A/N: And we're back! It has been a long time; one year and one week! I've been very lazy with this fanfic. I meant to have this out last week for Christmas, but I just edited it today. :( Happy New Year! May it be a great year for you guys! :D I'm getting off topic, so please read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Disney owns all PATF characters. (I keep forgetting to put these. :/)

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Where Loyalty Truly Lies- Chapter 8: Realization & Determination

The shadows flocked around Evangeline's still body.

After a moment, a shadow pulled the blood-covered dagger out of its human sheath and hurled it into the biggest mask's eye hole.

A small spark appeared before an explosion of color took its place. The mask seemed to come off of the wall and a small suction pulled the shadows and the smaller masks in to form a body.

The mobile shadow creature trod past the incapacitated teens and headed to do what it had yearned to do for so long.

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Mama Odie woke from her nap with a start.

"Juju!"

The snake slithered out from another room with a blanket. He always seemed to know what his mistress needed.

Mama Odie wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. After a while of adjusting the blanket, she realized that she wasn't getting any warmer. The chill she was getting was from some other reason and she had an idea of exactly what.

"Oh, Lil' Froggy, what have you done?"

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Tiana had finished cleaning up the restaurant and was about to head home. Naveen had already left with Ray, James, and Willy, but he did say that Evangeline wasn't with them.

Naturally, she had assumed that Evangeline had gone home on her own, even though she wasn't supposed to. When Tiana got home, she would give her rebellious daughter yet another stern talking-to.

Tiana sighed. She and Naveen were really going to have to think about more disciplinary actions to take that would actually work.

Putting on her coat and grabbing her purse, she went outside to lock up.

"Miss Froggy!"

Tiana looked up sharply and saw the short woman running towards her.

"Mama Odie, what are you doing here?"

"Where is Lil' Froggy? She's not with Hop-A-Long."

Tiana nearly dropped her keys and purse.

"She's not? Where is she then?!"

A low moan had interrupted their conversation. Looking in the direction of the moan, Tiana saw an enormous black thing slowly approaching. Tiana could only describe it as a big, black shadow. There was something very familiar about the mask on the shadow, but Tiana couldn't pinpoint it.

Mama Odie twirled her staff a few times and three fireballs hit the shadow. Instead of disappearing like the others did, this one just turned around and left.

"Mama Odie, what was that thing?" Tiana had to take a few moments to start breathing regularly and find her voice.

Mama Odie grabbed Tiana's hand and tugged her in the opposite direction.

"Lil' Froggy's work."

"Evangeline's…?"

"Never mind about that now. You need to gather everyone." Mama Odie shushed her.

"Who's everyone?"

"Everyone who knows her, Ms. Froggy, keep up!"

"But why-" Tiana arched an eyebrow at Mama Odie's tone and continued to press her for details.

"Just do it!"

Tiana flinched. If Mama Odie was yelling like this, something really bad must've happened. At this thought, Tiana felt tears at the corners of her eyes. What could've happened to my only daughter, my first child…my baby?

"I'll be along shortly." Mama Odie said softly.

Tiana, motivated by Mama Odie's yelling and the thought of seeing her baby's face again, nodded and ran in the direction of her house.

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Almost an hour later, Tiana and Naveen's living room was filled with familiar faces. Everyone had the same look of sleepy confusion on their faces.

"Tia, what's this all about?" Charlotte was the first to speak after a strange silence settled in the room.

"Hold on, Lottie."

As if on cue, Mama Odie sauntered in the room. Without a preamble, Mama Odie made a grave announcement.

"Lil' Froggy—Evangeline—is missing."

Everyone began speaking, or in Louis and Willy's case, growling, at once.

"Quiet! Only questions that make sense please! We don't have much time." Mama Odie said in a clipped tone.

"Much time for what? What in the world is going on?" Eudora asked.

"I'm just going to tell you. At first, I wasn't sure whether someone had her or if she's…" Mama Odie trailed off, hoping everyone got the implication. "But after what I just encountered, I have a pretty good idea."

"The shadow?" Naveen asked.

"Yes."

"Shadow? Tiana, Naveen, what in the world is going on?!"

Tiana sat down and Naveen stood behind her, with his hand on her shoulder, and gave everyone the basic gist of how they met and began their relationship. The King, Queen, Ralphie, and Eudora's reactions were one and the same.

"Frogs? Voodoo? Shadows? What does this have to do with our granddaughter?" Naveen's father said in heavily-accented English.

"Because of this, she can change into a frog." Naveen said.

Both of Naveen's parents, Ralphie, and Eudora snickered a little. "You don't seriously think-" Eudora cut herself off when she saw her daughter's face. "You're serious."

"Aren't I always?" Tiana said, exasperated.

"Enough of this! We have to find her! That boy…" Sarah exclaimed and then stopped when she realized what she said.

Everyone turned to Sarah.

"What boy?" Mr. Breaux asked his daughter.

"She went off with a boy who was hanging around the restaurant, asking for help. And before you ask," she looked at her godparents, "I was completely against it."

"Why on Earth wouldn't you tell someone about this?!" Charlotte yelled.

Sarah hesitated in answering, seeing all the angry glares turned on her. Mama Odie, feeling Sarah wasn't going to answer anytime soon, broke everyone's focus on Sarah.

"Either way, we have to find her! New Orleans is a big city, she could be anywhere. It might be better to break up into groups and search. I'll have my people searching the swamp, but I know she's in the city."

"In groups? Okay. How many?" Tiana asked.

"I don't know. The smaller the groups, the better. However, it will be better to have someone who knows about the shadows in each group."

"And if we find her, then what? How do we contact each other?" Naveen said.

Mama Odie took out two sticks and handed one to Tiana and the other to Naveen. "These will act as beacons."

"What about the shadow?"

Mama Odie huffed.

"You don't need to worry about it. So long as you concentrate on the task at hand. No wandering thoughts. Now get in your groups and get going!"

Mama Odie ran out the front door of the restaurant, gripping James in her arms, with Louis, Ray, and Willy in tow.

Tiana was about to protest at James and Ray's leaving, but Naveen firmly gripped her shoulder and shook his head. Tiana hesitantly nodded. Being with Mama Odie would be the safest choice. Tiana took charge. "Okay, so there's me and Naveen. Two groups should do it."

"Tia, we're with you all the way!" Charlotte said, motioning to her husband and daughter as well.

"Me too." Eudora said.

"Okay, Naveen, we're ready." Ralphie said to his older brother. The King and Queen nodded with determined expressions.

"Good, then let's go!"

At that, the two other groups left the restaurant and ran in opposite directions.

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A/N: At first, I had planned for this chapter to be combined with the next, but I like this ending point. So the story will be one chapter longer than originally planned. But how'd you like my "Welcome Back" chapter? Tell me in a review! :D