Her unmanagable, brown hair fell around her neck as she sat up.
She drew her jacket closer; it was a bit cool compared to Pantala.

"Holly?"

A boy of eighteen years lie next to her.
He was wearing a green, hoodless sweater and brown jeans.
He had fair skin and brown, slightly-curly hair. His amber eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the fading sunshine.

Holly's eyes widened.
The mystery boy is-
"Mandrake?"

He was bending over a puddle of icy water, looking at his reflection, as though he couldn't recognize the face staring back at him.

Holly crawled up behind him, and laced his fingers with hers.

He turned to her, his eyes a pool of golden light.

He ran his hand through a strand of her unruly, dirty hair, gently the way one would handle a delicate tapestery.
He put it behind her ear, smiling softly at her earring.

 As a small tear ran down her cheek, he wiped it away with his hand, then ran his fingers over his own face, as though feeling for sure that there no scales on it.
He bopped her on the nose sweetly.
His glance went to their clasped hands, then looked back into her eyes again.
He slipped one arm around her shoulders, and held her tight.

On the ground just behind her, sneaking out of a leafy leather satchel, was Bait the Bulldog.
His fur was normal, for the most part - the usual yellow-cream color. . . . with the exeption of the blue dots around his eye, on his legs, and at the tip of his tail.
He grabbed her satchel and backpack in his mouth as he hobbled up to them.

Holly noticed for the first time that on Mandrake's neck, was a silver, leaf necklace that he hadn't been wearing when they had left Pantala.

She glanced down at her own neck.
Her necklace was gone.

Were those. . . . voices?
Holly looked at the base of the hill, which was over on the other side of Bait.
Someone was definitely climbing the hill.

"She's been missing for two weeks now, Dan", a man said.

"Vick, she's my daughter", her dad's voice said, cracking with emotion.
"I can't just stop looking."

"I understand that, Mr. Mcmeares", the other man said.
"But we can't keep looking. We're using up lots of resources on this kiddnapping case. If we don't find her and the boy within six days. . . . we're going to have to call it off."

The crunching sound stopped, as though the two men had paused.

"Okay", her dad said grimly.

The sound of running footsteps went in the direction of the voices; the sound of one, two, three people sprinting to one area of the hill.

"We-didn't-find-anything", Lilly said, panting.

"Neither did we", Claire's voice said.

"Okay", Dad said.
"That only leaves this hill right here. After this, we can all go home, and then, we'll come back tomarow morning."
His speach was shaking violently, as their footsteps began climbing up the hill.

"Come on!", Holly whispered excitedly to Mandrake.
She grabbed his hand, helping him up.
He stumbled.
She caught him, put his arm around her shoulders, and stood, waiting for the group.

Her mom was the first to up the side of the hill. She gasped, locks of cinnamon curls coming lose from her braid.
"Oh, my sweet baby!"
She ran to the pair, squeezing them half to death.
"Oh, thank God! Thank God! Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you! Are you all right? Mandrake, thank the Lord you two were together!"

"Mom", Holly groaned, "you're breaking my smolder."

She laughed.
"Oh my gosh! I've missed you and your weird humor!"

Mandrake stood up on his feet, awkwardly trying not to fall on his two new legs.
He seemed to get the hang of it quickly, however.

"Don't you dare do that to me again!", Lilly said, shoving her way into Holly's arms, tossing a wave of blond into her sister's face.
Mom was still holding Holly, as though she thought if she looked away for even a second, she'd disappear.
"Hey, Lill."

Claire observed the three from the outside - until Lilly said, "Claire, you better get the crap over here!"
To Holly's surprise, her older sister, actually SMILED.
She grinned as she was pulled into the huge.

"Good to see you."

"You too."

The four of them stepped aside, making a path from Dad to Holly.
They looked at each other, neither of them saying a word, nor moving.

He hates me.
He hates me.
And it's my fault.
Maybe if I hadn't fought with him, if I'd frickin' agreed to go to a university like he wanted me to, it wouldn't be like this.
Maybe if-

He rushed at her, cutting off her thoughts and breaking the breath out of her.
"I'm so sorry", she sobbed.
"I shouldnt have left. If I'd-"

"No", he interupted.
"I was wrong. I should have been a better father than I was. I should never have pushed you like that.
I shouldn't have forced you to be ordered around by your grandmother; she naturally a - what did you like calling people like that?"

