Emily slowly came awake. The first thing she noticed as her leaden lids lifted was the pale golden glow of sunlight filtering through the thin material of the window curtains. The second thing she noticed as the haze of sleep dissipated was the dull thump and gentle vibration of what strangely felt like an ordered and consistently-patterned earth quake. She drew a deep breath and groaned. She felt awful. Her body felt like it was made of cement, her limbs heavy as iron rods and stiff as boards; even the simple act of turning her head was difficult. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but she did know that she was still alive.

As she became more aware of her surroundings, she looked around and realized that she was in her bedroom. When she sat up, the clock above her chimed twice, indicating it was two o'clock. And judging by the amount of light outside, it was afternoon.

Then she heard sizzling. Her curiosity roused, she swung her legs out from under the sheets and slid out of bed. The instant she stood and tried to step forward her legs collapsed and she fell to her knees. Taking in a few deep breaths, she grunted and pushed herself upright again. Her legs were shaky with exhaustion and disuse, but this time they held her weight. Slowly, she took a step forward. She didn't fall, so she took another. And another, and another. Down the hallway, she followed her sound and smell to their source. When she reached the kitchen, she peered inside and saw a woman with blonde hair standing at the stove, cooking breakfast. Even from this angle, she looked like someone very familiar.

"Mom?"

The woman turned around to see who was addressing her, and smiled. "Emily," she said softly.

Emily instantly knew who it was. "Mom!" she cried, and ran forward into her arms. Her mother grunted with the impact, and Emily started to cry as she held her close. "If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up," Emily sobbed.

"This isn't a dream, honey," Karen said softly. "It's okay. Everything's going to be all right now. We're going home."

Emily looked up into her mother's eyes, her own still running. She wanted nothing more than to go home with what was left of her family, but knew that even though she wanted to, she wouldn't be able. "No, Mom," she said. "Only you and Navin are going home. I have to stay here." She fingered the stone hanging around her neck. "Even if I tried to leave, I think something would stop me."

"Then I'll stay here until we can all go home together."

Emily was stunned. "What? But you can't stay here! You have no idea what we're up against. It's too dangerous for you to stay here!"

Karen waved a hand. "Hang the danger," she said. "I'm not gonna chicken out and leave you on your own, Emily." Looking her daughter in the eye, she added, "And quite frankly, I don't care what we're up against. I'm sticking with you."

"But Mom," Emily argued, "I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"I can't let you stay here in good conscience," Emily said. "I won't let you get hurt or worse on my account."

"I appreciate your concern, honey," Karen said, "but my home is wherever you and your brother are. And remember, I'm still your mother." Emily's eyes still argued with her. "Don't bother," she concluded. "I'm staying here and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. Whatever happens, we're going to work through it together. Okay?"

Emily nodded. "Okay."

"Now that's all cleared up, would you please explain to me just exactly how we got here? Navin says this is all your fault."

Emily never got to answer, because before she could even open her mouth, someone called, "She's awake!"

A boy with brown hair came running into the room. "Em!" he cried happily.

"Navin!" Emily cried back, taking her brother in her arms and holding him tight. "You did good," she said softly.

"You both performed admirably," Leon said as he entered. "Your mother should be very proud."

"I've always been proud of them," Karen replied.

"So we won?" asked Emily.

The smile fell from Leon's face. "For now," he answered. "I wish it were the end of all this, but it's just the beginning. Surely, the elf king now knows the strength of your potential. He will stop at nothing to kill you, Stonekeeper, even if it means destroying every innocent life in Alledia to find you."

"We'll be ready," Navin said. "If we can kick the giant dude's butt, then I'm sure—"

"Luger was powerful," Leon interrupted, "but his overconfidence was what ultimately did him in. He was just one elf. Taking on the entire elf army will be a different matter entirely. And in order to be ready, we'll need to work hard and prepare. Your training will begin tomorrow, so get some rest." His smile began to tug at the corner of his mouth again. "But it looks like you all have some catching up to do, so I'll let you be." He turned and started to walk away.

"Leon?" Emily called.

He turned back to her. "Yes?"

Emily walked up to him, and without warning, planted a light kiss on his furry cheek, then wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you. For everything." And she let him go.

Leon stood there for a long minute, staring at her. He had spent much his life on his own, beyond the aid of his friends in the underground resistance. True he had developed relations with many of them, but all of them were more or less business. So when Emily kissed his cheek and then wrapped him in a hug, he wasn't quite sure how to react. But something deep inside told him that this was a heartfelt gesture of thanks, and decided that it was only fair to hug her back. "You're welcome, Emily," he said. After he released her, he added, "I'll go now, and let you catch up with each other. Then you should get some rest." With that departing remark, he left.

The three stared after him. "Well," said Karen, "he seems like a very nice…animal person."

"The best," Emily replied. "He's the one who helped us through all this."

An expression of surprise crossed Karen's face. "You two certainly made some interesting friends while I was away."

"Master Emily," a familiar voice cried happily.

"Miskit!" Emily called back, then noticed a thick white bandage. "Your arm!" she exclaimed. "Are you hurt?"

Miskit held up the damaged limb. "Oh, this is nothing," she answered dismissively. "It'll repair itself in a day or two." She looked at Emily with a smirk. "You forget, I'm not organic."

Now Karen was very surprised. "You're mechanical?"

"Yes," Miskit replied. "An anthrobot, to be precise."

"Miskit," Emily said, "thanks so much for looking after me."

"Just doing my job," the pink rabbit answered. "It's what I was built for."

"Well then, you're doing a great job."

Just then, a pale yellow robot with crimson joints and a protruding lower jaw walked up to Navin. "We just got the main engine back online, chief," he said, his voice a buzzing baritone. "We'll be operational at the end of the day."

"Great," Navin replied. "Good work, Cogsley. I'll see you in the control room."

"I'll be there. I need to wash my head."

"My goodness!" exclaimed Karen. "You two sound so…grown-up. I'm very impressed." Navin and Emily looked at her with proud smiles. Then Karen turned to look down the hall. "So this is our new home." Her children led her down the corridor. "Not quite the future I imagined for us, but I guess it'll have to do. I could get used to this." She stepped up to a window that Navin had just opened. The wind blew in through the breach, ruffling their hair and refreshing them. They watched the landscape pass by as the house walked along.

From a cliff side not far behind, an elf watched. It was Prince Trellis, though he'd now rescinded that title. He'd given up trying to impress his father, who he'd come to realize would never allow him to ascend the throne even if he had successfully proven himself. So he turned and left as the house that held his former enemies cleared the forest and continued into a lush valley, bound for a place he'd likely never know.