Caleb tried not to fidget. Kels and Walter stood nearby, occasionally making awkward attempts to have a conversation. The happy reunion between those who had once been all but siblings had been overshadowed by worry. He turned to see the Viscount coming towards them, followed by the Inquisition's spymaster. "Uncle Varric."

"Anything yet?"

"No." Agatha shook her head. "Thought we heard sounds of fighting, but nobody has come out yet." She narrowed her eyes. "And they won't let us go check."

Aveline returned Agatha's glare with a steady and unyielding expression. She was in full guard captain mode, which meant not even Papa would be able to get past her without a direct order from the Viscount. He shot a glance at Varric. And possibly not even that. The guard-captain got a little overprotective of her old friends. "Both Hawke and the Inquisitor were insistent that no one take even the chance of disrupting the spell." Aveline folded her arms.

"No, I get that." Varric sighed. He glanced from Agatha to Caleb. "Where's your sister?"

"In there." Caleb tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice. "In case a healer is needed." He sighed. "I really hope a healer isn't needed."

"You and me both." Varric folded his arms. "Maybe having the Inquisitor and Hawke in the same country at the same time was a really bad idea."

"Especially when that country is Kirkwall." Agatha stood on one leg, putting her other foot against the back of her knee. She glanced at Brehan. "I sent word to Mama Lenore. She's on her way to Denerim but wanted to remind you she can be in Kirkwall in a couple days if needed."

"I think we need her and Brosca exactly where they are at the moment." Brehan frowned. "Her people haven't picked anything up?"

"They've been following some hinky stuff out Tevinter way, and some of the folks they were watching just went silent. Brosca was preparing to send word to you about it when I told them what had happened here. They'll follow up and contact your people." She switched legs. "House Brosca's swords are ready and waiting."

He saw Kels react to Agatha's words. Adding in House Brosca's mercenaries, spies, and mages, virtually doubled the forces the Inquisition could put into play. Add in what Ferelden could field and they had a force to rival the one that had taken down Corypheus. And his fathers would weigh in as well.

His little cousin was in danger. He wasn't entirely sure he considered it overkill.

#

Saitada stared at the young man. He carried a bow rather than a sword and shield, but beyond that he was the spitting image of Alistair the first day she'd met him. He even sounded the same. She found herself rubbing her eyes. Next to him stood a ginger-haired man. He'd positioned himself between... Duncan... and the others in a defensive posture. The left side of his face bore scars from a wound that had narrowly missed taking the eye. That would be Jerath.

She turned her gaze to the others. The woman was tall and dark haired and wielded the massive greatsword easily. That would be Leandra. She stood near a blond and blue-eyed man who wore lighter armor, and held a staff in his hands. Loghain? Or Gavren? A powerfully built blond man stood not far from Carver. He'd lowered his sword, but his blue eyes were still wary. His face bore a stylized dragon, identical to the one Carver wore.

"I don't think that was what was supposed to happen." Kieran was looking at the newcomers.

"What the hell did happen?" Hawke stepped forward, staring. He turned towards Kieran, and then Dorian. "And how?"

"I have..." Dorian shrugged. "Absolutely no idea."

Around them, everyone started talking and asking questions at once. Alistair was staring at the younger version of himself, who was staring back in equal shock. Vivienne, Hawke, and the Inquisitor were all asking questions of Dorian and Kieran, who were also asking questions of each other and Merrill. Cullen and Carver were ordering the confused soldiers back.

The Divine's voice rang out, putting a halt to the chaos. A few moments later, the room had been cleared of most of the soldiers. Saitada noticed that Hawke's daughter had managed to remain in the room. Divine Victoria turned towards Dorian and Kieran.

Dorian glanced at Kieran, and then back at the Divine. "Something went wrong."

"No." Kieran shook his head. "It worked. The spirits retrieved them."

"I, er..." Dorian chewed his bottom lip.

"I think we opened the tear too far." Kieran narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, examining where the tear had been. "Pulled from the wrong stream."

"Wait..." Dorian's eyes widened. "You're saying we accidentally broke through into..." He raised an eyebrow at Kieran. "That's even possible?"

Kieran sighed, and shook his head dejectedly. "Mother. Is going. To kill me."

#

"I think everyone should calm down and take a few deep breaths." Leliana raised a hand as the commotion nearly started back up.

Alistair's doppleganger shook his head. "Calm down? I just got dragged to..." He looked around. "Wherever the hell this is by some demon, and you want me to calm down?"