"Gits", Holly said with a weak smile.

"Yes, exactly. We should still be nice to her, of course, but I should never have treated you the way I did. If you still don't want to go to a university, you know, get some kind of close-to-home job, that's just fine."

"Um, actually",Holly said, taking a small step back, "you know the one in Queens that we used to drive around? The one Aunt Lucy and Uncle Mike are sending Janet to?"

He nodded.
"I'll look into it."

Everyone piled into the van.
Holly was just about to open the door and sit by Mandrake, when:
"Miss Holly?"

"Um. . . . . . . yes, Officer?", she asked.

"You don't need to worry about going to court to testify against your captors. They've already trafficked so many people, you really don't have to testify."

"Ummm . . . okay."

Holly hadn't expecting that.
She'd have guessed that if people here really thought that that she and Mandrake had been kiddnapped, the court would wait for more news of what had become of them before moving on with the hearing, but going to court definitely wasn't something on her bucket list.

She began to turn back to the car and put her hand near the doornob.

"Oh, and one more thing", the cop said.
"Most people here have no idea how close the world just came to ending, but I just want to say thank you, for eveything you've gone through the past couple of months."

"Wait, MONTHS?", Holly almost yelled.
"I thought you said I was supposedly gone for two weeks!"

"Time is a mysterious thing. It's impossible to predict what it will do in other worlds."

Mandrake's POV

"What did he say?", Holly's mom asked, as she got in.

"Nothing much. Just that we don't have to go court", Holly said.

The door closed behind her on its own, which Mandrake wasn't surprised about at first, then jumped slightly.
Holly leaned close to Mandrake as she buckled her seatbelt.

"He also told me that he's greatful for all we did over in Pantala."

"He knew about that?"

"Apparently", she said with a shrug.

"Are you planing to tell them?", Mandrake asked carefully, casting a glance at Holly's dad, as he spun the vehicle around.

"I'm not sure, honestly", she told him.
"They really believe we were kiddnapped by some gang. I think it was a real gang and that we weren't the only ones they supposedly captured, but we both know that's not what happened to us. Maybe someday, after you've gained their trust, I'll tell them, but for now, I feel like we should just leave it and roll with it. I mean, you know, unless you feel like we should tell them."

"We'll figure it out", he said kindly.

As they drove, Mandrake glanced down at his necklace.
It was shaped like an oak leaf, with an emerald square at its stem.

It must be enchanted like Holly's was.

He looked out the window, his eyes scaning the few cars driving along side them.

Cars . . . what a strange invention.
I miss Nettle.
Oh Clearsight, never would have guessed that would ever happen.
This world . . .

He glanced at Holly.
It was worth it, though.
I just hope she feels the same way.

He was surprised she liked him at all.
Even in the dragon world, he was pretty unimpressive.
He'd seen dozens of dragons steal a dragoness's heart instantly with stunts of bravery on hunts or in battel.
He couldn't do anything like that, not even when he was a Leafwing.
But he knew he would never be able to move on if she didn't like him.

He wasn't worthy of her, but how could he have helped but fall for her?
She was just so funny, and smart, and bold, even though she never, not even once, thought of herself that way.
That was another thing he loved.

His thoughts were suddenly interupted when Mrs. Mcmeares flipped on the radio.

With a small jolt, he recognized the song: "Ain't no Mountain High Enough".
His foot started tapping to the beat all on its own.
Without realizing it, he found himself singing under his breath.
He never was a great singer, but at the moment, he didn't care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABfQuZqq8wg

"If you ever need a helpin' hand, I'll be there on the double just as fast as I can.
Don't ya know that there-"

"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river low enough, to keep me from gettin' to you babe!"

He glanced over at Holly, who not only had heard him, but had also jumped in.
He smiled, and sang at the top of his lungs, as though he'd heard that song his whole life.

"Don't ya know that there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you , babe!

Finally, they drove through an isle of mapple trees.
So many trees, more than Mandrake had ever seen, lined the road on either side, casting shadows, allowing the occacional slip of early silver moonlight to shine down through dry leaves.

