Lost in Another World: A Choice Made

They were going to go home. They waved goodbye to Twin Crescent and stepped through the portal. A white light engulfed them and they were back in Arcadia, standing on the rink where they had been taken from so many years ago. If Andrew remembered correctly, they had left Arcadia in the late evening, and it was now mid-morning. The first thing he heard was Penny's horrified scream. He looked over at her and saw why she was panicking - they were teenagers again. Her baby was gone…his baby was gone...

Flame, we were... Wait, he could still hear her? He didn't have time to answer; they were wrapped in a group hug. He still was blinded by the white light and he could only hope that Pen could see better than he could.

"Thank the Elements, it worked!" Trevor's voice filled his ears.

"You're both okay!" Sophie's voice followed.

Trevor and Sophie pulled them each close and kissed their partners. Both Andrew and Pen were too stunned to really react.

The voice of the Element hit his ears. "Kids, give them some room. They did just come back from who-knows-where."

Andrew reached for his wrist but his bracelet wasn’t there. But…he could hear the Element? How? Was it because he had been wearing it when he left?

Penny's hand still rested on her stomach. "What? How?"

Trevor took her hands in his. "Oh my flower, you would have been proud! Sophie and I used your Elements and saved the day, and after the repair didn't bring you two back, the Elements remembered something like this happening years ago and started from there, and it only took them a few tries before they got it. It worked kind of like willing you to back here, and we need you two to save Arcadia."

"Can we have our Elements back?" Andrew was numb; he needed Flicker back and could see from looking at Pen that she felt the same.

"Oh yes!" Sophie handed them back their jewellery.

It was the first time they'd both looked down. Andrew was back in the clothes he'd turned into rags years ago. His old clothes didn't feel right. Would that fade in time? With his bracelet back on, it was like Flicker knew everything that had happened to him in the last "several hours." Andrew couldn’t explain why he felt that his element knew - it was just a feeling, which brought him peace. Flicker said nothing; they would talk later when they were alone.

"Look, I'd love to hear more of this story later, but right now I want my mom. This whole thing has been a lot, can we go home?" Penny looked up at Trevor.

Andrew fought the urge to go and hold her. He was Sophie's boyfriend again, not Pen's husband.

"That's actually wise. We told your parents that Trevor had managed to get permission for a sleepover, so going home sounds like a good idea. And you two probably need some space, so let's get together on Sunday?" Sophie smiled and took Andrew's hand. "Let me walk you home?" He could only nod.

Meet me on the roof of the Art Gallery tonight. Penny walked away with Trevor.

***

Pen kissed Trevor’s cheek, walked into her house, and collapsed onto the floor crying. Her parents came running from the kitchen. “Penny, what's the matter!" Her mother held her close.

"Did something happen at your sleepover, sweetheart?" her father placed a hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head. All the old smells of home hit her; the love of her parents overwhelmed her. All the things she'd never thought she'd see again were in front of her once more. She looked up at them. "You'll never believe me." She curled into herself. She wanted Andrew; she wanted to mourn the loss of their child.

Her parents shared a look, then looked at their daughter. "Tell you what, we'll call in some extra staff and join you upstairs, and end our shift a bit early and you can tell us everything upstairs." Her mom smiled at her. “See you there in thirty minutes?”

Penny could only nod. She stood tall and shared a small smile with her parents, then headed up to their living room. She didn't sit; rather she wandered around the room and looked at everything. How could it be? She'd been gone for eight years.

She tapped her Element. "Shrub?" It was almost odd to have her Element back and to talk to her.

"Yes, Penny?" Shrub's voice felt warm and like coming home.

"You know what happened to me, don't you?" Penny picked up a photo that she had taken “two weeks ago.” Her mother had wanted a print of it but that felt like years ago. Her skills were far better now….

"Oh, Penny…" Shrub seemed to want to say more, but Penny’s parents came into the room.

The family sat together. Penny took a deep breath. "I've been gone for eight years. So was Andrew, we went to this place called Twin Crescent..." Pen told them the whole story, mostly. She left out the soul names part because that one barely made sense to her. She also left out the Elements bringing them back thing and said it must have been some fluke. "Mom?” She looked at her mom with tears in her eyes. “Andy and I…we…we were going to have a baby…" She cried again, falling into her mother's arms.

"Oh, honey..." Her mother pulled her in close. "How soon?"

