Long but I hope you like it, these kids are going to have an interesting story, as interesting as their parents? Who knows, I hope you enjoy this bit.

All Disclaimers apply as per the norm.

Chapter Ten: Dreamscape

Akina connected quickly with Zara, Zakias and William. They would help each other but Akina would enter Zada and William would do the same with Zale. The Magis were not going with, it would be too much for the babies and they were going to do what they could to give the twins the best chance. She closed her eyes and followed the bond through her fingers and leaned down a little as her soul slipped gently into Zada. The soul she found her way into was one built of the room they were standing in right now. She was still a baby laying on the bed but her brother and William were not there, neither was Jack or Daniel. The world they were in was very quite but Akina could sense the presence that was so desperate to find its way to the surface.

"I know you're here, speak to me please?" Akina asked gently. She didn't know what kind of Magis she was going to meet but she did remember the damage inflicted by the ignorant actions of her own Magis. The creature that slipped from the shadows was still a shock. Magis had chosen their own forms when they became humanoid so they were similar but they didn't usually pick normal features. This one was no different; she was quite a bit shorter than Akina, about the height of her adopted daughter, with deep purple hair that flowed with unnatural rhythm around her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes were filled with an ivory color that was without a doubt an eery sight, probably as eery as someone seeing Zara's form for the first time. The child-like being was dressed in a blood red dress with a big bow in the back and little slipper shoes. Clearly she'd adopted the look from watching children from some other time.

"Hello, do you know how I have come to be here?" Akina asked gently as she crouched down to eye level with the Magis.

"You have come to save the child I am now trapped within undoubtedly," the Magis responded in a haughty and dry tone of voice that seemed to speak of a cold and distant creature that would not care if the child were to perish. Zara would get along well with her, that's for sure.

"You have guessed correctly, I have also come to show you a different way. If you kill or try to control the child you will not only destroy her, but yourself in the process. She is a beautiful soul and she can be taught to welcome your voice of power and intellect. You though must allow her to grow and learn how to hear you. Right now due to your actions, she is having a hard time breathing. I can see in your shape that you feel her weakness in you. You must understand that to live, you must learn to live together."

"I am a Goddess, one who lead the protection of the Vannas before the fall of our home planet. How dare you tell me I must be at the bidding of a tiny Vannas child!"

"Yeah, you and Zara will have lots to talk about," Akina muttered. She remembered this particular rant from her Magis, of course it was much worse since Zara was the Queen of the Gods, the ego on her made this little child creature look downright humble.

""You know of Zara, does she live?" the Magis asked in anticipation. This was the first emotion besides condescension that Akina had seen from her.

"Yes, she is my Awakened Magis, we have served each other well in the past several years since she awoke. She has even discovered her mate within the body of my husband. We have accepted our fate as two beings in one body and though I have full control, she is allowed time as well when I am not required to do my Queenly duties."

It might sound lofty, much loftier than Akina would normally state but it seemed to impress the young-looking creature. "Then you are the Queen of the Vannas? Your husband the King, then Zara and Zakia have reclaimed some of their glory from before the fall?"

Akina nodded, "Can I ask your name? What you chose to call yourself when you ascended?"

"I am called Sarafina, from the human term Seraphim to mean the Angels. I was the learder of the protecting class of Magis, those who were created and trained to be there when the Vannas had need of a little protection. These powers have continued into the Vannas I assume?"

Akina smiled, thinking of Kirkan and his brother, as well as many others who carried the powers or protectors, "Yes very strong indeed, you have left a wonderful legacy."

Sarafina nodded as if to say, 'But of course.' Instead she said, "What would you have me do?"

Akina sighed in relief, hoping this would go over well, "You need to sleep a little longer until Zada has been trained to communicate with you. You have to stop trying to force your way to the surface; she is barely 14 days old. She cannot take the pressure of you in her mind."

"You wish me to forfeit the hold I should have on the body?" Sarafina demanded, her shrill little voice piercing even in the mindscape they shared. Akina looked down at the very still child she was still touching. Her brown eyes watching the queen intently and intelligently and Akina looked back at the Magis with a deep breath for fortitude.

"Not forfeit, admitting that for you to live, she must live and be allowed the right she has over the body she was born to. Zada is a person born of a Vannas and a human, the fact that you somehow reside within her does not give you the right to take her body when she is innocent and to weak to fight back. As the leader of protectors you should understand the necessity of your release. She deserves the chance to grow up, and from what I have experienced with Zara, she will always be glad and a lot annoyed by the constant help dolled out by a supposedly superior being."

"Supposedly?" Sarafina demanded, frowning at Akina.

"Well you are fading away because you are bound to a baby," Akina said and the Magis looked down to herself to see indeed that with the slowing of Zada's heartbeats, she was fading as well.

"You must act quickly, find yourself a comfortable little hole in this child's mind and stop trying to force your way out. Allow her time to grow and give yourself the chance to blossom with her."

"Or I die?" Sarafina demanded clarity.

Akina would be glad to give it, "Or you die."

Sarafina nodded and her form actually wavered slowly out of existence and on the bed, the small girl's aura glowed as she regained the ability to breath easily. Akina had no idea how much Zada's personality and vibrancing had been dimmed because of the Magis within, she was just like her heroic and naïve father but every bit the fighter of her daddy Jack. Akina slid quietly from Zada's mind and her eyes opened to find Zada grinning up at her with gums and drool.

