"Where are we going exactly, Grandmother?"

Wilson was a bit baffled when he was greeted in the morning by Wickerbottom, requesting him to join her in the Shadow World. She said it was something important but she didn't elaborate on details and it was admittedly driving him a little mad.

"Did you find other survivors? Did Maxwell do something and we need to send him a message?"

"No, none of those." Wickerbottom shook her head, leading him on. "Like I said, it's important."

"Then would you care to give me details? Vagueness isn't going to help much."

"It's a surprise."

Wilson gave her a curious look. He hadn't seen her look this excited in a long time. He smiled, giving a nod.

If it makes her happy, I'll deal with vagueness.

Soon, they came upon a thick patch of trees.

Wickerbottom smiled, parting the trees to reveal a path, leading Wilson into them.

"Sebastian and I found this a week ago and I've been meaning to show you this but you had your hands full."

"Between building and taking care of two girls, of course I had my hands full." Wilson chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around, his curiosity growing.

The trees faded as structures came into view. Small houses and gardens built around the path they were on. But what drew Wilson's attention were the people that were going about their days among the structures. They were human looking but two things said otherwise. Their ears were long and pointed and they had black markings on their faces.

"Wilson." Wickerbottom smiled. "These people here were people from my old village. We found surviving shadow beings."

Wilson's eyes grew wide as he inhaled sharply.

"That's…" He grinned broadly. "That's incredible! These people… they're our kind!"

"That's right." Wickerbottom chuckled. "It's the other half of your heritage."

"Oi! Look!" One of the people shouted, pointing to Wickerbottom and Wilson. "The Queen is here! And she has a guest!"

Others looked up, waving to them, some walking over to them. Wilson found himself stumbling back a bit at the response as many came up to him in particular, looking at him carefully. Especially smaller shadow beings.

"His ears look funny." One of the little ones giggled, looking at Wilson, up and down. "They're all curved!"

"Yeah! They're not pointy!"

Wilson smirked. "Oh?" He knelt to their level, a gentle look in his eyes. "What should they look like then?"

"Like this!" The child smiled, pointing to their ears, twitching them. "Long and pointy!"

"It's how shadow beings look." Another giggled. "So if his ears are funny, that means he's a survivor or human as some refer to them as."

"Well, there's one thing he's not lacking in the pointy department." A child had found their way onto Wilson's back, poking at his hair, particularly at his curls. "His hair sure is pointy… and springy."

Wilson chuckled. "It's genetic."

The other children got curious as Wilson found himself with them, climbing up as well, taking turns playing with his curls.

"H-Hey!" He laughed. "That tickles!"

Wickerbottom chuckled.

"Ah, children."

Older shadow beings came over, getting the children off him.

"We apologize, Your Majesty." They bowed to Wickerbottom. "They've never seen a human before so they're bound to be curious."

"It's fine." Wickerbottom smiled as Wilson stood up fully, dusting himself off. "Wilson doesn't mind."

"Not at all." Wilson smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have two girls I take care of."

"Still, we apologize."

"Wilson… Wait… He's…" Their eyes grew wide.

"The guy who defeated the king!" One of the children squealed, pointing at him. "The Prince of Shadows!"

The other children gasped as they too squealed, gathering around Wilson again.

"Do the magic, do the magic!"

"E-Easy now children."

Wilson was taken aback at this, not really sure what to do.

"U-Um…"

"Did you really trick him?" One them asked, bouncing in place. "We were always told Maxwell is too smart to be tricked. How did you do it?"

Wilson looked to each child before a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"I made him think I was going to double cross my friends. Then, when he least expected it, I attacked!"

They all gasped, some of the adults shuddering at the thought of attacking the former king.

"Whoa! What did you use? Magic? A sword?"

"Little bit of both." Wilson chuckled. "Sword to strike him down, magic to end the fight."

"Is he dead?" One of them asked, tilting their head. "We heard he might still be around."

"He is but he's not as dangerous as he used to be. Let's just say he was limping on the way out from the battle."

One of the children, a little boy, climbed up onto Wilson's back again. "You're like a hero!"