At length, they reached the end of the forest and turned to the right.
A long rocky driveway greeted them, and they followed it until it brough them to a lage clearing.

There were four houses, two on the right, two on the left.

Mr. Mcmeares pulled the car up to the green house on the left, and brought it to a stop.

"This is the Foresters' house", Holly whispered to him.
"They're long-time family friends of our's, but I haven't seen them since Covid happened. Think you'll be all okay?"

"Yeah", he answered with a smile.
"You live right next door, right?"

"Yep", she said with a warm smile.
"I'll see you soon, Mandrake."

As he opened the door and stepped out, images of his new family went through his mind.

He already felt at home.

Holly's POV

That night, after a quick shower, Holly collasped on her bed, held the Dreamvistiter, and fell asleep almost instantly.

She was in a line at Barnes and Noble and infront of the line, behind a desk, was Bird.
Holly had to peek over the person ahead of her to see clearly, but it was definitely her.
She was writting something in a very recognizable red book.
She smiled, handing it back to a boy standing at the head of the line, who grinned as he stepped aside.

With a start, Holly found herself at the desk.

"Hey, Bird. What's up?"

"Please", Bird said, stroking her dog, "call me Tui."

Holly's jaw dropped.
"You mean as in that Tui?"

Tui nodded, a smile playing at her lips.
"Yes. I'm here to answer any questions that may remain concerning your adventure."

Holly thought for a moment.
"Exactly why did Cottonmouth think my memories would make him physical?"

"As I have already relayed to you, memories are extreemly powerful. Lizard - or Freedom, as I must now call her- wanted otehr dragons' memories so that she could exprience what her life could have been like. The powers of memories was not unknown to Cottonmouth, and he believed that as a result of your otherworldly orgins, that yours would be unsually strong. After all, you are not the first of your kind to enter that world, nor will you be the last."
Holly thought for a moment.
"Exactly why did Cottonmouth think my memories would make him physical?"

"What's Mandrake's necklace for?", Holly questioned.

"It's like yours", the author answered.
"It's enchanted to give him knowlage he needs to live on Earth among humans. It also makes everyone think that they remember him. Even if he takes it off, it will still work."

"So, if he goes to collage, it'll be like he's already gone to highschool, even though he's never gone to school here?"
Tui nodded

"Wait, does that mean he's already read Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter?"

"No, not yet, he hasn't", she chortled.
"Now", she said, standing up from her seat, "if  those are all of your questions-"

"Actually", Holly interupted, "there's just one last question I'd like the answer to: why me? Why was I chosen for the quest?"

  "Well, you got the job done, did you not?", Tui asked, looking mildly surprised.

"Well, yes, but I almost didn't", Holly said.
"I nealy betrayed everyone and almost gave into temptation. It was really only good luck that I didn't."

"That's how you know you were the right person", Tuo said, walking around her desk and laying a hand on Holly's shoulder.
  "The mark of a true hero is a willingness to admit their own flaws and mistakes. None of us are perfect, human or dragon, but by admitting it, you come as close to perfect as you possibly can."

  A shot of blue light broke through the vision.

"Wake up", her grandmother's voice ordered harshly.
"The ball awaits."

"Grandmother, I've been away from home for two weeks", Holly groaned.
"And it's like seven A.M."

"Exactly", she said briskly, pulling away the curtains.
"I've postponed long enough. Up, up!"

Holly groggily rolled out of bed.

"Here's your dress. Fix you hair, for the love of God. You have an hour and a half to get ready. It starts at nine 'O clock and ends at three. Don't be late."
She walked out of the room, shuting the door behind her.

"That woman is truely something", Holly said, looking at Bait, who'd just crawled out from underneath her bed .

  She glanced at the bright pink gown she'd set on the bed.
"Nope!", she yelled.
"It's not happening! I am NOT wearing that shi-"

A knock at the door.

Oh crap, did she hear me?
Please don't tell me she heard that.

"Holly?", a girl's voice asked.
"Can we come in?"

"Yeah", Holly said, recognizing with a sigh of relief who the voice belonged to.

In stepped Iris Forester, Mandrake's new sister, and Holly's cousin, Janet.

