Well it has been a good while since I was able to post a chapter. Truth be told, technology just doesn't seem to like me lately. First I have a laptop crash and lose all my stuff, then I bust my new one. Eh. Anyways, with all my luck I was able to get another chapter up and running. I wrote this in the late hours of the night so if there are spelling errors and all that jazz I am sorry. I will review the story again in the morning and fix my stupidity. Anyways, I would also like to give a shout out to all those that have liked, reviewed and followed this story. Always good to know if what you are doing is worth something to someone. Chapter VII will be up by the end of the weekend, I promise that!

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

Chapter VI

November 5th

Time had been flying by since Aaliyah moved to Happy Harbor with her mother and father. Her father's business had caught the attention of some big wigs in some larger cities, most being out of state, resulting in a large absence of her father. He had been going nonstop meeting with some of the more promising clients so time with him was very little. Her mother didn't seem to mind so much but Aaliyah could tell that she missed him most days.

"Aaliyah?" A soft knock hit the bedroom door followed by the sound of her mother. Aaliyah placed the book she had been reading down and walked over to the door and opened it. Her mother was standing in the doorway with a sweet smile on her face, "Would you like to go into town with me? Your father comes home tonight and I wanted to make something special for dinner."

Aaliyah smiled and nodded, she could see that her mother was both happy and relieved that her father would soon be home. "Sure, let me get changed."

The pair of pale blue sneakers lying in the corner made the quickest catch so they were grabbed and pulled onto her feet quickly. She ran down the stairs pulling her light jacket off the coat rack on the way by and slinging it on as she ran out the door to the waiting vehicle.

"So," the silence was broken by her mother's soft voice, "have you spoken to your little boyfriend lately?"

Aaliyah groaned and rolled her eyes, she had been hanging out with Megan more and more but the rest weren't around much. She figured that maybe they had better things to do than hang out with her, which she really wasn't so against. Ever since the incident in the electronics store, Aaliyah had been keeping a little distance between herself and Wally. Sure she text him first thing after she got her new phone but it was easier over the phone than face to face.

Every time Wally was around, Aaliyah noticed that the butterflies in her stomach she thought were reserved for Aaron, would stir up and her mind would go blank. These were not feelings that she wished to have so distance seemed to be the best remedy. The absence of Wally when she and Megan got together was also a plus in her mind.

Aaliyah scoffed, "Which one?" She slumped forward resting her elbow on the door of the truck and placing her chin in her palm. Her gaze was on the road ahead and paying on mind to the strange look she was getting from her mother.

"Still?" The one word question held more than what some would believe. The truck came to a stop at a nearby grocery store and the engine was killed with a quick turn of the key. Neither of them made a move to get out or change their previous positions as they sat silent in the truck.

Aaliyah finally looked to her mother, reading her face carefully before speaking. "I talk to Wally when he texts or calls me. Same with Aaron. I really only hang out with Megan since the others always seem to be busy or something." She shrugged. "Come to think of it I haven't heard from anyone in a few days."

The calculating look her mother was giving her made her shift uncomfortably in the seat. Her mother finally directed her gaze out the window towards the store, "Let's talk about it when we get home, okay?"

In a hurry to skip the subject for the time being, Aaliyah nodded her head and reached for the door handle. A blast of cool air hits her making her grab the thing material of the jacket and wrench it tighter around herself. So not looking forward to this colder weather.

November 5th 19:38

The incident in the grocery store still had Aaliyah's face beet red. Her mother had to insist on introducing her to the bag boy, who in her defense wasn't bad looking, but still. She didn't speak the entire car ride back; her frustration with her mother was just too much. The music that she finally placed on the iPod Wally bought her kept her from completely blowing a fuse.

As soon as the truck was parked and the engine was turned off, Aaliyah bolted for the door and ran up to her room slamming the door. She was so focused on getting away from her mother that she ran right passed her father and almost succeeded in knocking him down. The sound of footsteps alerted her and she immediately ran to the door and flung it open.

"Aaliyah, you are seriously overreacting." Her mother's stern voice told her that she was toeing the line and getting very close to crossing it. "It did no harm so let it go, now! On another note, you almost ran right over your father, did you even see him standing there?" Her mother snapped her arm in the direction her father was. He was standing at the top of the staircase with his arms crossed and a curious look on his face.

