Chapter 4.8

Welcome back to another chapter of Random Branches. In the last chapter the Immortal Council came up with a plan to rescue the Zenteris. The plan to rescue them got discovered when Iris went for intelligence and the kidnappers upped the stakes. And now on with the story.

“When are you getting better internet, Galactica?” Trip said over comms.

“No time soon. Twinbrook is still in the dark ages,” Adama grumbled.

“Any chance of getting your parents to move?”

“Nope. And watch your six,” Adama said, killing off an enemy that had been trying for Trip.

“When is dad returning home?” Lily asked.

“In a few months,” Adama answered. He hated his dad being away from home for so long. Lily always missed her dad as she was a daddy’s girl. At first Kyle had stepped in and been a second father, but now that Kyle was grown and moved out, the task fell to Adama.

“Ok,” Lily said, “I have to do a project at school about a famous actor or actress. Would it be too easy to pick Grandpa or Grandma?”

“Well, how much would you have to research them versus someone else?”

“About the same, I think. I only got to see the very end of their lives and they were out of the public eye at that point.”

“Then I’d say you’re fine using either Grandpa or Grandma as your report topic. Given what I know of their histories, I’d pick Grandma.”

“Alright, thanks, Adama.”

“Anytime. Now get some sleep.”

Time went by and soon Lily was also a teenager. While she also liked video games, she wasn’t as into them as Adama was. She was more into painting and cop dramas and shows that focused on forensics.

The pair would constantly do their homework together, Adama helping Lily when she had problems. Though that wasn’t often and there was the rare case of Lily helping Adama. Though that was more often with science than anything else. Her love of forensics having sparked hours of extracurricular studying of chemistry.

“Have you decided what you’re doing after graduation?” Adama asked Trip.

“College. Either University of Bridgeport or Sim State University. Both have great business programs. What about you?”

“Thinking of triple majoring in Technology – Video game focus, Fine Arts – 3D modelling focus, and Science & Medicine – Physics focus.”

“You’ve got the money for that, Galactica?”

“Yea. You do remember me saying how rich my grandparents are, right?”

“Doesn’t mean that you’ve got the money for that,” Trip countered.

“I know that not all grandparents are that generous, but mine put money into a trust fund for me and it’s more than enough for what I want to do. And I plan to go to the University of Bridgeport. We could stay in the same dorm or get an apartment together if we both went to University of Bridgeport.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

And that’s it for this chapter! Will Adama find triple majoring easy or will he have to drop a major? Find out in chapters to come!

Progress towards James’ goals:

• Join Military Career – Completed Chapter 4.0
• Level Ten Military Career – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.8
• Max Athletic skill – He’s at level 10, maxed behind the scenes Chapter 4.5
• Max Hardiness skill – He’s at level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.8
• Buy out a business
• Adopt – Achieved Chapter 4.4 when James and Terena adopted Kyle Williams.

Progress toward’s LTW’s

• James – Become Astronaut – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.8
• Terena – Become Chief of Staff – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.8

~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s Note: This is the last chapter focusing on James. If you haven’t caught onto when I switch from one generation to the next, Adama is heir as I switch when the oldest heir becomes a young adult.

Keep in mind that James and Terena still being on here does not mean that they are still alive in the story. I find it hard to kill Sims and therefore don’t. That doesn’t mean that they weren’t story killed. They wouldn’t be the first Rands I story killed. I story killed Kreia. Kreia was an elder in game before I left her save. She would have likely died of old age had their save not glitched out.

Chapter 4.7

Welcome back to another chapter of Random Branches. In the last chapter Kyle learned about why he was adopted and the group interested in keeping the Zenteri curse active have kidnapped the Zenteris who live in Midnight Hollow with the exception of Kyle and Adama.

“So, what’s the plan?” Matias asked.

“Any exceptions to the fairy or witch border, Nicholai?” Alistair asked.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Could Iris slip in in fairy form and trip the spell if it’s there without them knowing?” Alistair asked.

“She could.”

“Iris, go do so. I want to know if we’ve got a powerful group or a group of non-magical occults or possibly even non-occults. If you can get close enough to the windows to see inside do so, Iris. I want intel.” Alistair fumed. Again, someone was messing with his pack.

