Eliot took a cautious step forward, eyes locked on the girl. She lifted her head fully this time.
"Who… who are you?" he asked softly.
Her golden eyes flashed dangerously.
"I'm Lunara," she said, voice sharp as a whip. Her long brown hair swayed with her movement, ears twitching furiously.
"I'm from a world you humans destroyed. You call yourselves civilized? You're monsters. You create portals like toys and drag people in to experiment on them. You kill some of us. You steal others—my family included!"
Her tail lashed angrily behind her, knocking a few papers off the desk.
Her all-white clothing shimmered slightly in the fractured light of the portal's remains—simple, clean, and almost sacred-looking, a symbol of who she was: a protector, a survivor, someone untouched by their cruel science.
Elara's jaw dropped.
"White clothes… okay, that's kind of cool," she muttered, snapping a quick photo.
Theo, on the other hand, leaned forward with a smile, utterly oblivious to the danger.
"Oh wow! She looks exactly like the fox-girl in my drawings!"
"FOX-GIRL?!" Lunara shouted, spinning toward him, tail whipping like a whip.
"Do not call me that! And you glasses idiot!" She jabbed a finger at Theo. "You brought me here! I know it must glasses dudes are geniuses"
''Oh why thank you.''
Rex, ever the fool, tentatively reached out toward her tail. "Uh… can I—?"
Her ears flattened and eyes narrowed.
"Do not touch that!" she hissed dramatically. "I hate humans. I hate your experiments. I hate the way your kind thinks everything is a toy! Especially you!" .
She gestured at Theo, "And yes, you, with your stupid drawings and your stupid glasses!"
Theo blinked. "Uh… okay… sorry?"
Eliot opened his mouth. "Lunara—"
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped, crouching lower, her golden eyes shimmering.
"Time is ticking. My family—my mother and my brother—they're still there. They didn't kill them. Not yet. They took them. And if we don't fix this, they'll—"
"Whoa, okay," Theo whispered, stepping back, clearly panicking but also fascinated.
Rex muttered under his breath, "She's… kind of cute when she's mad…"
Lunara whipped around, tail lashing. "Cute? Human idiot! Stay away!"
Mrs. Groove's voice called from the living room. "Theo? Are you alright in there?"
Everyone panicked.
"Elara," Eliot hissed, "do something!"
Elara's eyes darted around. "Hide her! Under the bed!"
Lunara's ears twitched. "What?! No! I will not—"
Before anyone could finish, Cassian, in full panic mode, scooped her up like she weighed nothing.
"We're not hiding her under a bed! Too dangerous!"
He practically threw her toward the bathroom.
Lunara landed with a dramatic flop, tail brushing the walls, ears flattened, and hissed,
"Do not touch me again, or I will shred you, human fools!"
Cassian winced. "I just wanted to—"
"Don't you dare!" she shouted, tail whipping again. The bathroom door closed.
Papers still littered the floor, some curling in the air from lingering sparks.
Circuits smoked faintly.
Theo's hair stood on end, straw-like in places, and the faint smell of ozone hung in the room.
The portal frame was broken, leaning awkwardly to one side.
She took a deep breath. "What… on earth… happened in here?"
Theo straightened instantly, hands half-raised. "Uh… science experiment! Totally controlled—mostly!"
Mrs. Groove's eyes narrowed, taking in Eliot's messy hair, Rex looking sheepish, Leon still leaning against the wall, and the scattered electronics.
"Controlled?" she asked slowly. "Eliot, Elara—what did you get yourselves into?"
Eliot shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Um… it's complicated?"
Elara peeked from the doorway, eyes wide, trying not to laugh.
"They were… experimenting. Really hard. And… it went a little sideways."
Mrs. Groove crouched, picking up a stack of scorched papers, flipping through the drawings and scribbled calculations.
"Theo! What did you do?!"
Theo nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! And we fixed it! Mostly!"
She shook her head, exhaling sharply.
"I swear… Theo and science." She looked at Eliot and Elara. "Your parents called. They want you home. Now. And Leon… Rex… you two should probably leave too."
Everyone froze.
Theo pouted. "But Mom, we weren't done—"
"No buts." She waved her hand. "Everyone out. Now."
One by one, the room cleared.
Rex grumbled, Leon just gave a small nod and vanished, Elara and Cassian half-walked, half-stomped out, Eliot reluctantly following… until he stopped near the portal remnants.
Before Eliot could argue, Elara grabbed his arm.
"I'll make an excuse for you. You and your glasses friend need to stay here!"
Eliot blinked. "Wait—what?!"
Elara nodded firmly.
"Go with it. I'll convince Mom." She gave him a quick wink, then finally left, closing the door behind her.
Theo turned to Eliot, blinking at the chaos. "Guess… you're with me today."
Eliot sighed, rubbing his face. He opened the bathroom door.
Lunara was still crouched, ears flicked back, golden eyes glowing in the dim light.
Slowly, she hissed, then stood and walked out, tail swishing like a whip.
"Get me back to my family," she demanded.
Theo took a deep breath, hands raised in explanation. "It'll take months to fix the portal. In the meantime… you'll have to stay with us."
Lunara's ears twitched. Her tail lashed once.
"Stay? Humans like you, who destroy worlds and steal blood for experiments—staying here is… disgusting!" She crossed her arms, glaring at Eliot and Theo.
Eliot swallowed. "We'll… help, we promise. We'll figure it out."
Her expression softened fractionally, just enough to betray a hint of relief.
"Fine. But if I see anyone—any human—destroying my world again, or hurting my family, I expect help from you two."
Theo blinked. "Uh… okay."
Lunara's tail thumped against the floor.
"And you will. No excuses. Especially not you," she added, glaring at Theo.
Eliot groaned, running a hand over his face. "Welcome to our Monday."
Theo blinked, then grinned nervously. "We… we can fix this. And… hide her. Right?"
Lunara narrowed her eyes. "You better."
--
Elara walked in the door, trying to act casual, even though her braid was messy, a few strands sticking up like tiny lightning rods from the earlier chaos.
She flopped onto the couch where her mom, Maris, was folding laundry, and her dad, Marcus, was scrolling on his phone.
"Hey… um, so Eliot won't be coming home tonight," she said, keeping her tone calm.
Maris looked up sharply. "Why not?"
Elara gestured vaguely toward her own messy hair, letting a few strands stick out.
"He… um… had a little accident at Theo's. Something with a science project. He's staying there to, like, fix it. Make sure it's safe and… stuff."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "An accident? Is he hurt?"
Elara waved a hand casually.
"Nah, he's fine. Just… minor. You can see from my hair—things got a bit… electrified over there." She ruffled the frizz dramatically, letting the hair stand on end. "Really nothing to worry about."
Maris exchanged a glance with Marcus, then nodded slowly. "Well… alright. But be careful, you two."
Elara grinned. "Don't worry, Mom. He's not alone, and Theo's… as small as Eliot, so they'll manage."
Marcus blinked. "Theo's… as small as Eliot?"
Elara shrugged. "Yeah, like… two little geniuses tackling something way too big for them."
Maris chuckled softly. "Alright. But call us if anything happens."
Elara smirked, standing up. "Of course, Mom. Don't bother about them. Really. I got this."
With that, she headed back out the door, already planning how to sneakily check on Eliot and the portal chaos while keeping her parents none the wiser.