Damian and Ophelia exchanged smiles and a complicity that wasn't there before as they left the lake and approached the whole group, who seemed to be having a good time conversing.

Damian noticed that his daughters were nowhere to be found. Extending his senses, he saw that they were exploring the area with Sassy.

They seemed to be hiding among the bushes, watching a somewhat small T-rex, without any intentions beyond observation. Damian made sure to pay only partial attention to them.

"Did you find something interesting?" Carol asked with a smile.

"Yes, some very ancient records," Damian said casually before sitting with Ophelia.

"Your hair is a bit messy," Ana commented, looking at Ophelia.

Ophelia just stuck out her tongue before ignoring her.

The comment went largely unnoticed except by those who knew the true relationship between Damian and Ophelia.

Sophia, Carol, Mónica, and Jane looked at Ophelia, who seemed to have a satisfied appearance as she held Damian's hand. Just from the time they spent inside, they figured out what they had been up to.

Darcy didn't fully understand why that mattered. They were supposed to have been together for a while and even had a daughter. Nevertheless, she looked at Ophelia with envy, guessing what had transpired.

It was already late afternoon when they decided to head back, as everyone had things to do the next day.

"I'll go get the girls," Damian said, getting up.

"You just don't want to pick up stuff," Carol said, giving him a disapproving look.

Damian gave Carol a slight smile before walking in the direction of his daughters.

He appeared in front of his daughters, who, to Damian's surprise, were petting the T-rex they had been observing earlier.

Ivy was scratching underneath its chin, and the T-rex seemed genuinely happy, emitting small growls.

Damian noticed Ivy's eyes slightly glowing green as she looked at the T-rex with a smile.

Ivy had always liked Sassy a lot, and being an animal lover herself, He hadn't noticed anything strange.

Now it seemed that Ivy's ability had something to do with animals.

"Girls, it's time to go home," Damian said, smiling at them.

"So soon?" Ivy pouted, complaining.

"Can we visit Tyr?" Alice asked, looking at Damian with a sweet smile.

"Sure, sweetie, you can come visit whenever you want," Damian said, laughing, assuming that was the dinosaur's name.

"Alright, we'll come back to see you, take care," Ivy reluctantly said goodbye to Tyr before returning to her father alongside her sisters.

Sassy also roared at Tyr before running towards Damian, walking with him back to the camp.

"You named it Tyr?" Damian asked Ivy as he carried her in his arms.

"Yes, he's my friend," Ivy said, smiling happily at Damian, her previous sadness nowhere in sight.

"Can I take him home?" Ivy asked, looking at Damian with puppy eyes.

"Well, sweetheart, that's something we can discuss with your mothers," Damian said, laughing, not really minding.

There was a wall of grass around the property. He wouldn't mind making it a bit higher, although it would be impossible to hide a dinosaur. It would eventually be discovered.

Once they reached the camp, Carol had the four of them help load things onto the ship.

The three little girls carried things with a smile, happy to help.

With everything packed, they boarded the ship before taking off for home.

After about 20 minutes of flight, they quickly arrived home.

"Honey, you should see this," Carol said, calling Damian from her seat as she slowed down the ship.

Damian approached and looked ahead, seeing his house, but something was different. His beautiful grass walls were covered in toilet paper, and there was a large crowd with banners.

The banners, in simple words, accused him of experimenting on animals.

"Tch, what a bunch of annoying sheep. This time, I'll teach them a good lesson," Damian said, visibly upset, as he extended his hand and activated his magic circles.

"Hey, hey, wait, what are you going to do?" Carol said surprised, grabbing his hand.

"I won't hurt them," Damian said, rolling his eyes at Carol before transfiguring his house, making various cannon-shaped weapons emerge and point toward the crowd.

All the screams stopped abruptly as they stared in astonishment at the large cannons looming in the distance, aimed at them.

Suddenly, the cannons began firing green balls the size of yoga balls.

These balls exploded softly on contact, releasing a foul-smelling cloud.

People quickly started screaming and retching as they tried to run. The cannons kept firing, making sure everyone was hit.

People were running quickly, trying to get away from the mansion, and from their companions who now smelled terrible.

There were many injuries in the stampede of people fleeing from the mansion.

Damian ensured that there were no deaths, as that would be disproportionate punishment for what they had done.

"That was gentler than I thought," Carol said thoughtfully. Damian seemed really upset, and while she didn't think he would start a massacre, she did expect him to shoot them with rays or something.

"That smell will stick to them for at least a week," Damian said as he got rid of the smell around his house and summoned a strong wind that blew away the toilet paper and protest signs.

"Pff cough... I mean, that's cruel," Carol said, trying to stifle her laughter as she thought about the situations those people would face.

Carol quickly landed the ship in the yard, and everyone disembarked as if nothing had happened.

"I'll be back; I'm tired," Jane yawned as she approached Damian, hugging him and resting her head against his chest.

"Take care, and make sure to eat well. Also, don't work too hard," Damian said, smiling as he hugged Jane and left a kiss on her head.

"Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Damian," Erik said courteously before rigidly boarding the ship. He felt really tense around Damian for some reason.

"Goodbye," Darcy waved from a distance, being pulled away by Jane before she ran over to hug him.

"See you, Dad," Mónica said, hugging Damian and kissing him on the cheek.

"Goodbye, sweetheart. I'll send you an interesting book that will help you on your adventure," Damian said, kissing Mónica's cheek before letting her go.