“Why don’t you just teleport them here like you did us?” Kyle asked.

“Because they’ll keep trying to destroy our family,” a familiar voice said.

Mission, Kyle, and Adama turned to look at who said it.

“Obi? Is that you?” Mission said, “How?”

“Eleanor asked if I wanted her spot since she could no longer hold the position since her grave was destroyed in the war. Said she had been waiting due to my rational head. I couldn’t argue with her reasoning so I agreed.”

“And you haven’t called your sisters for what reason?” Mission said.

“Later you two. Let’s stay focused,” Alistair said.

“Right,” Obi said, “We’d rather deal with them while they’re out in the open than try to find them after they return to hiding.”

The group discussed strategy for hours.

While the council discussed strategy, Mission took Kyle and Adama into the room her brothers slept in as kids.

“Will Mom and Dad be ok, Aunt Mission?” Adama sniffled.

“I hope so, Adama,” Mission said.

“Why don’t you know?” Adama asked.

“Because there are things that even genius aunts don’t know. How about you and Kyle work on your homework and then we’ll go sight seeing.”

Kyle finished his homework and checked his phone. He brushed off his friends wanting to hang out. Then he noticed the email.

We noticed the fairy. You’re wanting to rescue them. Which means you do not plan on complying with the demands. As such, on the hour, every hour one of your parents will eat a bean from the jelly bean bush. In case you’re not aware, most beans on the bush are just fine for eating. But one bean type is deadly. No cure. We’ll stop once one is dead. If they don’t eat a bean, your sister will die instead.

Kyle glanced at Adama and quietly left the room. He didn’t want to lie to Adama, but he didn’t want to tell him that one of his parents will be dead before they can rescue them most likely.

“We’ll rescue them, Kyle,” Alistair said.

“They… they sent me another message,” Kyle said and handed his phone to Alistair.

“NICHOLAI!” Alistair roared.

“What?” Nicholai walked into the family room. The other council members joining him there.

“They put up their own detection spell and they noticed Iris. We’ve got no more time to plan. We go now. Every other hour, either James or Terena will eat a jelly bean from the jelly bean bush.”

“They won’t do that.”

“They will if it will protect their daughter,” Alistair said, “If they don’t eat the bean on their turn the kidnappers will kill Lily.”

“That’s if Max and Leia don’t try to take a turn as well,” Obi said.

“They might not go for that. While everyone would be upset at their loss, they are old,” Nicholai said.

And within five minutes, the Immortal Council had left to rescue the Zenteris.

And that’s it for this chapter! Will they be able to rescue them before either James or Terena dies? Find out in chapters to come.

Progress towards Max’s goals:

• Join Film career (Plumbob Pictures Backlot, may need to place it) – Achieved behind the scenes Chapter 3.1
• Max writing – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.7
• Max charisma – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Become level 5 celebrity – 5 stars – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.13
• Have kid – Achieved Chapter 3.10 with the birth of Hermione
• Reach Level 10 of the Actor branch – Level 10 – Superstar Actor – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes

Progress towards James’ goals:

• Join Military Career – Completed Chapter 4.0
• Level Ten Military Career – Level 7
• Max Athletic skill – He’s at level 10, maxed behind the scenes Chapter 4.5
• Max Hardiness skill – He’s at level 8
• Buy out a business
• Adopt – Achieved Chapter 4.4 when James and Terena adopted Kyle Williams.

