Thora's siblings didn't need to be told twice. They fled up the stairs as something got out of the ship. They heard windows breaking downstairs as Thora popped open the secret panel and pushed her siblings into the tunnel. She replaced it behind them as they climbed down a ladder in the dark. "Ow! Lidy stepped on my head!" Cal yelped. "Shh!" Thora pushed the door open and they stepped onto the balcony. "Down the stairs!" She whispered. She found the right umbrella pole and they raced down another set of stairs to where a lot of ships were. Thora found one that looked just like the one from her other dream. "This one!" She pulled open the blast door and strapped both Lidy and Cal to the copilot seat before sealing the door and turning the ship on. A big bay door opened in front of them as she put the ship into takeoff mode. She exited the landing bay with ease. It was just like how she remebered from her dream. But where should she go? She put the ship in orbit mode while she tried to figure out the navigation system, until the roaring of another engine caught her attention. "Thora! He's coming!" Thora pushed on the pedal and pushed the lever all the way back. The ship shot forward. He chased them through the asteroids. Flying was hard! Thora almost hit an asteroid several times, but she did manage to pull off the barrel roll, swooping beneath an asteroid. "Thora! He's behind us!" Cal yelled. "I know!" They all screamed as the ship was hit by a blast from behind. "He's shooting at us!" Thora yelled. "See if you can find a button about shooting in ours!" "This one says bomb! Is that what you want?" Lidy asked. "Uh, maybe not! Anything else?" "OoOoh, Rear turrets!" Cal cried. He pressed a few buttons and it opened up a view from the rear of the ship and aiming guides. Cal swiveled the aiming controls and punched the button, sending a blast straight into their attackers' windshield. It went zooming away and crashed on an asteroid. "This is just like Warbird Simulator 3! I've always wanted to fly a real one!" Cal said, delighted. "Uh, but don't tell Mommy that Daddy lets me play it with him." Thora laughed. "You got him! We're safe now." "Can we go back?" "Uhh..." Thora pulled the ship up and looked around. "I don't know where we are. And I don't know how to work navigation." "Oh. We should just fly around until we find one of those temples!" "Hm. Good idea. The people there can help us." Thora flew around slowly. "There! That's a temple. It looks kinda like one at least. Maybe there'll be someone there who can help us." Suddenly she realized, "Uh... how do I land this?" "You know how to fly it, but not how to land it?" "Yeah..?" In her dream the woman had landed it, not Thora, or, well, young Mama. Hadn't she pushed a button near takeoff mode? Yes, there it was. Landing mode. Thora clicked it, and the ship slowly descended to the ground. They got out, Thora double-checking that she had her sidearm. "Wow. That was crazy. Let's see if there's any techeuns in here that can help us get home." The tower was huge and tall. Thora wasn't sure but perhaps it was called the Watchtower? And the inside was confusing, but Thora vaguely knew the way to the top, from her dreams. It took them almost twenty minutes to get all the way up there, and when they did, there was no one. Suddenly, Thora heard the voice speak. Not in her head, but aloud. "Welcome, children," it purred. Lidy and Cal looked around, confused, as light flashed, and they were all standing in the place where Thora had first talked to Riven. Riven towered over them, monstrous. Lidy and Cal screamed. "Stay calm!" Thora cried. "Don't want anything! She can use the things you want to make herself more powerful!" "How do we get out of here?" Lidy said, her voice wobbling with the effort of not panicking. "Last time I wished myself out!" [i]That won't work this time, child. I am prepared for your efforts. There is no way to escape this, for you are here in your own mind. Even now my agents are binding you and carrying you away, like the helpless children that you are. Soon you will see the darkness of the Scarlet Keep.[/i] "Then we'll go somewhere else!" Thora cried. If this was just in their head, maybe she could get into Daddy's dreams again. She picked up Cal and grabbed Lidy's hand, trying to make a thread of all the things connecting them, like Mara had said. A trail of light appeared and Thora raced down it. Riven roared in anger, chasing them down. Thora ran through the dark, misty hills until she saw her old house at the bottom. Daddy was standing there again. "Daddy!" She yelled. "Help us!" "Thora?" "Hi," she said breathlessly, stumbling over her words as Lidy and Cal jumped on him, squealing. "Riven captured us and she's capturing us. I mean, she made us go to sleep and someone else is tying us up for her. That is, we were at the watchtower but she trapped us in her mind and her agents are kidnapping our real bodies!" "Where are they taking you?" "Some place called the Scarlet Keep!" Daddy nodded hard. "I'll be there as fast as I can!" He took a deep breath and disappeared. Riven roared behind them, catching them in her claws. They all screamed again. "Queensblood is strong in you," Riven snarled. "You're more dangerous in this state, apparently." Thora opened her eyes, groaning. She and Lidy and Cal were in a cage on a ship of monsters. Cal whimpered and Lidy began to cry. Thora put her arms around them and pulled them close. "It's okay," she whispered, "Daddy's coming. We're gonna be okay."