Aaliyah shot her mother a death glare before speaking, "How could you not see how embarrassing that was for me?" She crossed her arms and stood up as straight as she possibly could, "I don't care that I am overreacting, that was just uncalled for."

The look now on her mother's face could probably have melted steel. As she raised her finger to retort her daughter's statement she paused. Her mother placed a hand on either side of her head and rubbed her temples closing her eyes tightly. "Maybe I did embarrass you, but the way you are acting now is ridiculous Aaliyah. We will talk later, after you have calmed down and actually give me a chance to speak and apologize."

"Just forget it!" Aaliyah threw her hands in the air, "What's the point in apologizing? The damage is done."

At this point her father walked over to the two women and placed an arm around her mother's shoulders. "Aaliyah, that's enough." The deep tone he spoke with halted Aaliyah in what would have been an argument with her mother.

Aaliyah was almost certain that steam was coming out of her ears she was so mad. She opened her mouth the protest him taking up for her mother when in a small flash of light, they were gone.

"W-what?" On instinct she reached out to the empty space that was once occupied with her parents. Both just vanished before her eyes and she could feel the panic flowing through her body. She ran out of her room and checked every room in the house, seeing them disappear right in front of her just couldn't be possible. The thought after she checked the last room was that she was stupid for thinking they might be in one of them.

A shaky hand ran through her hair and pulled at her now messy braid. "Get it together Aaliyah, there has to be an explanation." She took a few slow breaths trying to calm herself and walked cautiously towards the living room. The television was still on, the local news logo showing in the background but no news reporter.

"What is going on?" She whispered. The next thought that hit her was to get her phone. Digging through her pockets soon produced her cell phone and she opened it looking for the first person she could think of.

The phone rang three times before someone finally picked up.

"Aaliyah?!" the boys voice was slightly panicked.

"Aaron?" Her voice broke slightly, "Aaron, they are gone." The last part came out a tone slightly above a whisper.

"Your parents are gone too?" He quickly asked as soon as Aaliyah stopped speaking.

Aaliyah nodded her head before realizing that he couldn't see her, "Y-yeah. I don't get it; they were just here and now, gone."

The line goes silent for a moment before he speaks again, "Aaliyah? Are you still there?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying to figure out what to do." She walked slowly towards the couch and sat down. "It must be something big, right? You said your parents were gone too."

"Yeah. I'm not really sure; you were the first person I have spoken to. I have gotten several texts from the others claiming the same thing." He goes silent for a moment.

"Aaron?" Her voice is now more even toned and clear as compared to just moments ago.

"Still here, just got another text from Marie. Same thing happened at her place." He let out a long breath and Aaliyah could hear what sounded like a door opening and closing on his end. "I'm going to go check things out, I'm not suggesting the same thing for you but maybe you should try to contact someone close to you. See if you can find something out."

"Yeah, I will. Be careful out there. Text me when you can, okay?" She stood from the couch and walked towards the front door opening it slowly. A quick peek outside and confirming it was clear, she walked towards the barn.

"I will. The same goes for you too. Don't get into any trouble, okay?" His voice went stern and deep for a second but Aaliyah could hear the smile in it. He was trying to lighten up the mood a bit and it made her smile.

"Yeah. Trust me getting into trouble is the last thing on my mind right now." The barn door was giving her a little trouble but she was finally able to get it open and find the light switch. The lights flickered a minute before the dim light filled the barn. "Okay Aaron, I'll text you once I find something out. I am going to get Ace and head into town."

"Okay. Talk to you later." The line went silent once more followed by the dial tone. Aaliyah looked at her phone before placing it into her pocket again. Her focus was now to get to town and find out what the heck was going on.

Ace seemed ecstatic to finally get under the saddle again and was cooperating better than Aaliyah last remembered. The excitement was evident even more so when she finally positioned herself on the saddle and kicked her heals into Ace's sides. He immediately bolted, surprising Aaliyah and causing her to lose her balance for a second.

She righted herself into the saddle once more and bent forward, "Alright big guy, let's put that energy into good use. Let's go find out what is going on."

