The gunshot sounded loud and strong and the Terror Kids dropped dead. Annika screamed, hiding her face in Tommy's belly. The other children stood there shaking as Henry James Alden trained the gun on Pippi's mother.

"Your turn, bitch," he growled.

"What does a human care for a Terror Kids?" she demanded, eyes glowing red in rage as she stared at her dead mate.

"I love my Pippi Longstocking," Henry James Alden said coldly. "And he hates you. After all the pain you put him through, it's time to pay the piper. And after all that Pippi's done for me and my family, it's time for us to repay him."

The humans nodded, glaring at her. Violet Alden was kneeling by a heavily bleeding Pippi, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Their kids were standing behind her. Chris and Benny had guns in their hands. They were ready to do some damage.

With no warning, Jessie lunged and Henry James Alden fired, but he missed. He tucked and rolled turning to line up a shot. Teeth sank into his wrist and he grunted in pain. Benny and Chris hurried up and began firing into her side. She roared in pain, releasing Henry James Alden, and spinning to face them. They were unafraid as they stared her down.

"How are you not afraid of me?" she demanded. "Humans always fear us!"

"Ha! You think you're any scarier than our parents?" Holly laughed bitterly.

"Get real," Peter added.

"You might beat Pippi, but you never beat us," Chris spat. "It's always different when it's not your parents."

"You don't scare us, bitch," Benny said flatly. "You never will. We've been beaten and bloodied by those who were supposed to take care of us. What could be scarier than that?"

Henry James Alden came around, gun raised. Benny and Chris raised theirs, too. There was a stare down for thirty seconds, then Henry James Alden fired. The next while was full of the sounds of gunshots as the boys unloaded their weapons into her. When they'd all clicked empty, they lowered their weapons.

"I would have asked you to apologize," Henry James Alden said coldly. "But you're just too good for that."

"Henry James Alden," Violet Alden said softly.

"Si, me media naranja?" Henry James Alden asked, holstering the gun at his waist. He froze, staring at the form on the ground. "Pippi Longstocking!"

"I don't know how to stop the bleeding," Violet Alden said, her voice tinged with panic. "He's losing too much blood!"

The humans surrounded him, muttering to each other. A soft touch to Henry James Alden's leg had him look down to see Tommy. The copper Kids looked thoughtful.

"We need light flowers."

"Light flowers?" Henry James Alden asked, his eyes lighting up. "Oh, we've got plenty of those!"

He grabbed Pippi's Carry-All, reached in, and started pulling out bundle after bundle after bundle of light flowers. Some were brighter than others, but they all glowed in the dim light of the storm clouds. Tommy stopped him after the fifteenth bundle.

"That's plenty, thank you."

"Okay."

"Anna! Help me get him inside. We need to bathe him," Tommy said.

They lifted him up and bore him inside, the others following quickly. Henry James Alden was left staring at the door.

"They truly do not care for us anymore," Violet Alden whispered.

"My darling, my love, why should they? We are not children anymore," Henry James Alden replied. "Now, let's get rid of these bodies so they won't have to deal with them."

They burned the bodies on a pyre made with wood. They went up in flames and were soon gone. The humans sat around the fire, staring into the depths. There was a soft noise and Henry James Alden looked down to see Annika staring at him.

"Heya, little one. You weren't here with us when I was here."

Annika looked scared as she lightly touched the gun at his hip and asked a question. But it wasn't "Why did you shoot them?" No, that wasn't the question at all. What the little pink Kids asked made all of the humans flinch.

"Why did they hurt Pippi?"

Violet Alden reached over and picked her up, kissing her head softly. "There are some questions we do not know the answers to, little one. That is one of them. Why would any parent abuse their child? It is a mystery to us all."

"Pippi's in pain. I want to help, but Uncle Tommy says I can't."

"Of course you can help!" Holly exclaimed. "You can give him love and hugs and kisses! Those are important for his health, just as important as medicine and bandages. More important if you ask me."

"Who are you, exactly?" Cheer asked as she and the other Kidss came out to stare at them.

"It's little Mikey," Henry James Alden said with a smile.

"Violet Alden."

"Benny."