The dark haired woman looked around, and then stepped closer to the man beside her. "Did you drag me into the Fade again?"

"No..." He shrugged. "At least, I don't think so."

The archer glared at them, and then turned back towards Leliana. "Maferath's balls, there are dreadnoughts in the harbor. I do not have time for..." He growled. "What kind of trickery is this?"

"I..." Dorian sighed. "Well, the short story is we may have inadvertently dragged you backwards in time."

"On second thought, I think I'd prefer if this was the Fade." The dark haired woman set the tip of her sword on the ground, but maintained her wary stance.

"No. Time manipulation has been impossible since the breach was sealed." The mage leaned on his staff. "Even with foci." He focused his gaze on Dorian. "The ramifications of such would be..."

"I don't care about the ramifications." The archer glared. "How do we fix this?"

"That is a very good question." Dorian turned to Kieran. "How do we fix this?"

"I..." Kieran tilted his head. "Well, that's going to take some time and consideration."

"So you don't bloody know." The archer gestured sharply. "Great. Denerim is under attack and we're stuck here."

"Denerim is under attack?" The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow and turned towards Alistair. He blinked, and then gave her a confused look.

"Can everyone put their weapons away?" Cullen sheathed his own sword as he spoke. Around him, the others began to do the same.

"This is Kirkwall." The dark haired woman looked around her. "Why Kirkwall?"

"Well, it is Kirkwall." The mage replaced his staff in its back sheath.

"Right. Good point." She glared at him. "Are you sure this isn't the Fade?"

"It's not responding as the Fade would, and there are no distortions."

"Um..." She gestured at the people standing in the room with them, and sighed. "What the hell was in those drinks?"

"Please." The blond man near Carver sheathed his blade. "You are a Trevelyan and an Amell. You've got to be used to weird shit happening to you by now."

"I really, really hate that he makes a good point." The dark haired woman sighed.

The archer lowered his bow, but did not relinquish it, nor did the man beside him sheath his blade. "You're Divine Victoria." He stared at Leliana.

"Yes." She nodded, and hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps you can clarify who you are."

"You know who I am." He narrowed his eyes. "Or should, anyway."

"Your majesty, all due respect, but considering your father is standing right there, the dreadnoughts won't be in the harbor for at least another decade." The blond warrior shrugged. "We have a few minutes at least." He gave Leliana a small bow. "I am Loghain Mac Tir, Most Holy."

"Gavren Rutherford." The mage copied the gesture.

"Leandra Hawke." The dark haired woman saluted with a fist over her heart.

The archer sighed, and finally replaced his arrow in the quiver. "King Duncan Therin." He nodded to the red haired man, who sheathed his own blade. "Guardsman Jerath Gilmore."

Duncan was king? She glanced at Alistair, and saw him realize the significance of the statement. And what had Loghain said? A decade? "And how old are you?"

"Twenty four."

"Sixteen years?" Hawke's mouth fell open. "You pulled them from sixteen years in the future?"

Merrill and Kieran exchanged a look. "Oops?" Merrill offered.

The ramifications were... Leliana took several deep breaths. What they had managed with just a year of foreknowledge had saved the world. Sixteen years of intelligence was almost unfathomable. How long would they have? "Give us a moment, we need to discuss this."

#

Cullen looked back at where his son was standing. His apparently nineteen year old son. His mage son. He fumbled for Ruya's hand, and felt her clutch his fingers tightly in response. He squeezed her hand before turning his gaze to Dorian. "How?"

"I'll be honest. I have absolutely no idea." He glanced at Kieran. "Everything about this is rather unprecedented."

Kieran tilted his head and half closed his eyes for a moment. Then he nodded. "We opened it too far, and the battle distorted the energy of the spirits. The streams diverged, and split again, and the spirits followed the trail to the wrong destinations. They found children that had never been taken."

"So they brought the wrong ones back." Hawke folded his arms.

"No, those are the right ones. Leandra, Loghain, Gavren, Duncan, and Jerath." Kieran glanced over his shoulder before turning back to them.

"But they aren't the right..." Hawke stared at him. "Nevermind."

"Fenedhis. The spirits brought the right children from the wrong world." Merrill waved a hand.

"Yes. A world from which they were apparently never abducted."

"So reopen the tear and get our children back." Alistair glared.

"I..." Kieran gave him an apologetic look. "Can't."

Silence reigned for a moment as they stared at him. Ruya found her voice first. "What do you mean, you can't?"

