"You're back!" A high-pitched voice pierced through the crowd.

Drake looked over to see Nelly running toward him. She had her raggedy doll hanging limply as she rushed toward him. She had left Nana and Tod behind to run toward him. She had a wide grin on her face as she ran. He stroked Renn's fur, mentally telling her to be nice to Nelly; she was important to him. Renn made a soft, growl-howl, showing her understanding.

When she reached Drake, she flew into his arms, nearly knocking him over as he landed on his firm chest, ignoring the large beast beside him, and hugged him tightly as she giggled. Mike and Chad, as well as all three fathers, watched with interest. They had never seen Drake show affection to this degree. He was hugging the little girl back and whispering so they couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Hi, Nelly," he said softly. "Do you want to meet, Renn? She's nice?" he asked her. He wanted to introduce her to his beast familiar. Nelly frowned, not knowing who Renn was. There was a hint of jealousy in her eyes. Seeing this, Drake chuckled softly and pointed to the massive beast beside him with glowing green eyes. "Nelly, this is Renn. Do you want to ride on her back?" he offered. He knew when he was little, he liked to go horseback riding. He thought she might like to do the same.

Nelly peered around Drake's shoulder and saw the large beast. Her eyes widened as she looked at the large creature. Renn lowered her head, trying to look smaller. Even she knew that she looked fearsome.

Deciding to preverbally rip the band-aid off, Drake, without giving Nelly a choice, picked her up and set her gently on Renn's back and held her so she wouldn't slip off. Renn slowly stood, trying to be careful not to throw the little girl off, and started walking slowly around the yard. Nelly had grasped onto Renn's thick fur, trying to stay mounted on the massive beast.

Nelly couldn't help it; she burst out laughing so loudly that she caused others who were setting up for the celebration to turn and look at what the commotion was about. To their surprise, Nelly was riding on the back of a level 3 beast, one with brightly glowing emerald green eyes.

Tod was standing next to Nana, watching his little cousin with envy. Nana watched with fear that Nelly would fall off the beast.

As Renn walked around the yard with the little girl, Nelly laughed and giggled, holding on to Renn's fur tightly.

Drake walked over to Tod, still keeping an eye on Nelly. When he reached the boy, he looked down at him and smiled. "Do you want to ride Renn, too?" he asked.

Tod beamed with sudden excitement and nodded his head vigorously. "Yes! Yes! I want to ride her too!" he shouted, jumping up and down, unable to contain himself.

Drake mentally told Renn to come to him. She did immediately, still being mindful of the child on her back. When she reached Drake, he quickly lifted Tod and set him behind his little cousin. Renn walked around the yard, being careful, yet keeping an eye on her master. She didn't trust the man who smelled like him. She remembered the vision she had shared with her master. This was the one that slaughtered them all.

Drake watched Renn with the children, smiling as the children laughed. He went back to his seat at the table, then turned briefly to his father, then back to the children playing with his familiar.

"What happens next?" he asked. Then he paused for a moment before continuing. "Renn had a vision… I'm sure if you were watching, you already know the content. Is it true?"

The three fathers looked at each other before Drake's father answered. "No, it's not true. The gargoyle king can put visions in beasts' minds. Well, he was able to…since he's dead. We believe he was the one responsible. There are others in this dimension that can do the same thing. You have six more quests. They may try to do the same thing or something similar. Use your lantern. It can help you to see the truth. That ring you have. It didn't come from us. It does, however, block mind attacks, so continue to use it. The only thing we gave you through the quests was the three life tokens, nothing else. We also won't be able to give you any more of them, so be careful when you complete your quests," Drake's father explained.

Drake relaxed a bit. As he watched the kids playing on Renn, he asked another question. "What can I do about Renn. She can't come to Earth. She has to stay here. I can't stay here…I still have school. What can I do?"

The three men exchanged glances again. Drake's father sighed. "The time runs differently here. When you return home, you will find you were only gone for one school day…the day you came and the weekend. If we go back home after the celebration, you can go to school tomorrow. Renn can come with you. As you're familiar, she can change to accommodate worlds that are not her own. When you come back to this dimension, she will revert to what she is supposed to be."

"When do we have to return here?" Chad asked, quietly. He didn't want to return at all, but knew they had no choice.

It was his own father who answered. "You will return after school on Friday. There are only a few weeks left of school, so most of your quests can be done during summer vacation."

"Some of them have time limits… we're not allowed to tell you which ones. You find that out during your quest." Mike's father added.

Music suddenly blasted through the backyard, causing Drake and his friends to look around them. The people had finished setting up, and the celebration was about to officially begin.

They had set up a small stage for dancing. A long table was filled with food that the townspeople had brought. Mary had filled the tables with all sorts of goodies, adding to the already abundant food.

Drake noticed that Gavin was watching Renn carry the two children before looking over at Drake and holding his stein up in salute. He didn't like the look in the other man's eyes. It wasn't obvious; it was subtle. So subtle that he thought that it could be nothing, and he was overreacting. He knew better. His instincts were good… much better than they were when they had first arrived.

For the rest of the afternoon, they ate, drank, and had a good time. None of the boys danced along with the other townspeople. Nor did their fathers. They all sat watching the festivities and eating.

There was very little conversation between them. Drake kept an eye on Renn, who was now lying next to where he was seated, again eyeing their fathers suspiciously. Drake knew why because he was having trouble trusting them, too, after the vision she had shown him during their quest.

Looking toward his two friends, they were distant from their fathers as well. It was clear they were worried about it, even if it was only subconsciously. Drake didn't know, and he wasn't going to ask them, with their fathers sitting across from them.

His eyes went to Gavin, who was looking their way, before turning to look toward Nelly and Tod to watch them instead. The two cousins were back with a relieved Nana as they played on the ground with little wooden blocks, stacking them to make castles.

Drake didn't trust Gavin, and he was leery about their fathers. He couldn't help it. Renn's vision damaged him to the point where he couldn't trust that they would come for them, completely out of the blue, to destroy them all.

He shivered unconsciously when thinking about it.

"Are you alright?" Drake's father asked, worried. It was clear that something was bothering him.

Drake turned to his father. "I'm fine. I just want to get home. I want to prepare to come back for the second quest. I want to get it over with."

His father raised a brow. "That may be true, but that isn't what's wrong. I can tell that something is bothering you."

Mike and Chad turned to Drake, realizing he was having the same trouble they were. Mike spoke, not giving Drake a chance to respond to his father.

"It's not something we can discuss here. I think I can speak for all of us. We need to talk, and it can't be here in this dimension. When we get back, we have lots to talk about."

Drake nodded to his friend. "Thank you, that was my thought exactly," then he turned to his father, glancing between the other two men. "Besides, Renn doesn't trust you."

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