"Hey, guys!", Holly said.
"I haven't seen you in forever."
Despite her ragged condition, she was happy to see them.

"Hey, Holly", Iris said, hugging her.

"So what's up? What are you guys doing here?"

"Sorry to show up at this time of morning", Iris said.
"Me and Janet were talking to each other, when I saw your dad out on your family's porch, and we decided to come over and talk to him."

"Wait, Janet, I didn't know you were an early person", Holly remarked with a smirk, knowing full-well what the truth really was.
"Holly Mcmeares, you KNOW I'm not an early person", Janet shot back.

Janet had long, light-brown hair that she often pulled back in a braid or pony-tail.
She was only a little bit shorter than Holly and Iris -who were about the same hight- , had brown eyes that sparkled with mischife, like she was about to steal someone's candy wallet, and an air of confidence around her.

Iris had bright green eyes and several dark freckles on her nose. Her shoulder-length black hair shimmer around her neck like strands of silk.

"Anway, while we were talking to him, we saw Grandmother leave the house through the front door", Janet said, rolling her eyes slightly.
The we heard you yell. So, like all good friends should, we went inside to check on you."

"Yeah. So, I've been missing for two weeks, and apparently, she expects me to wear this crap to the ball, despite all of that", Holly said pointing to the hideous dress.

Janet whisteled.
"I knew she pushed you, but I didn't know she did this."

"Wait, she didn't wake you up?"

"No. I woke up about an hour ago to meet Little Miss Early Bird here", she said, indictating Iris.
"I already know what I'm wearing, and I'm glad it's not that."

"Oh, wait! I have something!", Iris suddenly said.
"Wait right here!"
She left the room in a hurry.

She returned with a blue dress folded in her arms.
It had shoulderless sleves and flowers decorating the the neckline.

"Mum got it for me a while ago", Iris said.
"I never wear it, but I think it would look really good on you."

"Iris", Holly said, taking the dress, "I think you've found a dress. . . . . . I actually like."

"Whoa. Nice one, Iris", Janet said, looking at her cousin.
"This is really your dress, cuz."

"The blue goes with your hair color really well, Holly", Iris said.
  "It's perfect. Do you like it?"

"I'm shocked, "Holly said, looking down at her feet, "but yes."

They all stopped talking.
The door jerked opened and Claire stepped in.

"Oh damn", Holly said.
"Um, okay, I know how this probably looks, but I promise you-"

   grabbed her, pulled Holly into her room, and put her sister into her vanity chair.

  "Claire, what do you think I-"

"Nothing. I just want to do your hair, now quiet, so that I can think."

"Oh, we're here to do my hair?", Holly asked, putting a hairclip up in the back.
"There!", she said, getting up, "we're done! Can I go now?"

"Please, Holly?", Claire said, pushing her back into the chair.
"I won't take too long, I promise."

"FIIIIIIINE", Holly said, giving in.

Mandrake's POV

After putting on his green jacket and his brown jeans, Mandrake walked out onto the back porch.
He inhaled a breathe of freash, morning air, and exhaled it with a sigh of satisfaction.

He looked uo at the trees.
A small forest was literally living in his back yard.

A small bird - a robin, he guessed - flew down from the branches, and hopped up to him.

He whistled to it, wondering what it would do.
To his amusement, it flipped up to his shoulder, looking at him in the eye.

Then, from out of nowhere popped his worst nightmares.

Two boys - about nineteen years old in human years, acording to Mandrake's necklace - jumped out from either side of the house, one on the right, one on the left.

The bird flew off as soon as it saw them.

"Hello", one said.
"Hey", the other said.

They looked almost the exactly same; they both had redish-brown hair, fair skin, and brown eyes.
One of them, the one on the right, had freckles all over his face, while his twin had none.

"Uhhhh", mandrake said uncertainly.
"Do I . . . . . know you two from somewhere?"

"Yes-", the freckled one said.
"-You you have-", the other said.
"-Seen us before-"
"-But we-"
"-Were never-"
"Properly-"
"-Introduced."

Mandrake blinked.

"That's Daniel", said the one on the left, pointing to his brother.
"And that's Davis", said Daniel.
"We're Holly's cousins, the Mcmeares twins", they said in unision.