"Holly."

"Chris."

"Peter."

They stared at them. "You're our kids," James Henry Alden murmured in surprise.

"Yeah. We're your kids," Henry James Alden said. "Only we're all grown up."

"How did you get here?" Tommy asked softly.

Their faces hardened and they turned back to the fire.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Even if he takes them away, Pippi Longstocking would make us new ones," Peter said thoughtfully.

They all reached into their pockets and pulled out the black care charms. Tommy approached them and took Henry James Alden's, studying it.

"You wished yourselves here," he surmised.

"No," Henry James Alden said, shaking his head. "We teleported."

"Teleported?"

"Yeah. These don't grant wishes. They teleport."

Henry James Alden took it and waved it hard, disappearing with a pop. There was another pop, and he was on the other side of the fire. He strolled back over and handed the charm to Tommy again, who began turning it this way and that.

"Fascinating. Where did you get it?"

"Pippi Longstocking. He invented them," Henry James Alden said, looking a little proud. "He's so smart, and so handy with tools."

"How did he do it?"

Henry James Alden frowned, his face pinching in thought. "Something to do with lightning. I asked him once, and I think that's what he said."

There was a rumble of thunder, and the children watched as peace flowed over all of the humans' faces, which tilted back to look up at the dark clouds.

"Let the thunder roll," Henry James Alden purred.

"And the lightning strike," Violet Alden responded.

"Another love grows cold on a sleepless night," Holly sang softly.

"As the storm blows on, out of control," Peter continued.

"And deep in his heart," Benny whispered.

"The thunder rolls," they all finished.

Silence. James Henry Alden swallowed and spoke after a few moments.

"That was pretty."

"Thanks," Holly said with a smile. "I try to sing every once in a while. You really inspired me to follow my dreams of being a singer. I make my family sing with me."

"How's your sister?"

Holly's face tightened. "She's dead."

"What happened?" Cheer asked, horrified.

"Dad got drunk again. He killed Mom and Bethany. Pippi Longstocking saved me."

"Saved?" Tommy asked.

Holly opened her mouth, but Henry James Alden cut in. "No, chiquita. No. That is Pippi's story to tell, not ours."

"Yes, Daddy," Holly said with a nod.

"You're related?"

"By adoption. Violet Alden and me adopted everybody else here. And there's one more we've got our eyes on, but nothing's happened yet, so we haven't tried," Henry James Alden said with a smile.

"Oh. I see." Tommy jumped as lightning struck the fountain. "We need to get inside. You can…um…"

"We'll check on Pippi this weekend," Violet Alden said with a smile.

Henry James Alden traded his charm for Pippi's Carry-All then waved as he and the others vanished, leaving no trace. The children stared at the dying fire, trying to absorb what had happened. The sky broke open, and they hurried into Tommy's house. Annika climbed the stairs to the guest room and heaved herself into the bed with Pippi. Vicious claw marks tore across his belly, which had been shaved to reveal scars. She teared up and snuggled close, whimpering. She didn't understand.

"Whatsa matter, Little Wonder?"

"Pippi!" Annika gasped, sitting up to stare at his dull eyes. "Why do they hit you?"

Pippi frowned, shifting to try and sit up, but he groaned and fell back. "Do you want the truth?" he asked once he'd caught his breath.

"Yes."

Pippi pulled her close, ignoring the pain that stemmed from the action. "They didn't want me to be weak. They thought it would toughen me up. That's why they started. When it didn't work, they grew to hate the weakness I represented. That's why they hit me."

Annika frowned. "But you're not weak. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"I'm not talking about just physical strength, Annika."

"Neither am I, Pippi," she said seriously.

Tears stung Pippi's eyes and he kissed her head. "What say you read me a story?"

"Okay!" Annika scampered for her bookshelf then returned with several books. "Which one do you want?"

"Surprise me."

She picked the Starbuddy's Guide and opened it, beginning with the first creature. He was out by the third, but she kept reading anyway. She fell asleep curled up next to him. That was how Tommy found them, and the old Kids didn't have the heart to move her to her room. Instead, he tucked her in then began to spread the glowing cream into the claw marks on Pippi's belly.