Along the way, Aaliyah stopped by several houses and checked out the current residents. Each one was the same, the children were present but anyone over the age of 18 seemed to have vanished. Most of the houses were in close proximity of one another so she suggested the older of the children gather the younger ones and stay together. It took a little while but she was able to get it as close to organized as possible before leaving for the town.

Ace was panting from the exertion but still seemed to have a strong spark in him. He snapped his ears around at the various noises and looked around when a sound would catch his attention fully. Aaliyah did the same, concentrating and listening as best she could. It was relatively quiet with the exception of a few faint cries of small children. She followed the noise and found a little girl about three years old and a boy looking to be around seven.

The little girl was crying into her brother's shoulder when Aaliyah approached them on Ace. Ace leaned down and nudged the children with his nose. The young boy immediately wrapped his arms tightly around the little girl and proceeded to scoot away from the horse.

"He won't hurt you." Aaliyah spoke up as she slipped off of Ace and walked slowly towards the children. "Hi, my name is Aaliyah. What is yours?"

The boy looked at her with suspicious eyes before turning away from her. Aaliyah frowned at his attitude but she understood that he was scared, just as scared as her.

"Lillian." A small voice broke the silence.

Aaliyah's attention went from the boy to the small girl. She was adorable with her light brown hair in two pigtails and mint green dress. The little girl looked up to Aaliyah and tears started falling from her bright blue eyes. "Mama and papa are gone." The little girl squeaks.

Before Aaliyah could say anything the young boy spoke up, "They just vanished." He was looking down obviously holding back tears of his own.

"Mine too." Aaliyah spoke up and both children snapped their heads toward her.

"Aren't you sad?" The little girl asked.

"Of course I am." Aaliyah said in a kind voice.

"Then why don't you look it?" The boy's tone held a little more force as he asked her.

"Well, I may look calm on the outside but like you," she pointed towards the boy, "I am putting on a brave face. I am scared but I want to find my parents and I can't do that if I am too scared."

The two young children grow silent again and Aaliyah bends down to their level. At the same time, Ace walks closer and leans down, his nose resting on Aaliyah's shoulder. "Is it just the two of you?" Aaliyah asks.

Both children nod slowly, the little girl's attention falling on Ace and a small smile forms on her tear stained face. She reaches out to pet Ace on the nose and he of course happily lets her do so.

"Like horses?" Aaliyah asks the little girl. Lillian nods her head and beams up at Ace, seems like he has become that little distraction for the young girl during this time.

"Want to ride him?" Aaliyah smiles at the girl as she nods her head quickly. Aaliyah stands up and picks up the young girl, placing her gently onto the saddle.

"Lillian! What are you doing?" The boy cries out, "Mom and dad always told us not to trust strangers."

The little girl pouts and starts to tear up again as the young boy, her older brother, starts to yell at her. "But Daniel-"

"No buts!" He stomps his foot and crosses his arms over his chest. Aaliyah looks from the little girl who is now crying again and to the girl's older brother.

"Look, I can understand what you are doing Daniel but trust me when I say that I am here to help. I have no intentions to hurt you or your sister. I promise." Aaliyah looked to the young boy who looked as if he were far from backing down.

Just as he was about to protest again some older kids ran by the three yelling at one another. "Come on! They said the high school!"

"Hey!" Aaliyah called out waving her hand at the older kids. "What's going on at the high school?"

One of the kids turns around and skids to a halt, "The word is that Happy Harbor High was being turned into a refugee camp of sorts. All the kids are gathering there until they can find out what happened to all the adults."

"Until who can find out?" She questioned the younger teen.

"The only ones besides the adults that could figure this mess out, the Justice Leagues younger super heroes." A girl ranging a few years younger that Aaliyah speaks up.

Aaliyah nods her head and turns back to the two younger children again, "Looks like we have a safe haven for the time being. Come on, we need to get you two there." She walks towards the younger boy and extends her hand to him.

He looks at her hand and then to the direction the other kids went. With a huff he looks back to Aaliyah and grabs her hand. She leads him over to Ace and helps him up onto the saddle and grabs the reins. Once she is certain that they are good she turns and starts to walk in the direction of the high school.