As soon as she removed her hand from the little girl, Daniel scrambled from the ground and scooped her into his arms. The tears tracks down his face were clear and she allowed him to breath a sigh of relief at his daughters return as she turned to look at William who was still holding Zale down, William's arm was shaking from the stress of whatever was going on inside and the baby was still struggling to remain breathing and functioning. Akina immediately dove into the mind of her husband and followed the stream of his thoughts into the little boy even as Daniel demanded to know what was going wrong with his son.

What she found was much worse than Zada had gotten with Sarafina. The Magis within Zale had taken over his dreamscape turning it into a wild untamed forest that the little boy would have had no reference to recreate in his subconscious. She listened for a second and heard William screaming as well as the sounds of struggling. She ran through the forest till she found a clearing where William, in his dream 'image' which was exactly like his waking form was fighting a man who stood about seven and a half feet, a foot or so over William's head. He had unruly brown hair that lay in messy braids and knots around his face, which was so angular and hard it, could have been carved from stone. In fact his skin was a marbled color of stone and from this distance she couldn't see his eyes but they looked brown as well from the distance. Not to mention the Magis was wearing rags and clothes made of bits of forest possibly.

Akina quickly jumped between the men and despite the worry it caused her, she pulled some of William's power into the mindscape and froze the large creature in his steps. William, she did the same to just for him to realize what was happening then unfroze him quickly.

"What has happened here?" she demanded.

"It seems Master of the Forest: Xylander has somehow taken control of the mindscape and has set about killing Zale for control of the body."

"Clearly, why are you fighting him?" she asked.

"Because he attacked me and I would rather not be struck down in someone else's mindscape. Outside the mind, Akina placed her hand on Zale's head and brought the little boy's soul into the mindscape where they were. Then she unshielded Xylander's head and allowed him to see the weak little boy who wasn't moving or looking around or anything. He was already so still, he could have been dead.

"This is the soul of the body you now reside in, if you kill him you kill yourself. Listen to the trees in this forest and ask them how long before they whiter and die? Ask yourself how strong you feel?"

Xylander glared down at them but did pause, tilting his head a little as if to listen and then down once more as though he was taking stock of himself now. "What have you done to me? I should have been able to destroy the puny Vannas when he attacked me."

"I did not attack him," William hissed in annoyance.

"We have done nothing to you, you are responsible for the weakness in this child and yourself. You must realize this is the case as my dear husband has yet to touch you in battle."

William glared at her from the side, "Really?"

Akina shrugged, "You have been reborn into the body of this child, you are tied to his spirit which of course means that if you kill him, you kill yourself."

"You lie!" the giant said but it was a weak willed response full of uncertainty.

"I can promise you two things, first if he dies you both do."

"And second?" he asked after Akina stayed silent for a moment.

"If you back off your unsupported claim of the little one, he will grow to cherish the relationship and power you will give him."

"Unsupported?" Xylander hissed.

"You have for no reason stolen into the soul of this little boy. I know for a fact that Lust has no earthen abilities in her line so you found your way into a child you were never supposed to be inside. Now, I know for a fact that Awakened Magis and Vannas can share a remarkable friendship and partnership."

"I do as well," William butted in, not wanting to be left out apparently.

"You can have the same and be allowed to survive this," Akina continued as if William hadn't spoke at all.

"Release me?" Xylander requested much more calmly.

William snapped his finger and the shield dropped, releasing Xylander from his frozen state. He reached out gently as touched a out-of-place clean hand to Zale's brow. The baby whimpered a little, which in the case was actually a good sign. Xylander reached out and took the baby from his arms and hugged him close to the chest that was now suddenly wrapped in a soft robe that wrapped around the still large chest. Zale again moved and whimpered.

"Like a symbiotic relationship in the forest, the weaker individual most be awarded the best care and support."

Akina smiled, "Please return his mindscape to its original form."

With that everything returned to the bedroom, much like his sisters. But in all four corners, there were beautiful trees that were growing from the ground to support various parts of the room, as if the trees were growing and the room was built to go with the trees.

"Xylander," she chided as she retook Zale squirming and lively form, bright once more.

"It was not me, he changed it of his own volition," Xylander said seriously. With that he slipped into one of the corners and disappeared into the tree. Hopefully this lesson would be enough to remind both Sarafina and Xylander of the relation they now shared with the babies but they would all have to pay close attention to the little ones and their progress.

"You always were better with the talking thing than I was," William said churlishly.

"Love, you are good at whatever you put your mind to, I imagine that you were too menacing to Xylander not of your own doing but just how you are in the mindscape, he reacted and you had to protect yourself."

William nodded, "We need to let them know Zale is going to be alright."

With that, they abandoned the mind of the baby boy who was, just like his sister, grinning up at them until Daniel who had apparently handed Zada off to Jack scooped up his son who gave a giggle at his daddy's immediate attention. They all paused to enjoy the sound before Daniel started crying all over again as he held Zale against his chest and looked down into those blue eyes that were so like Daniel's eyes.

Akina and William stood and retreated from the bedroom, letting Sam and Teal's know of their success before gathering a concerned Taylor and hurried her out of the room. When Jack and Daniel were more together, Akina had no doubt Akina and her husband would receive thanks and possibly gifts if Daniel had anything to say about it.

For now they would have to put away the fear of losing their very young children and find comfort in the fact that both of the babies were going to be fine.

Until the next time the Magis within decided to come out and play, Akina and William both knew that the journey of a Magis and Vannas relationship is filled with highs and lows, hard times and rewarding times. Her first fourteen days with Zara had been filled with body hijackings; burns, cuts and running away from home and those were just the highlights.

This would not be an easy path but it was one they were thankfully not alone for.