Disclaimer: All characters, settings, or other story components taken from the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo series belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively. I do not own any of the aforementioned. I do not intend to use this story commercially.

A/N: Wow! This is the last chapter to The Worlds Before Us. This has been an amazing experience, both writing and getting to show my work to you. I'm trying to decide whether or not to post an epilogue; if I do, it will be up by next weekend. I may also post a longer, separate author's note. Thank you so much for reading my work; this means so much to me. Please read and review!

The clearing slowly comes to life again. People are dropping hands, moving to their friends. Liliya licks my face. Someone begins to laugh.

"Nice throw," Neville says, stunned.

"Thanks." I stand up. "I - wow. I can't believe that worked!"

To our right, Will is moving along the line of campers, exchanging a few words. After a moment, he makes his way to us.

"Everyone here ok?" Will pauses to scratch Liliya behind her ear.

"We're fine," Neville says, Luna nodding.

"Vikenti, are all of you alright?" I ask in Russian. He nods. "None of us are hurt, Will."

"Good, good."

He moves on, then pauses by a pair of exhausted Hypnos campers. A girl sitting next to them has a scraped knee.

"A bunch of Hypnos campers overstretched themselves." Hazel jogs toward Will, Nico at her heels. "And a couple other people are hurt. We should start getting people back to the infirmary."

"Wise as always." Will nods. "Nico, could you take a group?"

Nico shakes his head. "Keeping the Watchman here took all my energy. The fastest thing would be to head straight through the woods."

"We'll work with that." Already, a group of Hypnos campers is forming.

Hazel cups her hands around her mouth. "Hey, everyone!"

The clearing falls silent.

"Anyone who is injured or needs ambrosia, come over here," Will orders. "We're heading back to camp. If anyone else wants to come with, please do."

"I think I might head back," Neville says to me. "I'm curious about the infirmary here."

"I'll come." Luna nods. "They need someone to ward off the Nargles."

"Go ahead. I'll meet you back there."

Nico holds up the edge of the net as campers duck under. A few Hypnos campers pause to thank him, but yawn instead. Once the last of their group files through, he follows.

I give Liliya one last hug and straighten, brushing off my pants. Liliya immediately lopes over to Esfir and Inna for more attention.

Across the clearing, a few campers are gathering, obviously discussing something.

"Sophy?" Annabeth waves me over. "This is where the Watchman fell, isn't it?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Well, all traces of him have vanished, and I don't see any spoils of war, either." She crouches down. "If anything, the grass here is a little more faded, but that's it."

"Spoils of war?"

"Things left behind after monsters vanish, like body parts or their belongings." Annabeth sighs, then stands up. "If there were spoils, we'd know for sure he went to sleep and didn't just vanish."

"But there aren't spoils, so we don't know."

"Exactly."

"Sophy, look."

I turn. Behind us, Harry is kneeling next to something. Ron peers over his shoulder.

"Reckon it's cursed?"

"If it's cursed," I say, "don't touch … it. Woah."

An enormous pendant lies on the ground, nestled between two tree roots. It's shimmering gold and roughly circular, with a strange triangle standing in the middle. Intricate carvings line its circumference.

"It's a sundial," Annabeth says from behind me, kneeling next to Harry. "That, Sophy, is a spoil of war." She carefully picks it up. "He must've had it tucked into his chiton."

"Woah," someone breaths behind me. I turn to see Inna; Esfir and the boys are close behind her. "What is that? Is it a necklace?"

"It's a spoil of war," I say in Russian, stumbling slightly over the words. "The Watchman left it behind when he went to sleep."

"What are you going to do with it?" Feliks asks.

"I don't know. I suppose the camp will put it somewhere."

"Sophy?" Hermione taps my shoulder. "Are these your … your friends?"

"What? Oh, yes! These are my friends from home: Inna, Esfir, Vikenti, and Feliks." Then, in Russian, "This is Hermione, and behind her are Harry and Ron. They're my classmates, like Luna."

"Tell them we're very pleased to meet them," Vikenti offers.

"They're very pleased to meet you," I translate.

"Thank you," Hermione says. "I'm pleased to meet them."

"She's pleased to meet you, too."

"Alright, everyone!" Annabeth calls. The clearing goes silent. Percy bounces by Annabeth's side; Thalia and Jason wind their way to them.

"So." Annabeth takes a big breath. "The Watchman is asleep, which is amazing, but it looks like he left us with -" she waves a hand at the forests beyond the net- "this?"

"Will and everyone just left for camp," a camper points out. "So, we can't really have moved, can we?"

"Jason and I came from Scotland." Thalia crosses her arms. "I can still see some of those trees. If this is still at camp, how did we get here?"

