The Hunt for Sviederbach

Disclaimer: I do not own Shake it Up

A/N: This chapter marks the end of Hunt, but the start of another tale. So it's is CRUCIAL you keep in mind the third part of this series. "Dare to Love" will be the third and final part of what I am now calling the "Sviederbach Chronicles". Read the chapter and you will see what happens next. Also it's a good idea to check out "Hidden Beneath the Mask" but I can just paste segments of Kelly for you. "Dare to Love" is a sequel/spinoff to both Hunt, and Mask.

Chapter 32 (The Last Save)

Aveline glared at the round target on the tree, an arrow pierced the dead center with three others. Two days had passed since the end of the hunt, the country was quiet once more. Beside her, hacking away on a tree stump was Astor, practicing with his sword. Behind them on the back patio, Gunther and Cece watched them from a couple porch chairs. This was a 'hands-off' session, meaning Aveline and Astor had to do this on their own. Frankie and Karin were watching as well, standing behind the two and talking with Ander.

She was extremely happy that she didn't have to fend off anymore suitors, once Frankie and Karin moved to Sviederbach and were instated as a noble family, Aveline could choose him. Officially, the two were now betrothed, but much to her pleasure they didn't have to worry about stepping up to rule for some time. She wanted her father to remain the ruler for the remaining duration of his rule.

She lowered her bow and moved her hand up to her neck, grimacing as she thought of Martin. Everyone else she'd saved, everyone else was able to move on with their lives and be happy. She swore to rescue him once she realized he was just trapped. "There has to be something I could do…" She listened to the sound of Astor's blade cutting through wood and slowly looked towards him, smiling slightly at her brother. She couldn't be prouder of him, his growth, but she worried that the tragedies that occurred would lay thick across his mind. What could she truly do about it? He'd be fine, their siblings were fine. Michael, Mia, and Kuno were as rambunctious as usual, as though nothing happened before.

Rocky and Karla were doing their best in their own trainings to grow stronger and to be more alert of danger. Wilbert was alive, but unfortunately had been crippled due to the car accident and now walked with a cane with his right leg. He had an operation coming up in a few weeks to try and begin the process of recovery. If anything, the doctors could get his leg back into functioning order. The family still mourned Rocky's husband, but they weren't letting the death sway them. They were punching back stronger than ever.

Aveline dipped her eyes towards the ground, grimacing in disgust at a worm crawling across the grass. Her pride wouldn't allow her to be in peace. Tabitha's words played back through her mind, haunting her as they had been for the last few days. Could witchcraft really save Martin? He deserved a free chance at life. He deserved to live in peace from his family. Her eyebrows lifted and her fingers graced her forehead. "Do I dare to involve myself in magic? I would be the first of the royal family in years…"

Sorcery wasn't uncommon in this day and age, but most wizards tended to stay out of the public eye. She knew Dakota from Noak dating her daughter, Quinn. Dakota was the world's most powerful wizard family, much more powerful than those Russo family wizards had been years before. The only other witch she knew of was Dakota's friend Chloe, whom she kept good tabs on. It was thought that Chloe might be behind the mass pregnancy outbreak at one of the prisons in America, but no one had any proof of it. "Dakota does owe me a favor…I can't believe I'm about to seriously talk to a sorcerer…"

Thirty minutes later, having grabbed her trusty teleportation device, the Princess made it to Dakota's front lawn. She gazed up anxiously at the house and ran her fingers through her hair. What would the woman say of her request? Magic couldn't bring back the dead, but couldn't there be anything it would do? Either she'd get her hopes up or she'd be told there was nothing to be done to save his soul. For all she knew, wherever he was in the afterlife, he might be forever tormented by his family. This wasn't going to fly, not at all.

When she made it to the door and rang the bell, it took Dakota nearly five minutes to answer. The woman was wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans, and a dirty apron. Her eyebrows rose and lips parted slightly. "Aveline, I figured you might be coming by…"

"Oh? How did you know? Magic?" The woman narrowed her eyes and folded her forearms at the waist.

"No. It was just a hunch. Anyway, come in, I was just making dinner actually." Aveline graciously accepted the offer and hurried inside, following close behind Dakota. The smell of a warm casserole drifted to her nostrils, enticing her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma of berries. "Anyway, I put my magic away many, many years ago. That spell book you saw my daughter with the other day? I do not believe in using magic without responsibility. I have a strict rule regarding it, because any use of witchcraft can have dangerous results if not handled with care, you know…"

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense." She didn't mean to offend the woman, it was shocking that Dakota didn't believe in the use of magic. Then again, a sorcerer of her stature didn't need to rely on magic. "You know, you're well known around the world…even more powerful than the Russo wizard."

