Trey was becoming very worried. Amelia had been gone for eight hours now, and the sun was barely starting to set. When she'd run off in the morning, he'd thought maybe she had just gone to see something or do something. Well, obviously that wasn't the case, or Amelia would be back by now.

But she wasn't.

"This is ridiculous," Quattro growled, staring at nothing in particular. "Where the hell could Amelia have gone? It's not like she knows her way around the house and yard or anything." The middle Arclight hissed in frustration and began searching again. Quinton was doing the same, as were Trey and Vetrix. In a period of minutes they had covered every square inch of the house, and so far, no sign of Amelia.

What they didn't know was that she hadn't ventured very far. Amelia stood in a clearing in the forest, about ten miles from the Arclight house, picking flower pedals off a wild rose she'd found. Every pedal that fell to the ground was accompanied by a tear.

I didn't want to leave, Amelia thought, staying as silent as she possibly could. But I had no choice. My family was in danger with me around. If I had stayed... Another pedal floated to the ground, and another tear splashed in the grass. Then they would probably be dead... that or the Barians would've gotten them, one of the two, and I wouldn't wanna see either of those things happen. I can't even bare the thought of it... Amelia watched as the final pedal flew in the breeze, which had occurred so suddenly she barely had time to notice it. It was only when the pedals began to take flight had she actually payed attention to her surroundings.

My family comes first. Not what I want. I know I want to be at home, where I belong, and I thought I'd finally found the place to call home, with my real family. But like everything else, the Barians had to come and ruin this too...

Amelia began to walk off again. The forest clearing was just a brief resting spot. Traveling for eight hours on foot was pretty exhausting. The pink-haired girl began to leave. Not knowing where she was or where she was going, she just left without thinking. Amelia sobbed softly as images of her family flew into her mind.

Of all things, why did they have to ruin this? Her hair, tied in a braid, was gently whirling around in the breeze. Amelia's eyes were glassy from tears, and her body ached from running away. She couldn't even feel it when her Crest activated. When she did look down, however, she felt the need to go back home. She shook it off and continued walking. No, they can't have me around. I'll end up getting them killed. Now what would that leave me with? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Amelia glanced back one time to make sure she wasn't being followed, then continued on her way.

I'm not going back there. I don't care how much of a tough time they're having trying to find me. I'm not going back there. Ever. Amelia's Crest began to glow again. She glanced down at it. The green object was glowing brighter than ever.

"Huh?" The pink-haired girl stared, and soon was transported elsewhere than the forest. Confused, Amelia looked around. This was the portal from her dream, only it was blue. It must belong to Astral World, she guessed. Amelia wandered through, not knowing where it would take her.

Well, wherever it was, she hoped it was far from her family.

XxXxXxXx

They'd given up. Having looked in every place, obvious and not obvious, and not finding a sign of Amelia, the Arclights gave up. She'd vanished like the wind! No one could understand. As all four sat on their own couches or chairs, Trey had tears streaming down his face. He stared at where Amelia once sat by him. He had only known her for a day, and yet he felt as though a piece of him had disappeared along with Amelia. Trey knew that was pretty typical in twins, though.

"Where...could she have gone?" Trey whispered to himself and sniffled. Quattro, Quinton and Vetrix watched with curiosity and sadness as the youngest began to cry. They stayed still. Trey soon pulled himself together and go up, walking outside in the progress. Quattro went to join him, but Vetrix held him back.

"He needs time to sort this out alone," Vetrix whispered. Quattro hesitated, then nodded.

"You're right."

XxXxXxXx

Trey sat in the grass of the meadow, the wind blowing his bangs in his face. A whole hour had passed since the pink-haired boy had gone to clear his mind. He stared straight ahead at the forest. He had figured out his sister had fled there, but only god himself could tell if she was still there. Amelia most likely was out or very close to it of the forest the way she'd been traveling.

"Why did you leave, Amelia?" Trey whispered to himself. He knew he was alone out here, so he didn't care if things like the birds or the bugs heard him. They weren't aware of what was going on; in fact, he wasn't sure they could comprehend English, so it really didn't matter out here. The only thing that mattered to Trey as of now was finding his twin sister and figuring out why the heck she left.

What happened that we didn't catch, Amelia? Was it that dream? Did it freak you out that badly? I know that now and again we need fresh air after having a nightmare...but this is a little bit extreme. Trey sighed and began plucking pieces of grass, twirling them in between his fingers. He sighed and stared at the forest again. Finally, he stood up, and proceeded home. It would take another hour to get there, so he decided to leave before the sun began to set more.

Bet my family is becoming worried of me, as well. Probably shouldn't have gone this far. Oh well, what's done is done I suppose... Trey was so upset he hadn't realized that he'd been gone this long. But he was sure the other Arclights would forgive him. After all, everyone in the house was pretty upset. Amelia was fun to have around. Even though she'd only been there one day, the whole Arclight family had made a special bond of some way with her. That bond was broken for unknown reasons now.

The wind picked up speed. Trey shivered and stared ahead. Forty-five minutes had passed now. He could see the house, and began running there. He froze when a red beam appeared in front of him.

What? The beam grew larger, revealing itself to be a portal. A swirling, blood-red portal. A Barian Portal!

"No..." Trey ran around it, then went straight to the house, running in and attempting to escape. Vetrix, Quattro and Quinton gasped when they saw the Barian outside that had a hold of Trey.

XxXxXxXx

Amelia checked her watch again. An hour had passed with her wandering through the portal, and so far nothing was changing. Maybe she should go back? No. How could she? Her Crest had lead her there. Which way was back?

"Where is this thing gonna take me?" Amelia looked around again before she walked right into something. She staggered back, alarmed, and fell to the ground in the spinning turquoise portal. The pink-haired girl stared at what she'd bumped into. A door.

"Huh?" She grabbed the knob nervously, then shrieked in shock when she found herself outside her house. So her assumption had been correct. Amelia needed to go back.

That's when the thought hit her. That dream hadn't meant she needed to leave to keep her family safe. She'd looked at it all wrong! That dream meant Amelia had to stay to keep her family safe! She mentally slapped herself in the face and began running towards the house. As she got closer, Amelia could hear the frightening cries for help from Trey.

No! Dammit, Trey's in trouble! Why didn't I stay?! Amelia ran in the back door and grabbed the shot gun from one of the rooms, then rushed back outside after loading it.

"Trey! I'm coming!" Amelia called. The shot gun fell to the ground. Amelia stayed frozen in her spot as she stared at the scene in front of her.

She couldn't believe what she saw floating in her family's front yard.