The next morning, Kalim had all the Scarabia students and guests gear up and meet at the path that headed toward the oasis. Despite Jamil's insistence that he was fine now, Kalim absolutely refused to let him do anything but oversee the preparations. "Alright, everyone!" he called out, instantly getting everyone's attention. "Jamil's been successfully brought back from his Overblot thanks to Devon's blessing and we've all finished our winter break assignments thanks to our friends from Octavinelle! This can only mean one thing: it's time for the holiday party to end all holiday parties!"

"Or, here's an idea: you could try not throwing a party every other day," Jamil snarked, irritation etched into his features.

"Come now, there's no real harm, is there?" Azul replied. "After everything we've all been through, I think we could all do with a little celebration."

"The camels have been loaded up with plenty of food and drink," Jade reported, patting one of the large animals before stepping back up to the others.

"And I've got my swimsuit!" Floyd chirped with a smile. "I'm so ready to dive into that oasis!"

"Then it's time for a parade, complete with elephants and peacocks!" Kalim announced.

"Yahoo! Off to the oasis we go!" Grim cheered.

Kalim turned toward Jamil as the group began walking, a look of concern on his face. "Are you sure you're feeling up to this, Jamil? Let me know right away if you need a break, okay?"

"Enough," Jamil sighed out. "I told you already that I'm fine now." He glanced over at Devon, a small, fond smile on his face despite the fact that she was very pointedly not looking at him. "Devon did a wonderful job bringing me back to myself."

Grim began hopping impatiently. "Can we get to the oasis already?! I wanna get this party started!"

"I hope you and Shrimpy are ready for this, Sealie, 'cause I'm gonna teach you two how to really swim," Floyd said with a toothy grin that made his promise come off more like a warning.

"Heh. Now that should be interesting," Jade commented with an amused chuckle. "I can hardly wait."

"Grim seems to be acting normally now," Devon commented quietly to the Zephyr, Flapjack, and Mirage as they floated next to her, opting to remain outside the Ramshackle staff for the time being. She'd been keeping a close eye on her fluffy companion ever since the Wisps had filled her in on his odd behavior after eating the black stone left behind from Jamil's Overblot, but had yet to see anything strange herself. Even so, she knew the Wisps wouldn't have raised the alarm unless they genuinely thought there was cause for concern. "I should've figured eating those stones would take its toll eventually. Hopefully we won't have any more Overblot messes to deal with, but if we do, we'll have to make extra sure that Grim doesn't get to another black stone."

"Can you actually understand what those lil' Wispys are sayin', Shrimpy?" Floyd asked as he and Jade approached her. "'Cause I ain't ever once heard 'em talk."

"I must confess that I'm rather curious as to how you communicate with them as well," Jade admitted.

"It's a little hard to explain. See, the Wisps can understand us, but they don't actually "talk" the way we do…," Devon began.

Jamil watched from a distance as Devon continued to talk with the Leech twins. He wanted to talk to her and see if she'd at least be willing to give him a chance to set things right, but he knew it wasn't in the cards at the moment. Still, he held out hope that she'd cool off after some time had passed. It stung him to no end that she'd only been able to enter his mindscape to free him from the clutches of his blot because of the empathy and kindness she felt toward Kalim, but the fact that she could activate her blessing at all knowing it was meant for him despite how furious and hurt she was…that was something, right?

"Why don't you join them, Jamil?" came Kalim's voice as he fell into step with his vice dorm leader with Grim perched on his shoulder. "You've been staring at Devon this whole time, after all."

Jamil shook his head. "Because getting in her face when she clearly doesn't want to be around me would only irritate her more." He shot a sassy side eye toward both Kalim and Azul. "I understand the sentiment all too well. Everything I've done is still raw for her and she wants space from me right now, so I'm going to respect that."