"Maybe a little."

"I think you are!" A girl squealed, bouncing a bit. "No one has ever gotten into a fight with Maxwell and left without being turned into some monster! You pulled a miracle!"

The adults around him bowed their heads in respect.

"She is right." One of them said. "Maxwell has always won his battles. We never thought his downfall would be caused by a survivor of all things."

Wilson smiled.

"I just did what I had to. I had enough of being under his thumb but I can't take credit for it alone. I had Grandmother, my friends and my daughters all by my side."

Wickerbottom smiled, placing a hand on Wilson's shoulder.

"It was a group effort. That's for sure."

"So he's a hybrid?" One of the villagers asked. "Sorry for asking just since he's related to you I would think that would make him part shadow being."

"Slightly." Wickerbottom looked to them. "He's my grandson so he's only about a 4th shadow being since my son, his father, was only half."

"How interesting."

"And he still had all that power."

"Maxwell amplified it when he gave him dark knowledge and even more so when he tried to make Wilson a servant. It all came together and… well, he is what he is now."

"That's so cool!" The boy on his back squealed. "He's of both worlds!"

Wilson chuckled, reaching behind him, ruffling the boy's hair. "That's right and this is the first time I'm meeting other shadow beings besides Grandmother."

"Wow! Neat! Do you like us?"

"I do. I feel very welcomed."

"Yay!"

Wickerbottom smiled.

"I'm glad." She gently pulled the child off Wilson's back, setting him down. "Thank you for welcoming my grandson but I have some people I would like him to meet real fast but you can see him again after we're finished if you like."

"Yeah!" One of them cheered.

"We can play magic tag or something!"

Wilson got a curious look.

"You'll have to teach me. I've never played."

"We'll show you!"

"It's a deal." Wilson looked to Wickerbottom. "Shall we?"

Wickerbottom nodded, leading him away from the crowd.

"I hope that wasn't too overwhelming for you."

Wilson shook his head, looking around at the village. "No, not at all. I'm excited honestly."

"I'm glad." Wickerbottom smiled. "Heh… you have the same look Percival did when I first showed him this world."

"I do huh?" He smiled warmly, perking up at the mention of his grandfather. "How did they react to him?"

"Well, when he first came here he didn't meet children but the day he did, they couldn't stop asking questions or playing with ears and hair."

"Sounds familiar."

"Like grandfather like grandson." Wickerbottom smiled, looking ahead, heading over to a house. "One moment." She gave a knock. "Mother? Father?"

The door opened, revealing Jules on the other side.

"Ah, Melinda. Good to see you again."

Wickerbottom smiled.

"It's good to see you too, Father. I've brought someone for you to meet." She gestured to Wilson. "Father, this is Wilson."

Jules eyes were wide before a grin crossed his face, walking over to Wilson, offering a hand to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Wilson shook his hand, unable to help himself as he stared at Jules, seeing pieces of himself in the man.

"This is incredible."

"Indeed. Jules Wickerbottom, at your service." Jules looked at him carefully. "Goodness, you got the same eyes as Percival. If not for the hair you'd be a spitting image of the man."

Wilson felt some pride swell up at hearing that.

"Heh, I've been told I take after him quite a bit. Including my love for all kinds of sciences and learning in general."

"Except for geology. Percival could never keep your attention on that." Wickerbottom chuckled.

"I was always so sleepy."

Jules shook his head.

"Regardless, it's nice to meet you. Never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting my great grandson."

"Pleasure is all mine, Sir." Wilson looked at him, a bit baffled that while definitely showing signs of age, Jules didn't look old enough to be a great grandfather."

"Heh, I know that look." Jules chuckled. "Don't know if Melly told you but we shadow beings live for a very long time. Our bodies just don't age very fast and that's partly due to the world we live in but if you're curious, by human standards I am 97 years of age."

"That is is amazing." Wilson was a bit wide eyed as he took this information in. "I wonder how this effects across generations…"

"Well you do look quite young for… 33?"

"That's right."