"Sophy's friends came from Russia," Harry adds. "That's another place."

I finish translating to Inna. Then, I call, "It's all three forests!"

Annabeth turns. "What?"

"It's all three forests. Inna, eto vse tri lesa. Here, Scotland, and Russia. You can kind of see all three of them, if you squint."

Everyone turns to squint at the woods.

I sigh. "Here. Jason, step outside of the net, like you're going back to camp."

He ducks under the net, then straightens. "Okay?"

"Hermione, do the same thing, but picture Hogwarts."

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it."

She pauses, then does the same thing. "I can still see you under the net, but you're blurry."

"I can't see Hermione anymore," Jason calls from the other side of the clearing. "When she left the net, she vanished."

"I can't see you either," Hermione says.

"Inna," I say in Russian, "step out of the clearing, like Hermione and Jason."

"To Russia?"

"Yep."

As she ducks under the net, both Hermione and Jason gasp.

"She disappeared, too," Jason calls.

"Inna, can you see Hermione or Jason?"

"Nyet, but I can see you."

"Good." In English, "See? Jason's still here, Hermione's in Scotland, and Inna's in Russia. This net, it's like … a bridge. Or a link."

"A rift," Annabeth says. "The Watchman was time and space, right? So, when we forced him here, he made this rift by accident, like a tear in space."

Hermione ducks back under the net. "If I wanted to, could I go to Russia? Just step back out and be there?"

"I guess so. Try it."

She goes to stand next to Inna, who beams at her.

"I can still see you," Inna tells Hermione.

Hermione smiles back. "We're both in Russia," she says, "so I can see you."

They stand there for a moment, obviously not understanding anything the other said.

"You can come back, if you want," I say, first in Russian, then in English.

As they duck back into the clearing, Harry pokes the edge of the net. "It's still staying up, even though this knot is undone," he says. "Hermione, how long does that spell last?"

Hermione cranes her head to look at the top of the net. "It's temporary, so not that long. It should have started to sag by now."

"It might be held up by that rift-bridge-thing, somehow." I spin in a circle, examining the net. "It doesn't look like it's coming down anytime soon."

Feliks crouches to pet Liliya. "Sophya, what are they saying?"

"This net is a rift, or a bridge, between Russia, Scotland, and New York," I say. "When we step out, we can be any of the places. We don't know how long the net will stay up, but it looks pretty secure now."

"Who made the rift?" Esfir asks. "How?"

"We think it was the Watchman. He supposedly had powers over space and time. Liliya, don't eat that leaf."

Feliks tugs the leaf out of Liliya's mouth. "So, you could come from your school to home and right back?"

"I could. You could come to Scotland, too."

Esfir gazes at the blurred forests around us. "It's beautiful, Sophya. It's like all your different worlds laid out before you."

I open the conference room door. "Good morning, guys."

Inna yawns. "Oh, is it only morning?"

"Oh, the time difference. It's the evening for you, isn't it? Were you up all night?"

"We were up all day," Feliks mutters.

I laugh. "Alright. Did you get breakfast?"

Esfir nods. "Luna showed us where the kitchen was. She and Hermione just left. I think they were getting your other friends."

"The boys? Yeah, they like to sleep in."

Behind me, Piper opens the door. "Oh, good, you're already here. I called a counselor meeting, so we can sort out, well, yesterday." She smiles at my friends. "Um, hi? privet?"

"Privet," they chorus back.

"Hello, Sophy," Luna says. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville trail after her. "We brought food to share."

"You can set it on the Ping-Pong table," Piper offers. "The other camp counselors will be here in a minute."

A minute later, I'm settled in between Neville and Esfir. Chiron is in his wheelchair at the head of the Ping-Pong table. Campers, some of them half-awake, are sharing breakfast.

"For the first order of business," Chiron says, then pauses. The room slowly falls silent. "Our first order of business," he repeats, "lies with you, Sophy, and your classmates. An owl arrived a few minutes ago, I would assume for you. Argus?"

Argus, the many-eyed man, steps into the doorway, blinking. Tiger perches on his arm.

"Oh, thank you." I lift up an arm for Tiger, who flutters over to me. "It's from Matt and Amelie. I can look at it in a moment."

"Very well." Chiron nods. "Now, as for the net."

"It's between here, Scotland, and Russia," Percy puts in. "From what we can tell, the biggest danger is creatures accidentally coming through."

"We can put charms on it from our end," Hermione suggests. "That way, only people who know about it can find it."

"Perhaps," Chiron says, "we could use those charms from all ends. While such a rift is a blessing, it can also cause trouble."