"Well said, Jamil!" Azul said as he sidled his way over to the Scarabia pair (and Grim), his ever-present businessman/used car salesman smile on his lips. "How are you feeling, by the way? As someone who's been in your position, I know how exhausting the aftermath of an Overblot can be."

"The only thing that's "exhausting" right now is listening to you run your mouth," Jamil sniped.

"Make sure not to overdo it," Azul cautioned, continuing as if Jamil hadn't said a word, "and please feel free to lean on me should you require it."

"Yeah, hard pass. I have no intention of getting myself indebted to you," Jamil declined. He smirked. "If I were you, I'd be more concerned about ensuring you don't shrivel up in this heat."

Kalim grinned and clapped his hands together. "Ah ha ha! Look at that! You two have become such good friends, haven't you?"

Grim shot Kalim a 'dude, are you serious?' look. "Were we watchin' the same people? What part of that was friendly?!"

The trek to the oasis was much more pleasant compared to the ones that preceded it. The pace was steady, but not overly demanding and there was plenty of water being circulated to keep everyone hydrated. All the students were chatting happily amongst themselves as they walked, all of them smiling and greeting Kalim when he checked in with them to make sure everyone was doing alright. It felt like all was as it should be in Scarabia.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination even traveling at slower pace than before.

"We aren't far now," Jamil announced, shielding his eyes from the sun as he scanned their surroundings. "I can see the oasis from here."

"And that means it's almost chow time!" Grim cheered. "I can't wait to stuff my face!"

"We're going all out for this one!" Kalim agreed. "It'll be the best party ever!" He turned and motioned for Grim to follow him. "C'mon, I'll race ya, Grim! Last one to the oasis is a rotten egg!"

Jamil shook his head as he, Devon, and the Octatrio watched Grim and Kalim take off. "I swear… Where do they get all that energy?"

"Any sign of them?" Deuce asked as he and Ace met back up in Scarabia's courtyard. They'd received Devon's S.O.S. text at the same time and decided to travel together upon realizing they'd have to take the same bus out of the Queendom of Roses. Both of them had grown antsier the more time passed without any further word from their friends and they'd busted into Scarabia with their magical pens drawn, more than ready for a fight. Except…

"Nope. I haven't seen any sign of Dev or Grim," Ace replied, shaking his head. "Or anybody else, for that matter. This place is completely deserted…"

"But that doesn't make any sense. There has to be someone…" Deuce trailed off as he caught sight of footprints in the sand-a lot of footprints, actually-heading off into the desert. He glanced at Ace, who was staring at the footprints as well. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Let's go," Ace said, already charging off to follow the trail. 'I swear, if I find out they've harmed one curly hair on Dev's head, they're gonna regret the day they were born!"

Once everyone arrived at the oasis, they all set to work unloading the camels and getting all the food and drinks ready. After making sure Jamil wasn't overexerting himself, Kalim used his Oasis Maker to fill up the oasis once again while Aloe used their magic to restore the withered plant life to full health, the large trees providing extra shade so the canopies the Scarabia students brought with them didn't get too crowded.

"Great work, Aloe! All this greenery really pulls it all together!" Kalim complimented the pink Wisp with a grin before turning to face his residents. "That oughta take care of everything. Go ahead, everyone! Eat, sing, and dance to your heart's content!" He rushed over to Jamil and grabbed his arm. "Come with me, Jamil! Let's dance!"

"I-I'm fine, really…," Jamil protested weakly as Kalim dragged him off without a second thought.

Jade and Azul watched with amusement as the pair danced nearby, Kalim's enthusiasm contrasting rather humorously with Jamil's reluctant (though still incredibly graceful and fluid) steps.

"The two of them really are quite talented," Jade commented. He turned to Azul with a teasing smirk. "Would you ever consider asking them for lessons, Azul? I seem to recall a rather pitiful attempt at a dance during Halloween Week-"

"I think not," Azul interrupted, cutting Jade off. "Some things are simply too tall of an order for a merman."