"Yes…but they're the reason I don't use my magic unless needed." She raised an eyebrow and followed Dakota into the kitchen. There was a pot of soup bubbling on the stove, freshly pulled casserole resting on the counter, and the table was set and ready. She didn't mean to interrupt dinner at all. Now, aside from having interrupted dinner, she felt a bit concerned as to why the Russo family was the reason Dakota didn't practice magic. Did she do something wrong? It was well known that in this day and age, wizards, obviously existing, had their own 'council'. Alex Russo was the head of this council, taking over for her brother that died nearly sixteen years ago. It was said that he died of a very powerful fever.

"Did the Russo family take away your powers or something?"

"No, of course not." Dakota finished serving the food on plates and putting the soup into bowls, creating a space on the table for Aveline. "Have a seat, you may as well eat dinner too while you're here."

"Thank you." She took a seat at the rectangular table, her back towards the door. She clasped her hands together over the table and rested her chin on her knuckles. "If you don't mind me asking…and I'm sorry for prying…how is the Russo family involved with you? I mean, I'm obviously not here about them, I'm just curious." Dakota raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the doorway, Quinn was nowhere in sight. She breathed in sharply and closed her eyes.

"Justin Russo is Quinn's father. She's not to know of him, however."

"Why not?" Dakota's lips formed a thin line and frown lines deepened around her mouth. Immediately Aveline felt as if she were intruding and wished to take back her words, but it was far too late.

"He got a job as a prison guard and worked as a guard at a woman's prison back in mid-2014. My daughter was born in 2015. Do the math. Chloe used her spells to take my remaining years and put them onto her so that I could be free to raise my daughter…Justin was immediately stripped of his powers during that act, and I…" Dakota clenched her eyes and closed her fists. "I put a hex on him afterwards…I gave him that fever that killed him." Dakota cleared her throat and sat at the head of the table, glancing off towards the doorway. "Moving on to more important bits, such as, your reason for visiting? I'm glad that you and your family are safe."

"Yeah…" She looked towards the kitchen door leading out to the backyard. Above the doorframe was a picture of seven younger girls, one of which was Dakota. The girls looked happy, except the one in the middle, the redhead with bright blue eyes. She was frowning at the camera, her eyebrows meshed together, and her shoulders had slumped downwards. "Is that Kelly?"

"Hm?" Dakota glanced to the photo and nodded, smiling briskly. "Yes, Kelly, my best friend back then. The blonde next to us is Chloe. The other girls are Tiffany, Megan, Rebecca, and Suzy. In 2012 we committed a crime against a womanizer, Spencer Walsh, and turned ourselves in for it…back then, Kelly just didn't see a future for herself…" Dakota frowned and slowly shook her head. "She reminds me so much of that Lamont boy, Martin. I think they would get along well if they knew each other."

"You said she…died in prison?" Aveline felt a part of her heart sink and studied the girl. She wished to know her story, but didn't want to bring up any bad memories. Not that she hadn't already, of course. She didn't know a whole lot about the murder, but she wasn't surprised that some of the girls were out of prison. "They're all free from prison, huh?"

"For the most part, yes…everyone freed under different circumstances. Rebecca and Suzy, however…" They were the two girls on the end of the photo, one on each side. Suzy had a grin from ear to ear, a bottle of vodka in hand, and bright eyes shaded by her brown hair. Rebecca was rubbing the side of her nose, had bloodshot eyes, and was forcing a smile at the camera. "Kelly had a rough life. Her father was an abusive drunk, a halfway decent father when sober, and her Uncle was no better. Her parents died when the boat they bought one day caught on fire in the lake. Dakota and I used spells to keep her safe, but when we went to prison, she decided because we were all going to go to separate prisons…she took her life…"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't even mean to bring up all these memories!"

"You're fine, it is time for dinner anyhow. Quinn should be here, she must be in her room…" Dakota rose back from the table, but just as she did, the ground began to quake. The woman's eyes widened as she stumbled over and grabbed the table to stabilize herself. Aveline grabbed the table and looked over her shoulder, concerned that an earthquake just happened. The woman growled as the quake dissipated. "That was no earthquake…"

"What was it then?" Dakota removed her apron and closed her eyes, calling for her daughter. Her voice bellowed with greater intensity than the earthquake, beckoning Quinn in no time flat. The girl shuffled nervously into the room, smiling innocently while clutching the gold plated spell book in her arms. Dakota put her hands to her hips and tapped her foot as Quinn met her eyes.

"H-Hi mommy."

"Quinn. What did I tell you about the next time you used that book without my permission?"

