Lost in Another World: Chapter 2: World of Two Moons

The light faded around Flint and Rose Thorn. He had wrapped his arms around her and they had hit the ground hard, but the grass felt soft underneath them. Wait, what grass? They had been on the roof of the skating rink; how could they land on grass? Flint looked down and found himself on top of Penny; she was lying on her stomach. He hoped she hadn’t done any damage to her face, since their cuts and bruises didn’t always heal with the Elements Repair. He stopped for a second - Penny? He had jumped to project Rose Thorn, not Penny. Something had gone wrong. "Rose! Your Identity! I'll cover you!" He tried to cover more of her body.

"Andrew?" Her voice was so soft he almost missed it. Then he realized what she had also just realized - he was covering her with his arm, not his shield. She gently brushed her fingers against his skin, right over the spot where his Element should have been. He inhaled sharply and she quickly moved her hand away. His skin burned at her touch. He moved his arm to get a better look at his wrist and saw…a bruise? He wasn't sure; it was black and a grey that almost looked silver. He grimaced. It reminded him of Metallic Owl; was this part of her plan - to separate the heroes from one another? Then why use Jaded?

"Andrew," Penny spoke again. "Move my hair out of the way." It wasn't a question, and her voice shook as she spoke. Andrew did as she said, which was simple because her hair was already pulled back in a clip. As he lifted her hair from her ear, she tilted her head so he could get a better look. He gasped; the place where her cuff had sat was darker than his wrist. He didn't dare touch it. Was it because she had been the team’s leader? Was it because she had spent the most time talking to her Element, trying to figure out how to stop and catch Owl?

"Oh, Pen." He hugged her close.

"Andy, where are we?" He could tell she was fighting back tears.

"I guess I should let you up and we will go find out together, eh?" He carefully stood up, not wanting to knee her in the back. As he stood, he offered her a hand in a dramatic fashion similar to one of their old dance routine starting positions.

"What, are we back in dance class?" she teased. Picking herself up off the ground and taking his hand, she did a little jump and a twirl, which gave them both a laugh.

"Seemed like a good time for a laugh. Wasn't dance class one of our parent's ploys to get us wed?" Andrew smiled at the memory of the two of them when they were younger.

"That, and to give me more grace." Pen struck a pose, but suddenly her face went from a smile to shock. "Andrew, I don't think we are in Arcadia anymore." She pointed and Andrew turned to see what she was pointing at. "I'm not even sure we are in our world anymore…."

Andrew saw it - two moons hung in the sky, and he guessed that they must run parallel to each other. "Well, you should turn and see what I was looking at." So they both turned and saw a beautiful, almost Victorian-style home, surrounded by a lovely farmyard. "Should we head there and see if we can find answers?"

"I don't think we have any other choices. I don't think this is the work of Owl." Soon as Penny said that, her eyes lit up in fear. "Andrew! What are our friends going to do without us?" She started to hyperventilate.

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Pen, stay with me. Breathe for me. Listen to me. Knowing Sophie and Trevor, they grabbed our Elements and became Rose Mage and Ice Phoenix. And if this is the work of Metallic Owl, we won't be here for long. If it’s not, you know they will try to find a way to get us back."

He watched as her breathing slowed.

"You're right." She chuckled. "Rose Mage and Ice Phoenix… I like that. But Andrew, I meant it. I really don't think this is the work of Owl. Don’t you think Trevor would have told me or you about something like this from his experience under Owl's control?" She shook at that memory; she’d become Frosted Rose that day, and she never wanted to do that again.

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Andrew sighed and chuckled at the same time. "Well, let's go." He offered her his arm. There would be time for crying and breaking down later. Right now he needed to be strong for both his sake and Pen’s.

Fortunately, it seemed like they had been dropped at the edge of this homestead, so it was a short walk to the door. Penny knocked and a man dressed in a casual suit opened the door.

He smiled at them. "I was wondering how much longer we'd have to wait. Please come in and I will explain everything." He opened the door wider and welcomed them in. "Betty, love! The new Eathers are here! Please bring a tray of hot drinks for them." He ushered them into what looked like a den or foyer. "Please sit."

Andrew looked at Penny, sensing that they both felt unsure, but they sat anyway. "My, dude…oh um, sorry…. Sir?” Andrew realized ‘dude’ might not be the best way to address this man. “Who are you? Where are we? Why are we here?"

"Please, no need for formalities. I only dress this way because it's Betty's favourite style. I will answer all your questions in a moment but first, won’t you tell me about yourselves? While we wait for Betty to join us." He leaned back as if welcoming them to talk.

Andrew looked to Penny, who simply shrugged. "Well, my name is Penny, and I love photography. I even have a little business on the side. I'm nineteen and supposed to graduate in three months." She shifted uneasily. Andrew knew she was trying to look brave and put together.

"I'm Andrew. I love the piano and have been playing it since I was little. Same age and grad date.” He took his hat off and fiddled with it.

The man’s eyes lit up. “You two know each other then?”

Penny looked up at Andrew. “Yeah, we’ve been best friends for as long as we can remember.”

“And Pen and I have also been dancing together since we started school,” Andrew added.

“So are you two lovers then?” The man gave them a cheeky smile.

Penny giggled. "No, much to our parents’ dismay. We do each have a lover though. We all started dating around the same time; we’re all one big friend group…kind of inseparable."

"We are also superheroes back in Arcadia - the four of us together, that is - and we’ve been doing that for four years now," Andrew added. Seeing as their Elements were gone, he gathered that superheroes didn’t exist here.

"It requires the magic of the Elements." Penny looked at the man like she was studying his reaction.