Jade shrugged, letting the matter drop, but Floyd almost immediately charged out to join in the dancing. "Speak for yourself!" he called out to Azul over his shoulder. "I'm about to tear this desert up!"

Devon watched the festivities unfold with a small, content smile on her lips as the scents of delicious foods and the sound of lively music filled the air around her. Everyone was smiling and laughing, Grim was stuffing his face with reckless abandon, and it felt like everything was as it should be again…y'know, aside from the emotional turmoil she was still in concerning Jamil, but hey, at least nobody was dead.

"…eeeeyyy!"

Devon blinked and looked around, confused. She could've sworn she heard calling out, but they sounded too far away to be with the group at the oasis. Could they have left someone behind by mistake?

"Heeeeyyy!"

There it was again! She definitely heard it that time. The voice sounded familiar too, but it was still too faint for her to make out who it was.

Grim's ears perked up, indicating that he had heard the voice as well. He hopped up onto Devon's shoulders, standing on his back legs and shielding his eyes with one paw as he scanned the horizon. "Check it out, Dev!" he exclaimed, pointing. "Someone's bookin' it across the desert. They're comin' right toward us!"

Devon turned her head in the direction Grim was pointing and saw two people running in their direction. Her eyes widened as they got closer and she caught sight of two familiar heads of hair, one red and one blue. "No. Way."

"Heeeey! Devon! Grim!" Ace shouted as he and Deuce finally made it to the group. He frantically scanned the sea of faces until his eyes met Devon's, pulling Deuce along as he made a beeline for them.

"Are you guys okay?!" Deuce asked urgently as he and Ace finally stopped in front of their friends.

"What the-?! Ace and Deuce?!" Grim exclaimed.

Ace had to take a moment to catch his breath, his hands on his knees. "Dang, it's hot in this place! It's like we stepped right into a summer heatwave!"

Devon could only stare at her friends in pure disbelief for a moment as Zephyr cooled them off with some wind magic. Sweat was causing their hair to stick to their foreheads, not helped by the fact that both boys were clearly dressed for much colder weather, if the snow boots and winter jackets were any indication. "I… You… What are you two doing here? I thought you'd gone home for break."

"What do you mean what are we doing here?! You guys are the ones who asked for our help!" Ace reminded her.

"We got that 'trapped in Scarabia' text you sent," Deuce supplied. "We couldn't get through to you after that, so we came rushing back here as fast as we could."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I completely forgot we'd texted you guys," Grim admitted. He shot them an unamused look. "Ya know, I told Dev that I didn't think you'd be much help but I didn't think you'd wait to turn up until right after all the actual trouble had been handled."

"What?!" Ace exclaimed, looking like it was taking everything he had to stop himself from smacking Grim upside the head. "In case you forgot, the Dark Mirror isn't open right now, dude! Without a Warp Wisp like Flapjack, we couldn't use magic to get back here! We had to take public transport all the way here."

Ace's mention of public transportation reminded Devon of something he'd told her during Halloween Week concerning how difficult it was to get to Sage's Isle without the use of the school's mirror gate: "They'd have to take a train from the nearest airport, then transfer to a bus, then board a ferry, then transfer to another ferry, then hop on another bus… Point is, getting out here is a giant pain!" Her chest filled with warmth and she felt her eyes grow misty when she realized that her boys had given up time with their families and braved all of that during the holidays just to help her and Grim. If Ace and Deuce weren't the definition of ride or die, she didn't know what was.

"Hang on, I'm a little lost here," Deuce said after he'd calmed down enough to take a look around. "Everyone seems like they're having a good time. I'm not seeing anything amiss here."

"Hi there!" Kalim greeted as he made his way over with Floyd and Jamil, having spotted the Heartslabyul freshmen talking to Devon and Grim while he was dancing. "I don't think we've met before. Are you two friends with Devon?"

Floyd grinned at Ace. "Heya, Crabby. Are ya here to hang out?"