Progress toward’s LTW’s

• Leia – Professional Author: Earn $4000 a week in royalties – currently earning $4000+ a week – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Maximus – Superstar Actor – Superstar Actor – Level 10 – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes
• James – Become Astronaut – Level 7

~~~

Author’s Note:

I had had a different plan in place for this initially. Came up after a miscommunication between me and a member of the D.N.A builders with what I had wanted the Zenteri-Rand house in Midnight Hollow to look like. The group was initially going to magic the house to look wildly different as a “we know where you live” ploy before going any further. This would have sparked the final showdown (at least for this generation, I don’t know if they would finished them off or what, I hadn’t planned that far). However, my save has glitched and I need to move them. I can’t enter build/buy mode at all without the game crashing. So before the save gets any more glitchy, I am moving the family.

Chapter 4.6

Welcome back to another chapter of Random Branches! In the last chapter Lily Zenteri was born and Kyle Williams became a teenager. Leia’s remaining brothers and uncle (Canderus, Wolfgang, and Sion) also passed away. And now on with the story.

“Why don’t I live with my biological dad?” Kyle asked, “I know my biological mom’s dead. And Mom and Albus never talked about my biological dad around me, or at least I don’t remember if they did.”

James looked at Terena and sighed. “I don’t know all of the story. Your mom and I weren’t close enough for her to tell me about her ex. Albus likely knows the full story, but he’s busy with the tour for the next few months. So I’ll do the best I can. Ok?”

“Yea.”

“Your parents used to date. You weren’t unwanted. I don’t know if you were planned or not, though. Your parents split up after you were born. Your father starts stalking your mom and harassing her. And the crash that killed your mom was caused by your father. He died in the crash as well.”

“My dad killed my mom?” Kyle’s voiced cracked.

“He did. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. I had hoped he had died in another way. Or was just too busy and didn’t want me that much. Like Albus…”

“Woah. Hold up. Terena and I didn’t adopt you because Albus didn’t want to. Albus tried to adopt you. But Albus isn’t made of money and he had a two bedroom apartment and a job that requires him to move around for months at a time. Social services denied his request to adopt you. He then asked Terena and I to adopt you so that he could still be in your life.”

The two continued to talk and James answered as many questions he could about Kyle’s parents.

A few weeks later and Adama was starting school. It was a few weeks into that school year, when Kyle found a note stuck in his locker at the end of the day. He opened the letter and it read:

We have your parents and grandparents. They’re too happy. We also as a result have your baby sister. We will leave you an orphan again and we’ll make your brother an orphan as well if you do not produce the person or persons who lessened the curse. We’ll kill your baby sister as well. And your grandparents. But we’ll start with your parents. You have one week to do so.

He shakily put his stuff in his back pack and headed outside. He camped on the playground equipment and waited for the elementary school to get out. No way was he going to let Adama walk into the trap at home. Since he had a couple hours to wait, he decided to try to figure out who to go to. Albus was still on tour so he couldn’t go to him. He didn’t have either of his aunts’ phone numbers so he looked on his phone for any family members’ number or address. He’d show up unannounced if he had to.

He dialed the only one he had. Mission McDaniels. He had called her for help on a science project the previous year.

“Hey, Kyle. I’m a bit tied up at work. It’s not a good time,” Mission said.

“I’m sorry, Mission, but this is an emergency. Some guys claiming my parents are too happy have taken them, my grandparents, and Lily hostage. I don’t know what to do. They want me to find out who lessened the curse.”

“What about Adama?”

“He’s at school still. I don’t want Adama to be in the same boat I am, Mission. I can’t let him become an orphan.”

“Orphan? What did that note say?”

“That if I don’t find who lessened the curse and have them at the house then they’ll start killing. And they’ll start with James and Terena. They… they also said, they’d kill Lily.”

“I don’t know for sure who lessened the curse, but I’ve got a good idea who did. We’re going to Moonlight Falls. I’m currently in Bridgeport. You guys still live in Midnight Hollow, right?”