"Ah, that makes this all the more interesting then. I assume that’s what those nasty bruises are from?"

They exchanged a glance and nodded.

Just then, a woman entered with a tray of drinks. She wore what Andrew assumed was a casual dress. He would have to ask Penny about it later since she spent more time with Sophie when it came to the designing parts of fashion.

"Hello, young ones, I'm Betty, married to that one…we have tea, coffee, hot chocolate and warm milk. Enjoy.” She sat down next to her husband and everyone quietly made themselves a drink.

"Okay, allow me to explain, and then you can ask questions, alright?" When they nodded, the man continued. “My name is Jonathan, and I ran the homestead on behalf of the Earthers. That's what we call people from your dimension, Dimension 332. You are now in Dimension 652, also known as Twin Crescent. And once per generation for us, two people from your world come into our world. We don't really know why, it just happens. Or fully know how much time has passed in your world, every time it seems to be different."

"Has anyone ever made it back to Dimension 332?" Pen interrupted.

Jonathan looked down. "No, never."

Both Penny and Andrew gasped. Andrew impulsively reached out to take Pen's hand. She squeezed it.

"I won't tell you not to be sad,” Jonathan continued. “Please, mourn the life you lost, but please don't hide away from us, waiting for someone to save you." He looked back up at them with great sadness in his eyes.

"You speak like you've seen this, but you can't be more than five to ten years older than us…?" Andrew couldn’t help but ask.

"Yes, you see, my grandmother married one of the Earthers. She was one of the few people to do so. You see, historically they end up with each other. No one else can relate to their life experiences, so it just happens. But not always. The woman who came over with my grandfather had been the daughter of people who held the two of Elements you speak off, and she believed without a doubt they would come to save her. She died waiting. I only met her once; I was just five when she passed. I don’t know if her parents got close to crossing the line between worlds, we never saw them."

"Oh." Pen leaned on Andrew this was becoming a lot already. If past holders of the Elements couldn’t bring their child back, what chance did Sophie and Trevor have?

"I know this is a lot and I want to give you time to process. But I’ll tell you the good news before we find you a bed to rest your head. The very first people who came over were smart. They started this homestead; it provides grain for the planet, and my family has been managing the homestead on behalf of the Earthers for years now. The place employs several families; all of them are willing to do a number of jobs. So you two can have whatever life you want, you could live like royalty if you like. Or, there are a few unoccupied apartments, and townhouses you can choose from. But for tonight, we have several guest rooms in this house.” Jonathan smiled at them softly.

Andrew and Penny looked at Jonathan, dumbfounded. This was a lot to take in.

Andrew spoke first. "So basically, we have inherited a fully-functioning farm that we don't have to work unless we want to?"

"Yep, you are rich now, and no one minds much because this homestead does so much for the people here.” Betty, who had been very quiet for this whole conversion, spoke up. She gave them each a comforting smile, then moved to clean up the drinks. “And it's not like you got a choice in this matter, so it's the least we can do for you. Now, I'm sure you have any questions, but I think it would be best if I let you two have some space to talk to each other and get some rest so that you can face the world tomorrow."

Jonathan quickly led them into a large room that had a bed, a sofa and an ensuite. He gave them a small smile and left them with one final reminder. “Take as much time as you need. Honestly, very few people rush into this new life, and most take months to accept it. We move at your pace."

Once the door was closed on their temporary bedroom, Andrew and Penny both sat on the floor.

"Andy?" Penny’s voice was tight like she was trying not to cry. "Can we break down now?"

"Yes Pen, we can." They silently let the tears fall.

"Andy, we are never going back, are we?" She looked at him, tears rolling down her face.

"Hey now. Sure, he said no one's ever left, but Arcadia needs Rose Thorn to lead their superhero team. Sophie, Trevor, and The Elements will do everything they can to get us back."

A knock at the door interrupted them.

“Come in,” Andrew called.

"Here is your snack tray." Betty placed the tray on the long, low dresser in the room. She left quickly, clearly trying to give them their space.

Andrew looked at the clock. "Look, I know it's only 6 pm here, but I'm beat, and I bet you are too. So unless you’re hungry, I say we go to bed. Whenever we wake up in the morning we’ll talk about this, but for now, I say we sleep."

Penny yawned, then sniffed back a few more tears. "I think that's a really wise idea."

Andrew stood up. "Let's see if they’ve got some PJs in this place, because - I don't know about you, but - these clothes feel gross."

"On that, I agree." After Penny stood, Andrew opened the top drawer on one side of the dresser and Penny opened the other. They each quickly found a set of PJs to wear. Penny let him change in the bathroom, and he didn’t argue. He put his clothes in a neatly folded pile; after all, he wanted to be neat if Pen came in here. He walked out and found her in a ball on the floor; the nightgown she chose made her look so small. She was shaking, crying. He crouched behind her, took her hair clip out, and ran his fingers through her hair. Then he mustered the last of his strength, picked her up, and set her on the bed. He could sleep on the sofa for the night.

"Andy, can we share a bed? It seems big enough…. I don't want to sleep alone." Penny's voice was soft but heavy. Andrew could tell she was ready to break; if he was honest, so was he.

"I’m not going anywhere, Pen." Andrew smiled at his best friend. He turned off the light and crawled into bed.

Once he was under the covers, Pen lay on her back, giving him space on the bed. But after a moment he heard her sobbing, so he rolled over to face her and noticed her body was shaking. He moved closer, offered her a hand, and hummed softly. He waited until her crying stopped, and her breathing evened out. About an hour later she was asleep. With his job of protecting done, Andrew finally fully broke, and he cried himself to sleep.