"Crabby…?" Deuce repeated, giving Ace a confused look.

"Yeah. That's what Floyd's decided to call me. He and I are in Basketball Club together," Ace explained. He nodded toward Jamil. "Jamil's in that club with us too, actually."

Kalim beamed. "Ooh, I see! Well, any friend of Jamil's is a friend of mine."

"Once again, I am not your friend," Jamil began to protest, only to sigh and shake his head. "You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Kalim's smile never faltered. "Well in any case, you two should definitely hang out for a while since you've come all this way."

"We have pizza and pasta over here if you're hungry," Azul called out from nearby.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Jade offered.

"Geh!" Ace exclaimed, taking an uneasy step back when he finally noticed Azul and Jade. "All three Octavinelle boys are here?!"

Deuce leaned closer to Devon and Grim, his voice lowered to a whisper. "Why are you guys hanging out with them? Were they the reason you sent us that text?"

Devon shook her head. "Not at all. I don't think we would've been able to get out of the mess we were in without them."

"Yeah! You have no idea what kinda mess we were in while you two were off havin' a grand ol' time with your families!" Grim added. "It can't be helped, I guess. Just grab some food, sit down, and let the Great Grim tell ya all about his daring exploits!"

"You're just as obnoxious as ever, huh?" Ace teased. "Ah well. I guess the important thing is that you're both okay."

"It feels like it's just one thing after another with you guys," Deuce agreed, though the small smile on his face told them he wasn't nearly as put-out as he was trying to sound.

"Awww~! You two were worried about us!" Devon cooed, poking their cheeks before pulling both boys into a tight hug as her smile went from teasing to grateful, the fondness in her tone clear as the sky above them. "Seriously though, thank you both so much for comin' all the way out here for us."

"Meh. It wasn't that big a deal," Ace deflected, the redness in his cheeks having nothing to do with the desert heat. "There wasn't really anything to do at home besides play video games anyway."

"Besides, we told you to message us if anything came up. It's not like we could just ignore you," Deuce added.

Grim gave both of them an unamused look. "Seriously? You guys can't just drop the posturin' for one day?"

"Alright. I say it's time we crack this party up a notch!" Kalim announced. "Bring on the food and crank up the music, guys! We're gonna make this the best holiday ever!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from the Scarabia students as just about everyone began to party even harder. Jamil looked on with a flat look on his face that was beginning to become characteristic for him. "I am surrounded," The tiniest of smiles graced his lips, "by simpletons."

"Pining again, are we?" Azul asked as he and Jade made their way over to Jamil.

Jamil tore his eyes away from Devon as she swam in the oasis with Floyd and several Scarabia students. Apparently she'd been wearing a two piece swimsuit under her Scarabia dorm uniform courtesy of Zephyr and the vice dorm head wasn't sure if he should be thanking the Wind Wisp or cursing them since it was even harder for him to look at anything else, a sentiment several other seemed to share. "Isn't there someone else you can annoy?" Jamil asked, annoyed.

"Not at the moment," Azul said with a shrug. "Even if there were, I doubt they'd be anywhere near as interesting as that blatantly enamored look on your face."

"Indeed. It's such a shame you can't get close to Devon now," Jade agreed with an expression of feigned sympathy. "I'm certain she's told her two Heartslabyul friends all about what happened. No doubt they'll be even more protective of her going forward, especially Ace."

Jamil rolled his eyes, using all his strength to hold himself back from pushing past the two mermen and moving somewhere else. "Yes, I'm certainly he will. And I'm sure he'll have plenty to complain about now that he knows I kissed Devon before he could."

"Ah, yes, we heard about that," Jade said. "Quite the cunning move. I doubt even Azul is capable of that sort of manipulation. I would be commending you for it if you hadn't done to someone we consider a friend."

"So what, is this some kind of shakedown? You're here to chew me out about toying with Devon's feelings?" Jamil asked.