"Uh…" Quinn looked to the book and slowly lowered it, sighing heavily. "Grounded. Two weeks, no television or internet." Dakota extended her hand and Quinn carefully moved the book to her, rolling her eyes. "Sorry Momma."

"We'll discuss the terms of your punishment later. First, sit down and eat your supper." Aveline watched Quinn move to the table and lifted her eyebrows, smiling slightly at the mother and daughter. "Using the spells in this book are dangerous and you don't know what could result. You could get hurt if you use the wrong spell."

"I feel like I need to learn, though, Momma." Dakota put her hand to Quinn's should, smiling warmly at her daughter.

"You will baby, but you have to let me teach you that stuff. I don't even let Chloe practice magic without reason, and she's a grown adult. You are my daughter, I have to teach you responsibility."

"I know, I know…" Quinn spooned her soup and brought her temple down onto her hand. Her eyes drifted over to Aveline and her brows rose. "What brings you here, Aveline?" She spooned her casserole and slowly brought it to her mouth. She was beginning to feel uncertain whether or not Dakota would help her, but she was still hoping to convince her. After chewing and swallowing, she moved her eyes from the food, towards Dakota, watching the woman take her seat. The book rested gently beside her plate.

"Actually, I was here to talk about that magic…" Dakota raised an eyebrow as Aveline pointed her fork to the book. "I know you don't like to use it, but…I was wondering if there was a way you could help me. You know, Martin…" Quinn cleared her throat and straightened her back. Dakota stopped her fork midway to her mouth and stared back at Aveline with an arched brow.

"Magic can't revive the dead, right Momma? Martin's dead, magic can't bring him back. Why would you want to, though?"

"I have to do something for him." Aveline bowed her head and slowly closed her hands. The guilt was eating away at her. She had to trust that she could help him too. "It's just my pride. I have to save him too. I know there's a way, but he was abused possibly as badly or worse as Kelly." Dakota shook her head, humming as she chewed her food.

"Judging by the way he was talking about his family on those cameras and the radios, I'd say his family abused him far worse than Kelly's family ever did. Her dad was bad, but there were some things Len just would never allow. Drunken bastard he may be, but when he was a sober man, you could tell he was a father. Never let any man near his daughter that he didn't trust. Now his brother was a pedophile, but the man never dared touch Kelly in a sensual manner, the one time he tried, Len beat the man to an unrecognizable state."

"Damn…"

"Besides the point, what do you want done with Martin? I cannot bring him back to life, if that's what you're asking. Also, there is no changing of the past. You can change the future, anybody can change the future, but the past is set in stone. In other words, even if I used time travel to send you back and stop Tabitha from taking his life, he would still die one way or another. Maybe his aunt would have succeeded in killing him. Who knows."

Her gut churned inside, forcing a wave of nausea over her. She couldn't take losing someone that she was sure she could have saved. He deserved a happy ending too! "But it can't be impossible to save him!" Dakota frowned as Aveline slowly lowered her dining utensils. "There has to be a way. Magic or something…I could have saved his soul, I know I could have. I could have freed him from his family, somehow."

"As Tabitha said, he had opportunity. He just didn't have anyone or anything to hold him back." Aveline looked back to her food, picked up her fork and began to idly twirling it in the casserole.

"This is really good food, by the way…" Dakota seemed to study her for a second, smiling slightly as she turned her gaze towards the photo on the wall.

"Thank you. There may be something I can do." Immediately she lit up, her energy returning as hope filled her chest. She bounced her gaze to Dakota, grinning from ear to ear.

"Really?"

"Yes, but as I teach my daughter all the time…Magic does have consequences." What consequences would there be? She started to feel her nerves returning as she thought about Dakota's words. It was impossible to bring back the dead, but if there was something that could save Martin, then what was it? "I cannot revive him and I cannot change the past, however it is very possible for him to change his future."

"What?"

"There was a crossroad, was there not?" Crossroads? What did this mean, exactly? She gave Dakota a perplexed look and Quinn slowly looked up at her mother. "Think back to that time Tabitha brought up, when Martin broke up with Mala…" She raised an eyebrow as Dakota flattened her palms on the table for a moment, then pulled her book closer to her. She began flipping through the pages, studying them intensely. "I would have to land it precisely, and do everything exactly right, but I could…"

"What are you thinking?" If Martin's future was changed, did that mean it would impact her future as well? It could very well impact everyone. "How different would whatever it is you're thinking be?"

"What I'm thinking is simple, inserting something to care about. Something that could make him turn away from his family and push him to make the right decision. Should it work, he could be saved, but it would change a lot of stuff…quite possibly even change the outcome of what happens to his family as a whole."