"Mom, remember what we talked about, Don't make me come live with you," Mónica scolded María for her frugal lifestyle before kissing her on the cheek and running towards the ship.

Maria smiled softly at her daughter as she watched her run towards the ship. She had grown into a wonderful woman, and she wondered how different her life would have been if they hadn't met Damian.

Mónica boarded the ship before departing with her group towards Texas.

"Daddy, Tyr," Ivy reminded Damian, looking at him.

"Let's talk about that at dinner. How about you go take a bath?" Damian said, kissing Ivy's little cheek.

"Okay," Ivy grumbled.

"Let's take a bath, little ones," Carol said, hugging the three girls before walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to Madripoor for a moment, then I'll join you," Damian said before disappearing.

"Then we're also going to take a bath," Ophelia said, a slight smile fixed on her face as she dragged Ana and Natasha along.

Ana rolled her eyes at her cheerful smile, but there was a faint, almost imperceptible smile on her face too. She was glad everything seemed to be going well.

"Where did your green lips go, Ophelia?" Natasha laughed, seeing her now-red lips.

Ophelia just gave her a suggestive little smile as they walked to the bathroom.

...

Damian appeared in Madripoor before going to see the scientist.

He found him in front of a glass screen, seemingly modifying a virtual suit of armor and testing its performance.

"My lord," the scientist said, standing up and greeting him.

Damian extended his hand, summoning a shelf full of books in a clear space of the laboratory.

"Hello, I want you to digitize these books and find out what they're made of, then store them in the library," Damian said.

"Where are they from?" the scientist asked in astonishment as he approached and looked at the titles.

"A secret place left by the prince who escaped the cataclysm 12,000 years ago. They hold very valuable information," Damian said.

"I'll take care of it all," the scientist said seriously.

"What are you working on?" Damian asked.

"I'm trying to create the next generation of Spartan armor, but it's a bit challenging," the scientist admitted helplessly.

"I look forward to seeing what you achieve," Damian said, nodding with a smile.

"How's Laura? I saw her on TV this morning," the scientist said, smiling at Damian. Laura could be considered his favorite even though he was always scolding her.

"She's either training or playing video games," Damian laughed under his breath.

"That girl," the scientist chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'll be back. See you," Damian nodded to the scientist before disappearing.

The scientist looked at the books before getting to work. He was also quite curious about the secrets of this planet that seemed to be very special.

...

Damian returned home and appeared directly in his room, starting to undress before heading to the bathroom.

The large bathtub was already filled, and the three mothers were bathing the little girls.

Natasha was the only one in the tub, resting her arms on the edge with a slight smile of relaxation as she felt the warm water on her body.

Seeing him enter the bathroom, Natasha gave him a flirtatious smile and motioned for him to join her in the water.

Damian chuckled before getting into the tub and sitting next to Natasha.

Natasha hugged Damian, resting her head on his chest. The water felt really good, and in moments like these, she was grateful not to be a vampire.

Carol, Ana, and Ophelia quickly finished bathing the girls, and all six of them got into the water.

The three little girls started playing and splashing water with big smiles on their faces.

After spending some time in the tub, it was already nighttime. They got out, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

Sophia called them from the dining room, where she was waiting, ready to instruct the servants to bring dinner.

They all sat down, and the dishes were quickly served before they began to eat.

Ivy was eating, her green eyes staring intently at her father.

Damian chuckled softly before addressing everyone.

"How about we have a dinosaur in the backyard?" Damian asked.

"I think the yard isn't big enough for that," Sophia pondered.

Ivy's expression fell slightly at Sophia's words.

"We can expand the fence and make it higher," Carol suggested, also considering it.

Ivy brightened up at Carol's words as she looked at Damian.

"We can't. Who will clean up the dinosaur's poop? The whole garden will stink," Ana grinned, observing Ivy's changing expressions as she became discouraged again.

"You'll have to promise to help take care of it, alright?" Ophelia looked at the three girls, who eagerly nodded with smiles, pleased that they agreed.

"I'll start modifying the fence tomorrow, and in the afternoon, we can go get Tyr," Damian laughed, seeing them so excited.

The girls finished eating with smiles and went out to play for a bit before going to sleep.

"Now, tell us what you found beneath the lake," Carol said, still eating.

"Which part do you want to hear?" Ophelia joked.

"We found the prince's chamber, the one he used to bring his people to escape the cataclysm. There are very interesting books about that era, from races to geography," Damian summarized.

"Although, won't those things not matter much in the future, or will they?" Natasha inquired.

"I believe they'll be quite relevant in the future, and I'd advise you to read the books. They should be digitized by tomorrow, or if you'd prefer, you can read them in the library," Damian said.

"Alright," Sophia nodded with interest.

Everyone got up from the table and went about their tasks until it was time to sleep.

Damian went to fetch his daughters and carried them in his arms, chatting with them.

When they reached his room, Ana was waiting in a rocking chair, her face resting on her hand as she seemed to gaze into nothingness.

Feeling four pairs of eyes on her, she turned and smiled at them before approaching and picking up Emma, kissing her on the cheek.

Both quickly attended to the girls, putting them in their pajamas before tucking them in.

Damian gave each of them a kiss before leaving with Ana and turning off the light.

Ana smiled at Damian as she hugged him, and they both walked towards their room.

----

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