"Perish the thought!" Azul replied. "There's no need for us to make you feel any more miserable than you clearly already do. I can't imagine how awful it must be to have Devon so close but not be able to get near her."

"Besides, there's no need for us to act on Devon's behalf," Jade added. "I'd say she already paid you back with some manipulation of her own during your Overblot."

Jamil narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

"Just that Devon makes for a wonderful distraction," Jade replied as he pulled out his phone. After a moment of scrolling, he turned the screen around and held it out toward Jami with a smile on his face. "See for yourself."

Jamil's eyes widened when he saw the picture on Jade's phone. He had no memory of what had happened during his Overblot, but the figure with the snakes for hair was definitely him and that was definitely Devon straddling his lap and he definitely had his tongue down her throat. He stood frozen, gaping at the picture for a moment, before pulling his hood down as his face began to grow warmer. "When did- How did you…?" He stammered, torn between feeling intrigued and mortified.

"As I said, Devon makes for a wonderful distraction," Jade repeated as he put his phone away.

Jamil turned away from the pair and his eyes automatically found Devon again. It seemed she was taking a break from swimming to grab something to drink and rest for a moment. His eyes narrowed when Ace practically materialized next to her as soon as she sat down, even moreso when he saw the smile Devon sent the redhead as he sat down next to her.

"Are you sure you're okay, New York?" Ace asked as he sat down with Devon. He and Deuce had long since taken off their winter jackets and sweatshirts in favor of the t-shirts underneath. "It sounds like you and Grim went through a lot over the past few days."

"Pfft. Understatement of the century," Devon snarked before giving Ace a reassuring smile. "We'll be okay, though. And hey, now I can cross 'get kidnapped' off my bucket list so…silver lining and all that. If anything it's the emotional pain that's getting to me after all that."

"Yeah…," Ace replied, unsure of how to respond. He couldn't deny that he was celebrating on the inside just a little to see that Devon wasn't on speaking terms with Jamil, but it was hard to be happy about it when he could tell how upset she was about it, no matter how well she masked it. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, Devon. If I'd be faster, maybe we could've-"

"Stop," Devon cut in immediately. "Don't do that to yourself, Ace. Don't beat yourself up. You and Deuce made it back here as fast as you could. Back to an extremely remote island. Without a mirror portal. During the holidays when you could've just stayed with your families. I don't think I know anybody who would go that far for their friends, but you two did it without a second thought." She rested her head against Ace's shoulder. "Thank you for coming back for us, Ace. Thank you for coming back for me."

Ace could feel his cheeks get warm again leaned closer, brushing his lips against the crown of Devon's head before resting his cheek against it. "Don't mention it, New York. You know there's nothin' I won't do for you."

After the party at Scarabia finally wound down, Devon, Grim, Ace, and Deuce made their way to Ramshackle. It was now early evening and the sun was casting its light off the snow still blanketing the main campus. Devon had offered to let Ace and Deuce stay the night at Ramshackle, but Deuce had told that, while he appreciated the offer, he didn't want his mother to be alone for any longer than she had to be over the holidays. To that end, Devon let him borrow the Ramshackle staff and Flapjack's magic to warp himself home. Ace, meanwhile, took Devon up on her offer to stay over and would warp home in the morning.

"Phew," Grim sighed in relief as the Ramshackle gate came into view. "We finally made it back to our own dorm."

Devon smiled as the Wisps flew out of her staff and back to the dorm. She could feel Regina's warmth as the doors and window shutters flew open and closed as if they were waving excitedly. She and the boys couldn't help but laugh as they waved back. "It really is good to be back, huh?"

The Ramshackle ghosts emerged from the building a second later, drawn out by all the commotion Regina was causing. They broke into smiles upon seeing Grim and the two teens. "Heya, kiddos!" the short ghost greeted.

"I never thought I'd say this, but after livin' the prison life, those ghosts are downright precious," Grim said.