"It wanted to attack, to tear and rip and come through. And had the strength to do so. So I bound it there, frozen between the cracks of time. It is stuck until I catch up with me again." Kieran looked down at his hands. "But so am I."

"I don't understand."

"I bound it with part of me, and that part of me is locked away with it until the binding breaks." Kieran glanced over his shoulder. "Sixteen years from now." He looked up at Carver. "I'm sorry, Uncle. I don't have enough points to reopen the tear."

Carver slowly nodded. "But you said its bound, frozen in time. So it can't hurt us or the children."

"Yes." Kieran tilted his head again. "It was strong then, stronger than it is now. Strength built over years. If we find it now, it won't be able to act then, and the children won't..." He furrowed his brow. "Will not? Did not? Are not taken." He spread his hands. "All resets. I'll be me, they'll be them, it will be gone, faded away in the Fade. This moment will cease to exist."

"So, all we have to do is find a big, powerful demon and kill the shit out of it." Hawke shrugged.

Alistair sighed. "Must be Tuesday."

#

Duncan watched half the people in the room huddle around the Divine. He recognized most of them, but... His father was standing there. Alive. And not just alive, but he walked without a limp. Sixteen years? He kept his voice quiet. "Could this be real?"

Jerath kept his eyes on the soldiers. "There is some precedent in the stories, I suppose."

He nodded, and then glanced at the others who appeared to share his situation. Ser Loghain seemed to be taking the matter calmly enough. And he trusted the knight's blade to back him if needed. It was the other two that were making him nervous. Rutherford and the Lady Hawke appeared utterly fascinated by the situation, and were whispering quietly to each other. He growled softly. "If it is real, then..." His father was alive. Which meant his mother and Jerath's father were also alive. "We could change things."

"Fix things." He could hear the hope in Jerath's voice.

"Save them." He shook his head. "Time travel."

"And demons."

"Right. Must be Tuesday."

Jerath blinked at him. "It was Saturday, my lord."

#

"I think..." Ruya took a breath and looked at her son. He was as tall as his father. "I think we should take our respective children home and we can figure out where to go from here after we've all had a chance to breath."

Vivienne stepped forward. "Inquisitor?"

Ruya turned towards her. "Grand Enchanter?"

"I think, given the circumstances..." She glanced from Kieran to Gavren. "It might be best to arrange a couple of phylacteries."

The thought of her son having a phylactery made her stomach twist. And she really didn't want to consider what Kieran's parents would think of the notion, assuming Kieran would allow such a thing to occur. Before she could answer, Leandra narrowed her eyes and stepped protectively in front of Gavren. "Not happening."

"That's not your decision." Vivienne folded her arms, tapping one well-manicured set of nails against her elbow.

Leandra lowered her head belligerently. "That's where you're wrong. It's not happening. You can take your little vial, and shove it where the sun don't shine."

Vivienne raised one eyebrow, keeping her face composed. "You seem to have something of a chip on your shoulder, young lady."

She lifted her sword, settling it on her shoulder and adjusting her grip on the hilt. "I've got a big damn sword on my shoulder, Baldie." Leandra stared at Vivienne. "Go on, try it. I guarantee, no matter how many templars you send in..." She assumed a battle stance. "You didn't bring enough."

Hawke laughed into the ensuing silence. "Well, there is no question whose daughter that is."

Carver's smile was proud. "Nope."

Cullen stepped forward. "No phylacteries." His eyes narrowed, and the two templars that had stepped forward at Vivienne's comment moved backwards quickly.

Alistair started walking towards his son before stopping and looking at Loghain. "Maker. How am I going to explain this to Anora?"

#

Salla watched quietly as the Divine joined the King and Warden-Commander in leading three of the 'children' away. Her eyes went back to the other two. Leandra. Her little cousin had grown up to be, well, frankly just a tad scary, calling out the Grand Enchanter like that. Leandra spoke quietly with the Inquisitor's son before they nodded at each other and parted ways. Gavren followed his parents and their retinue out of the room.

Leandra walked towards her own parents. She blinked when she saw Salla standing there. "La-la." She twisted her lips into a smile. "So..." She shrugged. "Hi?"

A moment later Merrill was hugging her tightly. Leandra wrapped her own arms around her mother and patted her back soothingly. Salla noted that Leandra had inherited nothing of her elven mother's petite build, though she did retain her mother's vividly green eyes.

"We should..." Her papa glanced from Leandra to Kieran. "Head back to the estate."