“Yea. Though I think we’re moving soon. James mentioned something about finding a house in Twinbrook.”

“Well, they weren’t talking near Leia then. At Wolfgang’s funeral we got talking about Darius, us old farts at least, with some of the Immortal Council of Moonlight Falls. One of the comments made was that our family used to live in Twinbrook. That that’s where Great-grandpa Sinbad and Great-Grandma Mira were born. Matias, a genie, said that the house wasn’t sold. To reduce the paper trail to the new house in Moonlight Falls. But let’s stay focused on the issue at hand. When does Adama get off from school? 3 pm?”

“Yea. 3 pm. Why?”

“It’s faster if I have us teleported to Moonlight Falls instead of me driving. Moonlight Falls is on the other side of the country. So call me when you get Adama’s attention.”

The two finished the call and hung up.

3 pm didn’t come quick enough for Kyle. Luckily, being so close to the school means that Adama usually walked home unless it was raining and luckily, it wasn’t raining. “Adama,” Kyle said.

“What are you still doing here, Kyle?” Adama asked, “You obviously haven’t gone home since you’re wearing your back pack still.”

“Waiting for you. We’re not going home. Remember the phone calls and letters that would get our parents and grandparents upset?”

“Yea. And what do you mean we’re not going home?”

“Well, the people who made those calls and wrote those letters are at our house. They were nice enough to leave me a note. We’re going to go see some people in Moonlight Falls. I need to text Mission to let her know we’re ready. We’ll figure out what to tell the school when the dust settles. At least we have a couple of days since today’s Friday.” Kyle said and texted Mission.

As soon as Mission got off the phone with Kyle, she told her boss a family emergency had come up and she was going to be gone for unknown amount of time. Then she did a quick prayer that the paparazzi didn’t get wind of this. Things could get ugly if the situation ended up on the news.

She dialed up Nicholai.

“Mission, what do I owe this call to? I would expect your twin over you considering,” Nicholai said.

“Kyle got a note from some guys saying that Leia and Max were too happy and that they’ve taken them hostage. If the person who lessened a curse doesn’t show up within the week at the house, they’ll start killing. They said they’d even kill Lily.”

“Lily? Who’s Lily?”

“James and Terena’s two year old.”

“They’d kill a toddler to make a point?! And give the note to someone whom the curse doesn’t even apply to?”

“Well, the oldest kid not in the house is only five. I’d give it to the thirteen year old myself as well. But yes, they’d kill a toddler. I’m calling now as it’s quicker for you to teleport us in.”

“I’ll have to get permission on Kyle. We haven’t revoked permission on Rands and their decedents. But Kyle doesn’t fit those requirements.”

“He’s a thirteen year old boy, Nicholai. Teleport him anyway and ask for forgiveness. And it’s not like we’re asking him to be able to live there.”

“Fine. Where are Kyle and Adama?”

“Midnight Hollow. But Adama’s still in class. I told Kyle to text when he’s got Adama. I can’t lose my sister, Nicholai.”

“Alright. I’ll wait for your word. And they must be using non-magical creatures. I put up spells that would alert me if a magical creature crossed the barrier. Or they stopped and checked and took mine down before they crossed it. Let’s hope for the former. They’d have to be a powerful witch to take down my spells. I don’t intend on letting her die, Mission.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Mission then went home, explained to Jordan what was going on, and packed her bags. When Kyle texted Mission, she let Nicholai know. And soon she was in Moonlight Falls, in her old house.

And that’s it for the chapter! What will happen to the Zenteris? Will Nicholai be able to get a plan together to save them all? Find out in chapters to come.

Progress towards Max’s goals:

• Join Film career (Plumbob Pictures Backlot, may need to place it) – Achieved behind the scenes Chapter 3.1
• Max writing – Level 6
• Max charisma – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Become level 5 celebrity – 5 stars – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.13
• Have kid – Achieved Chapter 3.10 with the birth of Hermione
• Reach Level 10 of the Actor branch – Level 10 – Superstar Actor – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes

Progress towards James’ goals:

• Join Military Career – Completed Chapter 4.0
• Level Ten Military Career – Level 7
• Max Athletic skill – He’s at level 10, maxed behind the scenes Chapter 4.5
• Max Hardiness skill – He’s at level 8