"Okay", Mandrake said.
"Why are you here?"
He was honestly wishing they'd just leave.

"To help you-"
"-Get ready-"
"-For the-"
"-Ball."

"Ball?"

Wait, didn't Holly say something about her grandmother hosting really annoying balls, or something like that?

"Yes", Daniel said kindly.
"Everyone's-"
"-Invited-"
"-But not everyone-"
"-Comes."

"And I'm invited?", Mandrake asked.

"Yes", Davis said.
"Unless-"
"-You want Richard to dance-"
"-With Holly-"
"-Which we're not having."

"But I don't have anything to wear", Mandrake said.
He would hate it for Holly to dance with Richard - especially when she hated him so much - , but he honestly felt like he was getting thrown into a really big scrape.

"Well-"
"-Lucky for you-"
"-The nearest shop-"
"-Is a few minutes away."

They grabbed him by the arms, and they were off.

"Okay, what exactly are we looking for?", Mandrake asked, as they entered the men's clothing isle.

"Trust us-"
"-Lover boy-"
"-We're fashion-"

"-Experts", they said in sync.

Mandrake stopped.
"Wait, did you just call me-"

  "Lover boy?", Davis asked.
"Why yes. Yes, we did."

"Guys, I don't want to wear a tuxedo", Mandrake said.
"Not anything overly fancy, just you know, something nice."

"Trust us", the twins repeated.

"At the ball, you'll see guys who go WAY overboard", Daniel said wisely.
"That's what we're here to avoid."

"Thanks", Mandrake said, "but why exactly do you care? Do you always help people figure out what to wear?"

"If you want to date our cousin someday", Davis said, "you need to know how to catch a girl's eye. That's what we're for."

Mandrake coughed, burning with embarassment.
"What?"

Davis took a tuxedo top from a nearby rack, held it up to a mirror behind him, and started singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvXA9nNEWPM

"What's the matter with the cloths I'm wearing?"

"Can't you tell tat your tie's too wide?", Daniel asked.

"Maybe I should buy some old tab collars-"

"Welcome back to the age of jibe."

They circled Mandrake, never even missing a single beat in their song.

"Where've you been hiddin' out lately, honey?
Ya can't dress trashy 'til ya spend a lotta money.
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound funny, but it's still rock 'n' roll to me."

The twins led him to a window outlokking the parking lot.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mandrake was pretty sure he saw a man, who was talking to the store manager, point to them as Davis posed infront of an old-fashioned cadillac.

"What's the matter with the car I'm drivin'?"

"Can't ya tell that's it's otta style?"

"Should I get a set of white-wall tires-"

"Are ya gonna cruise a merry-go mile?"

Davis held up a pair of fancy black shoes, sang the lines, "Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers, you'll get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers!", and threw them into a shelf or radio equiptment behind him.

The store manager was looking strangely amused.

Daniel tossed Mandrake a trim, green sweater from one of the clothing racks, some clean brown shoes, and a neat pair of chocholate-colored pants.

After paying the chashier -who looked like he'd rather have them thrown out-, he went into the bathroom to try them on, and he heard Davis and Daniel singing as he looked at himself in the mirror.
"What's the matter with the crowd I'm seein'-"
"Don't ya know that they're outta touch?"

  Mandrake joined in as he stepped out.

  "Should I try to be a straight A student-"

"If you are, then ya think too much."

They put their arms around his shoulders, and they went skipping down the isles.

"Don'y ya know about the new fashion, honey?
All ya need are looks and a whole lotta money."

"It's the next phase-"
"-New wave-"
"-Dance craz-"
"-Anyways, it's still rock 'n' roll to me."

"It's the new phase-"
"-New wave-"
"-Dance craz-"
"Anyways, it's still rock 'n' roll to me."

Then, they were stopped by the store manager, and they paid him for their damage.

By the time they got into the car, they were all dying.

"Did-you-see-the-look-on-that-guy's-face?!", Mandrake asked through the tears in his eyes.
"That was the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

"Davis and Daniel were also cracking up.
"Okay, okay, pull it together, men", Daniel said.