"Well, it's possible. Either way, it's nice to have you with us. One moment." Jules headed inside, coming back with Veronica. "Wilson, this is my wife, Veronica. She's your great grandmother."

Veronica smiled, taking Wilson's hand into hers, giving it a gentle shake.

"Such a pleasure to meet you."

Wilson smiled, returning it. "The pleasure is mine. I never thought I'd get to meet my great grandparents. I'm honored."

"Oh, Wilson, the honor is all ours."

She's kind. Just like Grandmother.

"Would you like to come in? I was just making some earl grey tea."

"I would love that. Earl grey's my favorite." Wilson smiled, following them inside, taking a look around the house, seeing some paintings on the wall and a few photographs. "I didn't know you had cameras. They're so expensive back on Earth."

"Ours were a gift from your grandfather actually. Trying to win Jules over to get permission to marry Melly."

"Ah a good man he was." Jules chuckled, remembering that. "I knew he was fine for my daughter but I was glad to see he wanted to prove himself. He pulled out all the stops and of course ol' Wagstaff did what he could to help."

Wilson stopped short.

"Wagstaff? As in…. Robert Wagstaff?"

"The very one. Inventor of Voxola PR-76 radio in your world I believe."

"He was friends with Grandfather!?" Wilson exclaimed.

"Best friends at that. Had quite the crush on Sebastian's sister too."

"How…" Wilson looked to Wickerbottom. "How come I never knew about this!?"

Wickerbottom shrugged.

"Robert got really busy with his radio work when you were born so he wasn't really around for us to bring him up. There wasn't really a chance to bring him up when we had you to worry about and help take care of… and… after Percival passed, Robert eventually joined him after the factory burned down."

He frowned, nodding. "I see… I'm sorry to hear that. I had one of his radios."

"I believe that was the one Percival himself owned before it was handed down to you."

"That's right." Wilson smiled a bit. "Mother gave it to me."

"That sounds like Cecelia." Veronica said, heading into the kitchen. "That means you had one of the first hand made models ever built then."

"I enjoyed it quite a bit. I hope to either get a chance to retrieve it or to rebuild it. Though more than likely it'll be rebuilt."

"I can just make another trip back to Earth and retrieve it like I did your violin." Wickerbottom grinned. "So long as the shack hasn't fallen over."

Wilson turned a bit red. "Oh come now! It withstood the wind just fine! It only had one hole in the roof!"

Jules covered his mouth, snorting a bit.

"Do I want to know?"

"Wilson has poor tastes when it comes to the housing market."

Wilson bristled a bit.

"It was a bargain! The sale price was so cheap!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Wilson."

Jules shook his head.

"Alright, alright, enough of that. We should be grateful that Wilson was able to find a place to call home."

Wilson grinned.

"Thank you!"

"Oh yes, humor him."

"I'd rather not have contention in my household, thank you." Jules sat down on the couch. "Please, sit."

Wickerbottom rolled her eyes, doing as told, Wilson doing the same.

"Oh, one thing I forgot to ask. Wilson, are you allergic to any animals?"

Wilson shook his head.

"Not at all. I'm quite fond of them actually. From beefalo to chesters." He chuckled. "The only ones I don't like are bats and spiders."

"Oh good because we have a pet and he loves his cuddles-"

"Mew!"

Wilson jumped a bit as a creature that looked like a cat mixed with a racoon hopped up onto his lap.

"Mew?" The creatures looked at him curiously, rubbing against him, purring.

He was curious… although Wilson would admit he felt his heart melt a little.

"A cat… A very friendly cat." He smiled, bringing his arms around the creature, scratching behind its ears.

"A catcoon to be exact." Jules grinned.

Wickerbottom smiled, chuckling a bit.

"I can't believe you kept Puck after all this time. I thought I lost him when I ran away to Earth."

"Nope, we kept a good eye on the little devil." Jules smiled. "We knew he meant a lot to you so we held on to him."

Wickerbottom reached over, rubbing under Puck's chin, eliciting a loud purr from the catcoon.

"There we are. Still know his sweet spot."