• Buy out a business
• Adopt – Achieved Chapter 4.4 when James and Terena adopted Kyle Williams.

Progress toward’s LTW’s

• Leia – Professional Author: Earn $4000 a week in royalties – currently earning $4000+ a week – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Maximus – Superstar Actor – Superstar Actor – Level 10 – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes
• James – Become Astronaut – Level 7

Chapter 4.5

Welcome back to another chapter of Random Branches! In the last chapter the family helped Albus begin to cope with the loss of his wife Cassie. They adopted Cassie’s son with her ex from before Albus, Kyle. James and Terena also gave birth to a son they named Adama. At the very end of the chapter Obi Wan Rand passed from old age. And now on with the story!

Life went on at the Zenteri residence. Leia even began to play the guitar, having picked up some of her father’s talent and inheriting Atton’s guitar, not that Atton played it much.

Adama played with his toys and the boxes and bins the toys came in and were stored in. And Kyle doted on his step-brother.

It was a few months after Obi’s death when Terena discovered she was pregnant. It didn’t stop her from helping Adama finish learning to walk.

It was one afternoon shortly after Terena found out she was pregnant when Leia’s cell phone went off.

“Hello,” Leia said, not recognizing the phone number.

“Hey, Leia. It’s Natalia, Canderous’s half-sister.”

“How did you get this number?” Leia asked.

“Looking at Canderous’ contacts,” Natalia said, “I’m calling because he passed away yesterday morning. He went to bed and never got up.”

Max heard the how did you get this number question and then saw the look on Leia’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Canderous. He’s dead. Natalia’s on the phone. His half-sister,” Leia explained, “Sorry, my boyfriend asked was making sure everything is alright. Do my other siblings know?”

“All but Obi Wan and Mission. But Mission’s phone went straight to voicemail. I left a message for her to call me when she got a chance. I didn’t think that was something to be told over a voicemail. Oh, and Sion passed the night before last according to Asala, not sure if you had heard. She had taken the young again potion before moving in with Sion. And Obi Wan’s was disconnected, which is odd.”

“Thanks. And Obi passed a few months ago and we had his phone turned off. Thanks for the update on Sion.”

“I’m sorry. Well, Canderous’ funeral is this weekend. It’s also doubling as a memorial for Sion.”

Leia thanked Natalia again for the information and hung up. She then discussed things with Max, James, and Terena. James and Terena wanting to go as Canderous had been the one in charge of their initial training. James even going so far as to contact the others in the war’s special ops teams to let them know of Canderous’ passing.

Leia figured Canderous had held on until he heard Sion has passed. And Leia figured Sion had lasted as long as he did due to his alien genetics.

Months went by, and soon Terena gave birth to a girl they named Lily*. The threatening phone calls and letters had even died down, though they weren’t forgotten.

And time continued to pass and soon Lily was a year old. And it was about that time when Leia got a call from her nephew Sean, that Wolfgang had died. Leia took the death of her remaining brother hard. But with the help of Max and Mission, she got through the worst of the grief.

And that is it for this chapter.

Progress towards Max’s goals:

• Join Film career (Plumbob Pictures Backlot, may need to place it) – Achieved behind the scenes Chapter 3.1
• Max writing – Level 6
• Max charisma – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Become level 5 celebrity – 5 stars – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.13
• Have kid – Achieved Chapter 3.10 with the birth of Hermione
• Reach Level 10 of the Actor branch – Level 10 – Superstar Actor – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes

Progress towards James’ goals:

• Join Military Career – Completed Chapter 4.0
• Level Ten Military Career – Level 7
• Max Athletic skill – He’s at level 10, maxed behind the scenes Chapter 4.5
• Max Hardiness skill – He’s at level 8
• Buy out a business
• Adopt – Achieved Chapter 4.4 when James and Terena adopted Kyle Williams.

Progress toward’s LTW’s

• • Leia – Professional Author: Earn $4000 a week in royalties – currently earning $4000+ a week – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
  • Maximus – Superstar Actor – Superstar Actor – Level 10 – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes
  • James – Become Astronaut – Level 7
  • Terena – Become World Renowned Surgeon – Level 6

 