It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the high school. The three can see younger kids walking in the same direction and a few older kids standing at the doors waving the others inside. Aaliyah turns and smiles to the two riding Ace, the little girl had fallen asleep leaning against her brother.

She stopped Ace at the door and dropped the reins knowing that he wouldn't budge. Daniel started to shift a bit and Lillian began to stir from her sleep. Aaliyah reached up and grabbed Lillian holding the still sleeping girl in her arms.

"Hang on; I'll help you down in just a second." Aaliyah looked at Daniel with a look that said, stay put.

"I'll help him down." Someone spoke up. Before Aaliyah could say a thank you, Daniel was off of Ace and standing next to the person that had helped him down. Aaliyah turned and froze, of course her run of luck; it was the last person she thought she would have seen.

"Hey Aaliyah." Wally's signature smiled plastered on his face as he waves at Aaliyah. "Been a bit huh?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Aaliyah looks at Wally for a moment before turning and walking towards the front doors. She doesn't go in, instead she hands the sleeping girl to one of the older teens and tells Daniel to follow them.

One last glance at the two children puts her mind at ease knowing she was able to help.

"Aaliyah?" She is stopped in her tracks as Daniel's voice reaches her ears. Sparing a quick glance in Wally's direction she sees he is looking at her, she then turns to the young boy.

"Yeah?" She looks at him raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to say thank you." Daniel speaks, his tone is low and he is looking at the ground. He seems to be battling something within his mind but he eventually looks up at Aaliyah. "Thank you for helping me and my sister."

Aaliyah smiles and nods before turning and walking passed Wally towards Ace. Wally turns and walks in the same direction, his slightly longer legs helping him to catch up with her.

"Hey." He speaks waving a hand again. "You okay?"

"Besides the obvious?" Aaliyah looks at Wally, her tone is not harsh but she is frustrated, more so with this current situation. Getting her parents back has become her top priority. She lets out a small huff, "Sorry, not trying to push my negative attitude off onto you."

"Hey, considering the current situation, totally understandable." He gestures around them with his hands as the both of them stop next to Ace. "Looks like this is happening everywhere."

Aaliyah shoots a questioning glance at him which in turn makes him raise his hands up in defense, "O-or so I have heard. Phones obviously still work so communication with outside sources is still on the list of cans."

"Yeah, I called a friend of mine from back home. He said the same thing was happening there." Aaliyah lets her gaze drop from Wally to the ground. Suddenly she feels extremely guilty for the fight she had with her mother. The look must have said enough, she feels arms wrap around her and the next thing she knows she is in Wally's arms.

The contact wasn't sudden but it was still unexpected. Aaliyah can feel her face heating up at but doesn't move to push him away, at the current moment it is as comforting as it is nerve wrecking. Without hesitation she wraps her arms around Wally and the two just stand in silence.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that someone will figure this out soon." Wally's voice is low and serious, something that Aaliyah isn't quite use to as his is normally more excited. As a reaction to the words, she tightens her hold on him and buries her face into the crook of his neck.

"I just want them back." She whispers into his skin. Wally shivers a bit, a reaction to feeling her breath on his neck. He pulls away and moves his hands to her upper arms squeezing them in a reassuring way.

"We will get them back." Wally says with all seriousness on his face. He pulls her in for another hug before speaking again. "And once this is all over, we are going to have a little talk about you avoiding me."

Aaliyah can't hold in the small giggle at the childish sound of his voice. That was the Wally she knew, the serious one was foreign to her and comforting, but she liked this Wally better. Even if the time that they had spent together had been short, it had been enough in observation.

"So you noticed that huh?" She spoke softly.

"Hey, I know I can be dense sometimes but don't underestimate the awesomeness of my brain. Of course I noticed." He whined which made her laugh a bit harder.

"I'll think about it." She teased a bit. He pulled back and gave her a pouted lip which in turn made her laugh again. "Oh come on, pouting? Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. We will talk." Her agreement to his terms caused a large grin to spread across his face.

"I knew you'd see it my way babe." He chuckled.

"Don't call me babe." She pinched the tender spot of his upper arm granting her a high pitched yelp from him. A smile formed as it seemed her message was received, even if delivery was that of pain.

Aaliyah was turning away from Wally towards Ace when a feminine voice caught her attention.