"Elizabeth, our grandmother, is an old git", Davis said.
"Show any sign of fun, and she'll imediately get suspicious."

"Here we are."

The mansion was huge.
It was at least ten stories high, with white outer walls lined with gold.
From the large driveway, a brick path led to two enormous.
The path was followed by trees, trees so neatly trimed, there wasn't even a single leaf or twig anywhere on the ground.

"Whoa."

"Don't let Elizabeth see you gawking", Daniel warned.
"It's even bigger on the inside."

"All right, gentlemen, Elizabeth hates when people are even the slightest bit late, so out."

Near the doors, was a tall woman Mandrake imediately recognized as Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Alson.
her white hair was pulled up in a high, fancy bun, and her dress looked as old as the house, and reached well past her knees.

Next to her, were four girls - Holly, her sisters, Claire and Lilly, and the twins' sister, Janet.

Holly ran towards them.
"Mandrake! Thank God! For a second, I was worried I'd have to dance with Mr. Grumpy Face."

Mandrake chuckled.
She looked gorgeous.

"May I?", he asked, holding out his arm to her.
She giggled as she took it.

"You've met the twins, I see", she remarked.

"Yes-"
"-He-"
"-Has."

Holly snickered.

"Daniel and Davis?", Mrs. Alson said, as they walked past her.
"Yes?", they said, turning around.
"You're three minutes late", she said, looking at an old watch.

"Better late-"
"-Than never."

"Holly", Mrs.Also said, as though she was acknowlaging she for the very first time.
"I am glad your parents have you wearing something proper, for once.
You should lose the earring though."

"It was a gift from Mandrake", Holly said, managing a fairly neutral expression.

"I see."

Elizabeth turned to him with something that could barely be called a smile.

"It is a pleasure to have you here, Mandrake. Now, if you would just wait until Richard arives, I'm sure we can find you a partner."

Mandrake cleared his throat.
"I'm dancing with Holly today."

"What?", Mrs. Alson asked, blinking.

"I'm dancing with Holly", he repeated a little louder.
The two of them walked inside before she could say anything more.

"Sorry about that", Holly said, pulling Mandrake into a corner.
"Things won't be any easier once Mr. Narcisis gets here."

"Defeating Cottonmouth wasn't easy, was it?", Mandrake asked.
"Nooooo", she said with a faint grin.

"The this should be nothing."

She galnced behind him, and her smile faded.
"Speak of the Devil."

Sure enough, walking down the hall was a tall teenager in a suit.
His black hair was perfectly parted, and Mnadrake had a strong feeling that Richard was the prime reason the twins were careful not to let him overdress. . . . not like he would have done that even if they hadn't shown up.

"Holly", he said in a charming tone, cutting between her and Mandrake.

"Hi, bye", she said, walking back to Mandrake's side.

Richard glowered.
"You think you can just steal my girl?"

"I was never yours!", Holly snapped.

Richard turned his eyes back to Mandrake.
"Just who do you think you are?", he said with a scoff.
"You couldn't even attract a crow with those duds."

"Uh, would I want to attract crows?", Mandrake asked, taking a line from Holly.

Richard chuckled.
"I bet you think you're smart, don't you? Well let me tell you something: you're not. It wouldn't take Albert Enstein to throw you off."

"Really? Well, I bet you're so rich and lazy, you couldn't even clean the spit off of your own tounge", Mandrake said, coming up with an insult at the spur of the moment.

Some of the young men in the small audience that was gathering groaned.

Richard looked at the group, but saw that he'd been beat.
With one final look at Holly and a glar at Mandrake, he slantered off.

"Come on", Holly said, tilting her head.

The ballroom was gigantic.
It looked like something straight out of a Victorian castle.
The high ceiling was decorated with four large chandeliers, and the walls were covered with amber paper.
The long table at the far corner of the room had all kinds of food on it.

The only somewhat modern looking thing in the room, was the radio that was playing waltz music in the background.

"This isn't SO bad", Mandrake said.

"The real thing that ticked me off was that I had to dance with Richard, I had to wear a dress, and that the only music that ever played at these things was waltz music. I'll take sixty's, seventy's, eighty's, or ninety's music any day."