~~~

Author’s Note:

Lily is named after Lily Potter from the Harry Potter franchise. She’s the wife of James Potter which is how she connects to the name sake of her father.

Chapter 4.4

Welcome back to another chapter of Random Branches! In the last chapter James and Terena got married and James had been stationed in Midnight Hollow. Terena was better handling the mental fall out from the war than James was and James’ uncle gave him some advice. Someone tied to the Zenteri curse started calling the house with threatening messages and Max told his kids about the curse. At the end of the chapter, James learned that his cousin’s wife had been killed in a car accident. And now on with the story.

James had quickly decided after seeing his cousin that Albus, Kyle, and Kaylee needed to visit for an extended time. Albus was too out of it after his wife Cassie’s death to properly look after either Kyle or Kaylee.

It didn’t take long for that decision to have proven the best course of action. Albus had chosen the bedroom farthest from the nursery and refused the baby monitor. He had on a number of occasions yelled at Kyle when Kyle had done nothing wrong. And he refused to do things together with the rest of the family.

“How many times do I have to say, no, I will not read to you?!” Albus yelled before pushing Kyle out of his room and shutting the door and locking it.

Max heard the yelled statement and felt for Kyle. Albus was not handling his grief well and it was going to hurt Kyle more than the death of his parents already had. He approached Kyle and said, “I’ll read to you.”

Kyle nodded sadly. “Does Albus not want me anymore? Does he even want Kaylee anymore? I haven’t seen him with her since we got here.”

“I’m sure he still wants you and Kaylee. He’s just really sad right now like you are. And he’s not behaving like he should because of that hurt.”

Kyle nodded and let Max read him a story.

A few months went by and things did not improve with Albus. Obi eventually talked with him sternly and got him back on track. He apologized to Kyle for his behavior and took a baby monitor into his bedroom.

James was glad that things had begun to return to normal for Albus. So when he saw a depressed look on Albus’ face again he approached him. “What’s wrong?”

Albus jumped. “You startled me. The adoption agency has said I can’t adopt Kyle.”

“I’m sorry, man. What are you going to do? How are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know,” Albus said and a moment later said, “I’ve got an idea.”

“Oh?”

“Why don’t you and Terena adopt him.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, Terena’s pregnant. I’ll have to ask her. We may not be able to give him the attention he needs.”

“Our parents won’t let him be starved for attention and you and Terena wouldn’t intentionally ignore him.”

“Fair enough, but I’ll still have to discuss it with Terena.”

And James wasted no time bringing the idea up to Terena.

“It’s us or the orphanage for Kyle, Terena. He’s already lost two people he cares about. He’s going to lose a third indirectly. At least with us he’ll still be able to see and visit Albus. That won’t likely be the case if he goes to the orphanage,” James said.

“We’re going to be busy with a baby in about five months, James. We’re going to be barely functional between our jobs and the baby.”

“My parents are fully retired as is my Uncle Obi.”

“We can’t put raising Kyle on them.”

“I think with us is what’s best for Kyle.”

“Is it what’s best for our unborn child?”

“He or she will learn to share from the start. We did talk about having more than one kid. We won’t have to explain to them that they have to share now. And it’s not like Kyle’s a toddler. He’s eight years old.”

“True. Alright. We’ll put in to adopt Kyle.”

And it didn’t take long for the adoption agency to approve their request. And soon Albus and Kaylee had left for their home in Bridgeport. It was hard on Kyle to watch Albus go, but he quickly got used to not having Albus around. He was already comfortable with James and the rest of his family having stayed there for several months already.

Kyle was enrolled in the local school and he quickly showed just how smart he was. His teachers remarking on how good he was in music class, especially.

Four months passed and soon Adama Zenteri* joined the family. He had his grandmother’s hair color and his mothers eyes.

James and Terena took a few weeks off of work to devote to Adama before going back to work. They had slightly reduced hours but they had done this after discussing the day to day care with Max, Leia, and Obi. The two did not want to put the burden of raising Kyle and Adama on them.

The threatening phone calls continued. And they had started receiving threatening letters in the mail as well. Someone had dug up their address. Though that was mostly due to Max and Leia’s celebrity status. While the two weren’t as big as they used to be given they had retired, they were still featured heavily on shows and tabloids when they did manage to get caught by the paparazzi.

Between Adama, the nightmares from the war, and the threatening phone calls and letters, James was barely able to function well enough for his job. James decided he was ready to talk, but he didn’t know who to talk to. After awhile he finally decided to call one of his best friends and fellow war veteran, Isaiah Mathiasen.

It took Isaiah a few days to get there and they spent a few days just catching up. Eventually they ended up in James and Terena’s bedroom discussing the reason James invited Isaiah over.

“Nightmares, huh?” Isaiah said to break the tension.

“Yea. I can’t seem to shake that last battle of the war we fought. The faces of those we lost. The could have beens. Some of them are what if scenarios. What if you had died or Ethan or Terena.”

“It was you or them and you chose the right person to live. And you’re not to blame for their deaths. Casualties happen in war. You didn’t kill innocent civilians. None of us did. We made the nation safer for occults and those sympathetic to occults. And I didn’t die. Ethan didn’t die. Terena didn’t die.”

