Guess Who's Back

5 years later

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Misha hopped to his feet, and set forward. He dexterously dodged around the pair of giggling toddlers, hoping to avoid their antics. He almost made it to the door when a pair of small red hands grabbed his sleeve. He raised his arm, lifting the young boy into the air.

"Now, what do you think you're doing, Halan?"

The tiefling boy giggled.

"I wanna play, Daddy."

Luckily for him, Stephanie came to the rescue. She scooped the young boy into her arms, raining kisses onto his head. On the ground, the boy's older sister, Emily, reached up towards her playmate.

"Come on Hal, let Daddy get the door."

The boy shifted his attention to his mother, freeing Misha to accomplish his task. Spurred on by the repeated loud knocking, he made his way to the front door, unlocking it with a sigh.

"Relax, you don't have to knock the door down."

He opened it, revealing a scrawny teenage girl with with fluffy pink hair.

"Anaja?!"

She gave a small smile.

"Long time no see, brother."

Anaja sat on the couch, eyeing the members of Misha's family. Two toddlers, both half-demons, a young teenage lamia, and a 19 year old dragon boy. Not to mention the harpy or the human woman.

"You have quite a family."

Misha ignored her statement, getting to the point.

"How did you learn English?"

The thal girl pursed her lips.

"When Thesa burned down, most of us left, taking refuge in the dwarf kingdom. There were some older dwarves who still new Song-ja. They taught us English, and helped us integrate."

"A few weeks ago, a few of us decided to go back to Thesa, see if we could rebuild. But when we got there, we realized our mistake. The rains had quenched the fire, but the ash, its taken on a life of its own. I s-saw-"

The girl's voice shook. Tears leaked from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Misha took his sister's hand.

"Anaja what is it?"

When she spoke, her voice sounded hollow.

"It was a monster. It's skin was black as coal, and it moved like **** itself. I- I'm the only one who made it out. The others didn't believe me. They thought I killed them. So I ran. Through the portal. All the way here."

Misha pulled her into an embrace, shooing away his kids while she wept. Sally picked the younger ones up, and the other two followed her out. Stephanie gave him a supportive smile, and joined the others.

"So much has changed. The old world is different. The gods are all dead. The demon lord is dead."

"I've heard. Things are changing here too. Our worlds are become more alike."

The two sat in silence for a moment, before she spoke.

"I need your help brother. I need you to come with me."

"Anaja, I have a family. A life. I can't just leave."

"I had a fiance. His name was Laro Avan. And whatever that thing is, it killed him. I'm going to make it pay, with or without your help."

She looked up at him with eyes burning with rage. He sighed, remembering when the rage that had consumed him when Sally had died.

"Let me talk to my family."