"He's very friendly." Wilson smiled. "So fascinating as well."

Jules smiled.

"Percival said the same thing. Heh… You are his grandson."

"Mew!" Puck curled up in Wilson's lap, his tail swishing gently across Wilson's chest.

Wilson smiled softly, leaning back against the couch petting Puck.

"Heh. Animals tend to like me."

I feel so… welcomed here.

"Tea's ready." Veronica said as she came into the room with a tray that had cups and a teapot on it.

"Perfect." Jules looked to Wilson. "Wilson, I imagine you probably have a lot of questions and I want to be clear, Veronica and I would be more than happy to answer any you might have. As would the rest of our people"

"Thank you and I do have a lot but I'm just trying to take it all in. This village, how you all survived… and…" Wilson's voice cracked a little as he lowered his head. "Why you're so open to me. A total stranger."

Jules had a confused look come to his face.

"Why wouldn't we be? You're family."

Wickerbottom frowned, squeezing Wilson's shoulder.

Wilson looked up, a sad look in his eyes. "I'm… not used to extended family wanting me around. My mother's family made it clear what they thought of me."

Veronica scowled a bit.

"Those Barlows. We heard plenty about them from Melinda. Such awful people. Shame on them for treating you less than a person."

"Indeed." Jules scowled a bit himself. "That's not what family is supposed to do. Family is there for each other. We've been here for Melinda and Percival, we've been here to support them when Edward and Cecelia came around and we most certainly will be here for our great grandson."

"That means a lot. That seriously means a lot to me. You have no idea." Wilson smiled a little, feeling himself relax.

I'm wanted.

"Mew." Puck nuzzled up to him, purring loudly. "Merow."

"We are strangers but we'd be more than happy to get to know you, Wilson." Jules smiled softly. "We understand everything about this is new and we want to help you understand it as best as we can."

Wilson smiled warmly, giving a nod. "I'd really like that."

"And oh, Wilson, wait til you see our library."

He perked up, sitting up straight. "Library?"

"Oh dear." Veronica chuckled. "He got Mel's love of books. Jules, would you like to show him while I get the tea served?"

"Of course." Jules got up. "Wilson?"

Wilson got up, Puck hopping down and following them as Jules lead Wilson to the back of the house. Jules grinned, opening a set of doors, revealing the shelves upon shelves of books in a room that seemed bigger than the house itself.

Wilson felt his jaw drop open a bit as he walked in, turning around, trying to look at all of the books.

"... Wow." He breathed.

"It's quite the collection." Jules smiled, following Wilson. "But all are important. Some are from Earth, some are from here and some are records I helped in creating when I was the archivist for the king."

"That's amazing. What was it like back then? Working for Maxwell, I mean."

"Well, he was a bit more calm back in those days. He still had his moments but he didn't lose his head as much as he did in recent years. I respected him and he respected me. He was very… well, much like the rest of us. He just had more magic than any of us could've imagined having." Jules shook his head. "Though no one could deny he was slowly going mad."

"From what Grandmother told me he was as insane as they could come." Wilson crossed his arms. "Though I don't know all the details. Somethings are still too painful for her to talk about."

"And I can understand why. Maxwell… He made a lot of poor decisions and he even admitted at times in front of me."

Wilson nodded, moving a hand out in front of him, making a small shadow flame. "I just hope… I never wind up like that."

Jules gave a gentle look, going over to Wilson, putting an arm around him.

"We all make mistakes. Shadow beings and humans alike but making mistakes is what makes us, us. We learn and grow from them." Jules squeezed his shoulder. "I can't say what the future holds but I do believe you'll be nothing like our old king. You'll be you."

Wilson smiled, nodding. "Right. I'm going to do my absolute best… and I do plan to come back here more often. How do you feel about great great granddaughters?"

"I have no objections." Jules smiled.

Wilson grinned. "I'll be sure to bring the twins then. They'd love to know more of our family."

"And I'd love to get to know all of you as well."

"It's a plan."

Jules smiled, giving him a side hug, leading him deeper into the library.

"Come. You have much to learn."