The two continued to talk over the nightmare specifics. By the end of the conversation, James felt a little better. And the two continued to call or video chat about the nightmares as James wanted. Eventually, the nightmares would die down. If only the threatening phone calls and letters would go away. Then he’d be down to the only cause of loss of sleep that James wanted: his infant son.

And time passed. Soon Adama was a toddler. It became clear at that point that he inherited Terena’s elven ear shape. It was still a bit too early to tell the other facial features.

They quickly set about teaching him the necessary skills of walking and talking and eventually started his potty training.

And it was a few months after Adama turned three, Obi Wan passed away from old age.

Leia took the death of her brother hard. He was the first of her siblings to die of old age. Leia suspected he went first due to the injuries he sustained in the terrorist attack. She took charge of calling the other siblings to let them know Obi died.

James took care of informing Albus and was glad to hear that he would call Minerva. He had his hands full with Kyle and Adama. The former taking the death of Obi harder than he thought he would. James guessed Obi and Kyle had gotten close during the months that Albus pushed him away.

And that’s it for the chapter! Will Kyle continue to be well adjusted even given his past? Will the people threatening the Zenteris ever stop or will they move on to more dangerous ways to get their message across? Find out in chapters to come.

Progress towards Obi’s Goals – Completed:

• Become Private Investigator – Achieved Chapter 2.19
• Complete 30 cases – Completed 30 cases – Achieved behind the scenes of Chapter 4.4
• Snoop 10 locations – Snooped 10 locations – Achieved behind the scenes of Chapter 4.4
• Write 5 papers on findings – Wrote 5 paper – Achieved behind the scenes of Chapter 4.4
• Reach level ten of Private Investigator Career – He’s at level 10 – Achieved behind the scenes of Chapter 4.4
• Go through 5 garbages and 5 mailboxes – Achieved behind the scenes of Chapter 4.4

Progress towards Leia’s Goals – Completed:

• Master Painting Skill – She’s at level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.4
• Master Writing Skill – She’s at level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Paint 20 paintings – Painted 20 paintings – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.4
• Be friends with parents – Completed Chapter 3.7 behind the scenes.
• Get 5,000 in royalties (or sell 15,000 from paintings) – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.13 at $6,828
• Paint family pictures (spouse, kids, parents if alive) – Painted Max’s, behind the scenes Chapter 3.14, painted Hermione’s behind the scenes Chapter 3.15
• Join book club (if applicable) – Joined book club Chapter 3.10 behind the scenes

Progress towards Max’s goals:

• Join Film career (Plumbob Pictures Backlot, may need to place it) – Achieved behind the scenes Chapter 3.1
• Max writing – Level 6
• Max charisma – Level 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Become level 5 celebrity – 5 stars – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.13
• Have kid – Achieved Chapter 3.10 with the birth of Hermione
• Reach Level 10 of the Actor branch – Level 10 – Superstar Actor – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes

Progress towards James’ goals:

• Join Military Career – Completed Chapter 4.0
• Level Ten Military Career – Level 6
• Max Athletic skill – He’s at level 8
• Max Hardiness skill – He’s at level 5
• Buy out a business
• Adopt – Achieved Chapter 4.4 when James and Terena adopted Kyle Williams.

Progress toward’s LTW’s

• Obi Wan – Perfect Mind, Perfect Body: Level 10 Logic, Level 10 Athletic – Logic is at 10, Athletic is at 10 – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 4.4
• Leia – Professional Author: Earn $4000 a week in royalties – currently earning $4000+ a week – Completed behind the scenes Chapter 3.8
• Maximus – Superstar Actor – Superstar Actor – Level 10 – Completed Chapter 3.13 behind the scenes
• James – Become Astronaut – Level 6

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Author’s Note:

Adama is named after Commander Adama from the original Battlestar Galactica show. He is the father of one of the main characters in the show. He connects to James due to James being named after one the main character of the Harry Potter series’ father. Though in this case, the reboot of Battlestar Galactica would have worked as Adama was not one of the characters to get a gender swap. If I do have a Starbuck or a Boomer, however, they will be male, as I prefer the original, the reboot broke my suspension of disbelief with a few plot points.