"Hey, Wally?" It was a girl with blond hair pulled into a low ponytail. A stern look was plastered on her face as she walked, well rather stalked, towards Wally. "Time to go. The others are waiting."

"Others?" Aaliyah knits her eyebrows together and turns to face Wally. He looks at the blond girl, nods his head in a silent understanding and then turns back to Aaliyah.

"Yeah. We have, um a kind of recon team set out around the city. Some of the older kids are meeting up here soon to form some kind of alternative plan, or plans." He spats out quickly leaving Aaliyah with more questions than answers. Before she has time to respond he is running off in another direction with the other girl but not before yelling over his shoulder. "I'll call you later."

"Um, Ace? What just happened?" The horse looks at Aaliyah and shoves her lightly with his nose. He then throws his head back and paws at the ground. "Yeah my thoughts exactly. And who was that girl?"

A few minutes go by, Aaliyah still staring off in the direction she watched Wally run. A tug at her shirt caused her to jump and she looked down to see Lillian.

"Hey Lillian, what are you doing out here? You should be inside with the others." Aaliyah mildly scolded the little girl.

"I wanted you to come inside too." Her little voice was soft and Aaliyah could tell she wasn't far from sleep again.

"Ok but that means that I would have to leave Ace out here all alone." A quick gesture towards Ace had the little girl's head following and with a little smile she walked towards the horse. She reached out with her small hand and patted his nose as he had leaned down to her reach. "Lillian, go back inside with your brother. I will check on you in a bit okay?" The little girl didn't protest this time and did as she was told.

As Aaliyah watched the little girl walk sleepily back into the gym she let out a long sigh. "I hope this mess gets cleared up here soon."

November 6th several hours later….

She wasn't sure when it happened and didn't care, all she knew was that the adults had returned safe and sound. Most had found out about the refugee centers not long after their return and arrived quickly to retrieve their children.

Aaliyah stayed a bit long with Daniel and Lillian to make sure that their parents came to get them. The little girl broke out into tears upon seeing her mother and father and ran to them faster than her little legs could go. It was a happy and sweet reunion and Aaliyah said her goodbyes to the children and their parents.

Ace was waiting patiently for Aaliyah to return and when he caught sight of her, started to whinny happily. He pawed the ground in agitation and excitement.

"You ready to go home big guy?" Her voice was becoming ragged and tired from the lack of rest.

The time it took to get home didn't seem to take nearly as long as it did to get to town. It seemed that almost the whole ride Aaliyah was holding on for dear life as Ace raced back at top speed. He never let up, especially once the house and barn came into view. Aaliyah jumped off of him with about as much grace as a wet sack of potatoes and led him to the barn. She removed all the tack and practically threw it into the tack room before letting Ace out into the pasture.

She ran to the house with the little bit of strength she had left and burst through the front door. Her parents were standing side by side in the living room watching the news; both had their arms wrapped around the other. The sound of the front door had her mother spinning around and once upon realization threw her arms around Aaliyah's neck.

"Mom, dad! I-I am so sorry about before." Silent tears began falling as Aaliyah hugged her mother tightly. A moment later she felt her father's arms wrap around the two of them.

"Don't worry about that right now Aaliyah. We are just so glad to have you back." Her mother said with a strained voice.

Her father placed a kiss on her head and the three separated from their hug. They briefly exchanged their experiences in the split world and what had happened. It took all of about 15 minutes before Aaliyah couldn't hold it back anymore, a long yawn escaped her lips and she couldn't resist the urge to stretch like a lazy house cat with it.

Her mother chuckled, "Ok Aaliyah, go get some rest. We can talk more later."

With a quick nod of her head, Aaliyah gave her parents one final hug and made her way up the stairs. Tripping a bit on the way due to lack of energy to fully pick her feet up, she finally made it to her room.

She flopped down onto her bed and let out a satisfying sigh. "I honestly don't think this bed has ever been this comfortable." She mumbled into the comforter.

Sorry if this chapter was a little blah, there will be more excitement and twist coming up so just hold on to your sanity. I am kind of veering towards a KF/OC story but it's complicated. Sorry for those that are hell bent on KF/Artemis. Please R&R. Any suggestions or ideas on, well anything, are welcome. I may even consider putting them into the storyline.