Hermione nods. "We can put up those charms right away, sir. Right, Harry?"

"Erm, right."

"Very well." Chiron nods. "Now. Sophy, for your friends."

I finish translating to Esfir and turn to him. "Yes? I introduced you last night, right?"

"You did." Then, in Russian. "Children, do you have a home?"

Inna's mouth fall open and Vikenti looks from me to Chiron.

"You speak Russian?" I exclaim.

"I have had some time to learn." He smiles.

"Well …" Feliks pauses. "I mean, sort of. We have a home."

"A house?"

"... No."

"We - they - live in the woods," I explain. "The net in Russia is near there."

"I see." Chiron nods. "In light of this, and your connection to Sophy, I will make an exception and offer you a place at camp to stay."

"At camp?" Inna asks.

"We aren't magic, or demigods," Vikenti protests.

"What about Russia?" Esfir whispers.

I beam. "I think it's a marvelous idea." They turn to me in various states of surprise. "You can have a roof over your heads and food to eat. The camp trains people to fight. You could help, like, Esfir could work with archery. And, the net is right here, so you could go back to Russia whenever."

Chiron nods. "I can offer you rooms in the Big House, temporarily. We can discuss long-term accomodations once you get settled in."

"What about …" I pause. "Never mind."

Feliks turns to me. "What?"

"I was thinking … what about my old house?" I take a deep breath. "It's small. It's kind of collapsing. But, if there was some way to .. to shape it up, or to fix it, you could stay there. It's right in those woods. It's, well it's a home."

"But it's your house, Sophya." Inna waves her hands. "It belongs to you!"

"And, if anyone were to fix it up and live there, I'd want it to be you."

"I believe we have campers who could help fix your house, Sophy," Chiron offers. "We would be happy to provide rooms to your friends before then."

"Thank you," I say, smiling. "Thank you so much!"

"Does that sound reasonable?" Chiron asks my friends.

"It sounds wonderful," Esfir says. "Thank you, again."

"Then, it's settled." Chiron nods. "If your rooms from last night worked, you may stay in those."

"I can't believe it," Inna whispers, smiling uncontrollably. "Oh, goodness."

"Argus?" Chiron calls in English. "Please inform Mr. D and the harpies that Miss Sophy's Russian friends will be staying in their current rooms for the time being."

"What?" Hermione turns from her conversation with Harry. Campers look up from their breakfasts.

"The four of them are staying here," I explain. "We're going to fix up my old home in Russia for them to stay."

"Oh, Sophy, that's wonderful," Luna says.

"Staying here?" Clarisse leans forward. "Are they demigods?"

"No," Chiron says, "but we are willing, on occasion, to bend rules."

"Does this mean you'll be staying at camp, too?" Thalia asks.

I tap the letter from Matt and Amelie. "Our parents are worried about us, so we should go back. I can come back to visit, though, as long as the net stays up."

"You better," she says.

"I'll be going to South Yorkshire for the rest of the summer, so I can't visit then. I can come during breaks from school." In Russian, "I can visit you guys on the weekends, and you can come visit me."

"I can't wait," Vikenti says. "I miss you already."

I laugh a bit, then sigh. "I know. Still, it's time to be heading home."

"Are you sure you have everything?" Will presses.

I sigh and look through my messenger bag one last time. "Yes, I'm sure. Liliya, come here."

"I'll miss you." Thalia gives me a huge hug. "Come back to visit sometime, ok? Iris-message me."

"I will, I will."

"Are you sure you put the charms up?"

"Yes, Neville, I'm absolutely sure." Hermione turns to me. "Sophy, are you ready?"

"Almost." I turn to Vikenti. "You guys know how to get back here?"

He yawns. It's midnight in our part of Russia. "We do. One of those … dryads is coming with us. We'll be fine."

"Good." I give Inna a hug. "Stay safe. Remember, Chiron speaks Russian. Find him if you need anything."

"We will."

Inna, Esfir, Vikenti, and Feliks are heading back to Russia to collect their belongings. They'll work with Chiron and some Hephaestus campers to rebuild my cabin. Annabeth promised she would get some Athena campers to start teaching them English.

"Ready, Inna?" Esfir waves from the edge of the net.

"Coming!" Inna gives me one last, quick hug. "See you, Sophya."

I wave, watching as they duck under the net with Juniper, a dryad. Feliks turns back one last time to wave.

"Our turn." Neville brushes a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "Ready?"

"Almost." I take one last moment to look at the forests through the net, to look at my worlds. I reach for Neville's hand.

"Come on." I hold the net up for my friends to duck under, Liliya at my side. "Let's go home."