The chubby ghost flew over and wrapped Devon and Grim up in a big bear hug. "You two were away for so long, I was startin' to wonder if you were gone gone, you know? We were all worried half to death. Heh heh!"

"It's such a relief to see you both safe and sound!" the skinny ghost cried as he and the short ghost joined in on the hug.

"And don't worry, we took care of tending to the fairy fairies in the cafeteria fireplace while you were out," the short ghost assured them as everyone pulled back from the hug.

"Myah?!" Grim exclaimed as he shared a look with Devon. "Crud! We totally forgot about that!"

"Well, we weren't about to spend our holiday in an icebox, you know," the chubby ghost remarked.

"And by the way, there's a whole spread of food here waiting for you, courtesy of the headmaster," the skinny ghost informed them.

"Myah-ha!" Grim cheered. "Didja hear that, guys?! We're gettin' our feast after all! C'mon, let's go check it out!"

Grim, Ace, and the ghosts headed inside to take a look at the food the headmaster had had delivered to them, but Devon hung back on the front doorstep for a moment. She stared out at the snow-covered campus and took a deep breath of the cold fresh air…

…Only for a pair of deep red eyes to appear suddenly in front of her, causing her to squawk in surprise and fall onto her butt in the snow.

"Ah, you're finally back, I see," Lilia said, smiling down at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "It's good to see you again, Devon."

"Dang, Lilia, you nearly scared me outta my skin," Devon said, standing back up as Lilia righted himself in the air.

"Keh heh," Lilia chuckled. "And I'll continue to surprise you as long as you keep providing me with such entertaining reactions, little bat." His smile became less mischievous and more sincere. "I'm sure you already know this by now, but I was able to ascertain your Mala's true identity."

Devon giggled. "Yeah, I heard. It's still a little hard for my brothers and me to wrap our heads around. I mean, we've had time to adjust to the fact that Mala was most likely fae since our blessings really began to show themselves, but I'm pretty sure finding out she was a queen blew us outta the water all over again." She smirked. "My brothers also told me that you went with her when she came to explain everything to my family. I know you didn't really get a chance to see much of it, but what did you think of my world?"

Lilia beamed. "Oh, I thought it was absolutely delightful! I'd have happily spent the entire winter break there if I could have. Your family was most welcoming and your home was nothing short of lovely. My time there was brief, but it was just enough to whet my appetite for more." His eyes lit up as he remembered the details of his excursion with DJ and Dominic. "My excursion to Target with your brothers was quite the treat as well. DJ was kind enough to show me some of the music that's popular in your world. Once the new term starts, I plan on introducing the Pop Music Club to this "T-Swift" DJ says you're all so fond of."

"Why am I not surprised DJ introduced you to Taylor Swift?" Devon replied as she rolled her eyes playfully. "He's definitely the biggest Swiftie of the three of us. I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you're helping make a name for her in Twisted Wonderland. I bet Cater and Kalim would really like her music too." She gave him a grateful smile. "Y'know, I'm really happy to see and hear from you, but you didn't need to make a special trip here just to tell me that. I didn't mean to take you away from your family."

"Oh, that wasn't the only reason I've been popping by hoping to find you," Lilia told her. "I've actually come to deliver some things to you. First," Lilia snapped his fingers and a bundle of cloth appeared between them, "a gift from Queen Maleficia herself."

Devon pulled back the cloth carefully to reveal the large stone tucked inside. "Is this a Sending Stone? It's huge!"

Lilia nodded. "Mmhmm! It's been specially enchanted by the queen herself. All you have to do is place it near the mirror in your dorm room. I think you'll be quite elated when you see what it can do. I also have a holiday greeting card for you, courtesy of a certain someone." He pulled out an envelope that had been closed with a golden seal and handed it to Devon. "It appears he's rather miffed that he wasn't invited to any festivities again this year, so if you happen to put together anything special with your friends, I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you extended him an invitation as well."