"There's not much future to change, to be honest. It's only been a couple of days…"

"Exactly, so that's not so much the part I'd be worried about. The thing is, I'm considering bringing Kelly to the future. I could change her future as well, save her life while you save Martin's…bringing those two together…but in order to do that, it has to be entirely specific."

"Uh…no offense, but how would you do that? You can't bring back the dead, right? So you're going to the past to bring her into a time she doesn't exist?"

"Exactly, it won't interfere because she has no current self here. Both subjects are already deceased, but both can still live if they make the right choices. I don't want to remember Kelly dying in prison, and I'm sure you don't want to feel like you failed Martin somehow…"

"Yeah…" The ramifications of time travel, she never really understood them all that much. Fortunately there wasn't much to risk, she didn't think so anyway. She didn't understand why bringing a girl from the past would change Martin's future, though. "So say you bring Kelly here, or your past self does, whichever way you're going to do that…"

"I'd have to convince my prior self to do that. However I learned time travel from the assistant of the man whose son we killed…I will have to convince my past self to get that guy to move Kelly into the future. Hopefully in the exact coordinates as where Martin may be passing. If he sees her appear, surely he'll stop and ask questions, and knowing how Kelly was, she'll latch onto him in all the confusion. He may or may not shrug her off and continue with what he was doing. It depends on how much he cares about someone flung into the future."

"I see…" Martin did appear to have some heart, otherwise she wouldn't give a damn about saving the guy. Surely if someone just appeared out of nowhere, he would stop and ask them about it. "Either the dorm apartments or the main entrance for the university…but how would bringing her here impact him at all?"

"There is a possibility that the things they have in common will pull them closer. She'll care for him because of those mutual bonds, there is that chance. They say love can break any curse, and his family is the curse we're talking about. So…"

Aveline watched Dakota move her finger along one of the pages in the book, moving her eyes along with the finger. She was skeptical of what could happen, but hopeful it would end well. She wouldn't know either way, likely, as the future would definitely be different if Martin left his family. "You're aiming to get him to fall in love…" Dakota smirked and shifted her gaze up to Aveline.

"I may throw in an enchantment spell to push things in that direction. It's possible to make everything else 'fall by the wayside' in the instance they meet. Maybe not a 'love at first sight' spell, but definitely one where he can forget what he was supposed to do. It would wear off after a few hours." Aveline's eyebrows shot up and her lip curled into a smirk. She could definitely see the intrigue in this magic. How many times throughout the ages have women wanted a man to pay attention to them for at least five seconds? She stifled a laugh and quickly cleared her throat.

"Sounds good…If he focuses on her for a bit…"

"Then she becomes a part of his life and he a part of hers. If he dares to care about her, dares to fall in love with someone, then he may have someone to motivate him into leaving his family…someone, something, to live for, and Kelly would have that as well." She was liking the sound of this, the more she heard of it. It was a surefire way to ensure Martin might make the choice to separate from them. Granted, it could be dangerous, but she knew herself well enough to know she'd keep flushing out the family as long as Martin talked to her.

"If he has someone to live for, then that means he'll fight to get away from his family, right? He'll change his future…he can be saved! He can have his happy ending too, maybe…"

"We shall see. If he dares to love her, and vice versa, then their souls stand a chance of being saved. We may not be able to change the past, but they certainly can change their future." Dakota lifted her eyes from the book, as though questioning Aveline.

Aveline wasn't truly certain if this was what she wanted to do, if it was the right answer, but if Martin stood a chance of being saved, then she would have rescued everyone. Sure, sometimes you can't save them all, but he deserves a second chance at life and a chance at freedom. She swallowed a bite of food and slowly smiled at the wizard. "Do it. Please."

"Okay…"

I will send all my readers a message with the link of the third installment, Dare to Love. (You may get it in your alerts anyway, but I'll still send :P) Tell me your observations in this chapter, and absolutely I hope you didn't skim, because a lot is highly important.

IMPORTANT: As I mentioned in my Author note, the story "Dare to Love" is both a sequel/spinoff to this story and to Hidden Beneath the Mask. However it's not important that you know everything that happened in MASK, but it is probably important that you know about Kelly (She is a minor character in that story, but responsible for the death of the antagonist). Dakota (and Chloe) are not OCs btw, they are actual members of the group on the show they belong to. More importantly, since Kelly appears once or twice in MASK, I can probably message you her parts if you don't want to go through the story, but it might be hard to see how the antagonist's death was justified by doing that, and I'll have to message you a whole chapter as well, it's no big deal. Keep an eye out for the third (and final) installment of The Sviederbach Chronicles. "Dare to Love" should be coming out around the same time as this chapter.