"Whoop!"
Lilly stumbled, red hair flying, hitting the radio.
"You dead, Lill?", he dance partner asked.
"Yep."

The music switched, the channels flipped several times, finally landing on "September" by Earth, Wind, And Fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk

Mandrake spun Holly, bringing her closer to him.

"Mandrake, what the fu-"

"Dance with me", he said, grinning.

"I don't know how to dance!"

"Just follow my lead."

"Dude, I have no idea-"

Mandrake put a finger to her lips.
"Shut up, and dance with me."

The dance started out a bit awakwardly, but as they spun again, the steps Mandrake had gone through with Wolfsbane came back to him.

He took her hand, guiding her, helping her do what he did, helping her dance the world away as the music swelled.

"Aya ahh, say do you remember?
Byya ahh, dancin' in September!
Ahhh ayya, never was a cloudy day!"

"Mandrake, everyone's watching", Holly whispered.
"Then dance like nobody is."

As they swept on, Holly's movements became more and more fluid, her dress flowing ths way, her hair the other as she followed Mandrake.

"Our bell was ringing, ahh-ahh, out love was singin'!
Do you remember, never a cloudy?"

Swift steps, the tapping of feet, and the clasping of hands.

"And I say, ahh-yiiyi, say do you remember,
byee-yi dancin' in September!
Byee-yii, never was a cloudy day!"

The dance ended with a bang as Mandrake and Holly twirled one last time, hands held as they stopped.

The crowd cheered, and Mandrake was pretty sure he saw Iris grinning, and the twins giving him thumbs-ups.

"So, you're going to collage?", Mandrake asked, as they say down on the back steps.

"Um, yes", Holly said uncertainly.
"I'm kind of worried about living in the icty, though. And it's not just in the city; it's in Queens. But at least Iris, Janet, and the twins are going too."

Mandrake rested his hand on top of hers.

"So am I."

She smiled at him thankfully.

TIMESKIP SIX MONTHS LATER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Bait eatting wallffles

"So, where is this restaruant?", Holly asked, getting into the car.

"It's, erm, where the sidewalk ends", Mandrake said nervously.

"Well, ya don't say."

Mandrake laughed.

Today, Holly was wearing a red skirt and a white top with butterfly sleves.
Her eyes were especially colorful; he knew they were hazel, but he kept second-guessing himself.

This was his favorite part of Queens.
The buildings were tall, but not sinister or intimidating.

The sidewalks were lined with tree and flowers, giving the place a natural-urban look.

"This looks nice", Holly said as they pulled up to the restaraunt.

"No, no, I'm tellin' you, Leo Valdes is the funniest half-blood!", Holly laughed.
"I have ADHD, and I have exprience writing humorous characters; get where I'm coming from?"

"Yeah, well, hear where I'm coming from", Mandrake said with a bright smile.
"I've spent half of my life writing stories. I've won awards for my hidden sense of humor. You got that?"

Holly inhaled.
"That's a hell of a place to be coming from."

He stared at her with a serious expression. . . . . . for about two seconds, before he lost it.

"I hate to bring this up", Mandrake said, taking a sip of lemonade, "but I feel like I kind of have to. Talking to everyone with the Dreamvisiter's great, but will we ever actually see them again?"

Chink.

Two necklaces and a slip of paper fell from the ceiling, landing on their table with a thud.

"Are those Time-turners?", Mandrake joked.

"No. Time-turners have hourglass charms; these are maps. . . . maps of Pyrrhia and Pantala", Holly said, studying one of the trinkets.

Mandrake picked up the peice of paper and for a moment, he just stared at it.
Then, with shaking hands , read it aloud.

It said:

" 'Things we lose often have a way of coming back to us; just not always the way we expect.'

Say the name of your otherworldly friend (s), and you will appear wherever they may be.
When your time is up, you will hear a ringing  noise, and within one minute, you will return home, once again in your human form.
These individualy necklaces can only be used twice, once on the first full moon of summer, and once on the last full moon of summer.
This will be the only two times you will be able to return to that world.
However, the door for emergency vists is not closed.

Best of luck,
Soulreader."

A/N: So, they're going for a visit to Pantala.
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Wordcount: 5720

Until next time, Rex out!