'I'm sure I'd love to have him…if only I knew who the heck you were talkin' about,' Devon thought.

"Anyway, I'd best be getting back home," Lilia continued. He patted her head with a grin. "Here's wishing you and yours a pleasant holiday, Devon. I'll see you after the break."

"Bye, Lilia. And thank you," Devon replied. She pulled Lilia into a quick hug before he vanished in a familiar spray of twinkling lights. Once they faded, she turned the envelope over in her hands before opening it. The card inside was decorated with what appeared to be a large, imposing castle (not unlike the Diasomnia dorm building, actually) against a light green backdrop. There was no signature on the card but the initials 'M.D.' were written on the back of the envelope. Devon quirked a brow, perplexed. "M.D.?"

"Oi, Dev!" Grim called out from inside Ramshackle, drawing Devon's attention away from the card and its mysterious sender. "You'd better get your butt in here or Ace and I are gonna eat this whole feast ourselves!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin!" Devon called back as she headed inside.

After everyone had eaten their fill and marveled over the stack of gifts that had arrived for Devon and Grim (mostly Devon) from their friends, Grim and Ace were sleeping off their food comas in the lounge. Devon, curious about the Sending Stone Lilia had given her, made her way up to her room.

"Okay… All I have to do if set this near the mirror, so why do I feel so nervous?" she asked herself as she did as instructed. After a moment, the stone began to glow in a similar manner to the way the one of her bracelet did when it was connected her with her brothers. Soon enough, the mirror began to glow and revealed the grey fog that normally appeared whenever Mickey was about to make an appearance. The mouse's familiar silhouette didn't appear to her this time, though, and she wondered what it was the mirror was going to show her. After a moment, the fog began to clear and Devon's eyes immediately filled with tears when she saw what was on the other side.

Elena sighed as she looked around her daughter's bedroom. DJ and Dominic were both out with their friends and Angelo hadn't come home from work at the hospital quite yet. She knew her family looked to her for strength so she tried not to let them see just how much Devon being shunted to another world was effecting her, but it was clear as day that she missed her baby girl. Coming up here and being surrounded by Devon's things made it slightly more bearable so she'd taken to coming up to Devon's room as frequently as she could. She knew her husband and sons did the same thing, as did her niece Valentina whenever she and Monique stopped by to visit.

Elena smiled sadly as she caught sight of the stuffed black and purple dragon toy on Devon's bed. She'd won it on a trip to Coney Island when she was a little girl and refused to part with it. If Elena looked carefully, she could see the barely visible stitches where she-and later Devon once she was old enough to learn how to sew-had patched the dragon up when it was torn. She picked the toy up and hugged it to her chest as she felt her eyes begin to water. "Come home soon, mija. I miss you so much, my sweet girl…"

As soon as the words left her lips, the Sending Stone that Mala had left with during her visit began to glow and a swirling grey fog could be seen in the mirror attached to Devon's dresser. Setting the dragon toy back down, Elena made her way over to the dresser to try to get a sense of what was happening. She and the rest of the family had been in Devon's room plenty of times since they'd placed the stone there, but this was the first time any sort of reaction had occurred. Eventually, the fog began to part and Elena's hand flew up to cover her mouth as she struggled to keep her tears from falling freely.

Devon stared back at her on the other side of the mirror, looking just as shocked and with eyes just as watery. Neither could say a word for a moment, but Devon finally managed a weak smile.

"Hi, Mama."

Ending Notes: I honestly don't think I could've planned that better if I tried. The one hundredth chapter is going to feature Devon finally, finally catching up with her parents! And they get to meet Grim and Ace, too! I've been planning this moment out since before I started writing this story, but it was pure coincidence that it ended up coming up so close to the hundredth chapter. Once I realized, I couldn't resist. There's going to be another surprise with the Sending Stone's enchantment too. I won't say anything more except that it's going to open up a lot of interesting possibilities for Devon. I hope you guys are looking forward to what comes next!

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!