"I was eight months." She felt her mom’s strength fill her.

Her father's strong arms held them both. "I’m so sorry, my little girl…"

She looked up at both her parents. "Why do you believe me? It sounds crazy."

"You're our daughter, and we noticed you didn't act like yourself as soon as you walked in. Yes, you look like you, but you carry yourself like a much older woman - you carry yourself with more confidence than you did yesterday." Her mom smiled softly.

"And when your mother was pregnant she always had her hand on her stomach just like that." Her dad pointed to her hand.

Penny blushed and moved her hand away. "I'll have to break that habit quickly."

"What are you two going to do?" Her mom took her hand and rubbed the back of it.

"We don't know, we haven't told them yet, we are going to call tonight and sort it out. Because, how could we explain it? It’s hard for us to understand…” She paused. “Do you mind if I go to my room and rest? My head is spinning and I want to think through some stuff before Andrew and I phone." She stood, giving each of her parents a hug.

"Of course, sweetheart. Your father and I were going to go out tonight, is that okay?" Her mom took her hand one more time.

"Of course, Mama." Pen walked to her room and fell into her bed.

She lay there for a moment, then tapped her earring to talk to Shrub. “Why did I lose my baby?" She let her tears fall.

Shrub's voice sounded sad. "Sophie and Trevor willed back the you they knew, not the you who was there."

"So the price for their longings was Andrew’s and my life, and now we have to hold on to the memories..." Pen cried softly.

Shrub said nothing, letting her cry. The Elements were not the best at dealing with human emotions. In all their years, Penny had never known Shrub to have wise words for emotional moments, but it was nice to know she was there and they were doing this together. After a while, Shrub spoke and shared some news with her. "I have something to tell you, Penny." Penny sat up waiting to hear more. "Because you’re grown up - even if it's just in your mind - you and Andrew will have new superhero outfits. Would you like to see yours?"

Penny jumped up. “Oh please!” She tapped her Element twice, and the warmth and safety of the Element magic filled her. Rose Thorn's costume no longer looked like she was wearing a dance leotard. She walked toward her mirror. "Whoa!" She was wearing a jumpsuit that reminded her of her hero costume in Twin Crescent.

The main bodice of the jumpsuit was a halter top with a sweetheart neckline. The jumpsuit pant legs ended around her ankles and looked deceptively like a skirt. Her suit was no longer brown, but a dark green. Just like before, she had a rose belt at her waist, her vine lasso still at her hip. Her red roses were now yellow, her favourite. The vines that once wrapped around her body were gone; instead, on her dominant arm, she had something like a vine tattoo going from her wrist to her elbow. Her mask stayed the same and her hair was still in a bun with roses at the base. She felt not only pretty but also confident and ready for the fight.

She took a breath and tapped her Element again, the weight of everything that had happened hitting her. Penny knew there would be time to celebrate the new costume later and learn about all the changes; but for now, she cried, mourning the loss of what she had had.

Just as dusk started to settle over Arcadia, she and Andrew met at the top of the Art Gallery, out of sight of people. She stood and looked at Andrew. He hadn't seen her yet, so she took a second to take him in. Gone was his old Flint costume.

He stood tall. His costume also looked more like his costume from Twin Crescent; he had on a black dress shirt, and when she looked closely she could see an iridescent thread that ran through the material. That thread went from yellow to orange to red. He wore charcoal pants that remind her of the many suits he’d gotten used to wearing working in the theatre; his costume was so much simpler now. He moved more comfortably., His firefighter-like visor was gone, replaced with a mask like hers. His shield still sat across his back and looked more like his modified garbage can lid. His sleeves were rolled up and she noticed that, like her, he had a flame tattoo on his dominant arm from his wrist to elbow.

But more than the new costume, she saw what she imagined her parents saw in her - a confidence that didn't belong to a young adult, but rather to a man who had gone through some things. She loved Andrew, but she was a young adult again with a boyfriend who loved her and looked at her like she hung the moon. She knew she and Andrew would always be bonded, but what were they going to do now? They'd been given a chance to live out the ‘what if Trevor and Sophie never came to our school’ storyline; could they go back to their first loves? Like their love never existed? With these thoughts running through her head she decided it was time to let him know she was here. Hey Flame, you looking for me?

He turned to see her and his face lit up. Oh, Petal...