When Rose is shot by Tasha Ozera in Last Sacrifice, both Lissa and Adrian use all of the Spirit they can wield to try and bring her back. In a shocking turn of events, Rose is not only healed, but somehow ends up somewhere she never could have imagined. Canon up until Time-Travel. Rated T for now. First multi-chapter fic.

I felt myself falling, felt Lissa catching me and yelling something—maybe to me, maybe to someone else. There was so much commotion in the room that I didn't know what had happened with Tasha. There was just me and the pain that my mind was trying to block out. The world seemed to grow quieter and quieter. I saw Lissa looking down on me, shouting something I couldn't hear. She was beautiful. Brilliant. Crowned in light . . . but there was darkness closing in around her. And in that darkness, I saw the faces . . . the ghosts and spirits that always followed me. Thicker they grew, closing in. Beckoning.

Last Sacrifice

-Richelle Mead

Bonds of Time

Chapter One

Remain Nameless

The arms of Death were wrapping around me, suffocating me, and holding me down in the deepest pit of darkness. My screams and pleas for an end to the madness came out as nothing but whimpers and whispers lost in the chaos that I could not see. Then, like an angel she appeared. Shadow Kissed Anna stood, shrouded in a dim gray fog, that illuminated my surroundings. I suddenly wished for the cover of darkness. I was surrounded. Ghostly forms pushed and shoved up against me and at their contact, I realized that I too was one of them. I was dead.

The smell of smoke pulled me from my nightmare and I sat straight up in bed, holding onto my chest and still half-feeling the impact of the bullet. My other hand flailed about in the darkness, searching for a source of light, and I groaned when my elbow connected with the corner of the nightstand. Through the tingling of my fingers I fumbled with the lamp's switch and brought the world back into blinding view. Squinting at the bright intrusion, I rubbed at my eyes, not trusting them at all by that point. They didn't seem to be working very well anyway.

A soft snore in the corner startled me and I turned to see Lissa laying on her own twin bed, tangled up in her sheets. My heart beat loudly in my ears and I could feel the room spinning around me. This can't be happening. I slapped my own cheek hard. But the scenery didn't change, nor did I wake up.

The last thing I remembered was Tasha Ozera shooting at Lissa and I dove in front of her, catching the bullet in my chest. But then again, I remembered arguing with Lissa over eating leftovers or ordering a pizza.

I have to be dreaming.I thought to myself. There is no way in hell I went through all of that only to end up back in this shithole.

The tiny apartment that Lissa and I lived in for eight months while staying in Portland hadn't changed a bit. It was just as it had been almost a year ago. Right down to old Oscar staring up at me with his big yellow cat eyes. The dying embers of a candle in the corner of the room had been the source of smoke that had woken me. Years of paranoia and training had taught me that Moroi and fire were not friends, unless it was the element they wielded. Despite the fact that I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me, I had to be sure it was out and quickly stood on shaky limbs to put the lid on the glass jar so that the fire was safely out.

It couldn't have been a dream. It was all too vivid. I argued with my own rationality. There was no way even my wild imagination could make up something so real. There had to be another explanation. A person cannot simply dream ten months worth of life experiences only to freaking wake up and none of it be real. That shit just didn't happen.

I'm never eating old leftovers again. I told myself. The weird dreams just aren't worth it.

But what if they came true?

It was all too much to comprehend. I had to get out of there, but there was no way in hell I could leave Lissa by herself. So I walked back to our room and shook her shoulder, but she just groaned and rolled over.

"Come on, pookie." I teased her. "Uppity up. Rose is getting impatient."

"Talking about yourself in the third person is ridiculously irritating." She groaned, chucking a pillow at me.

I felt the darkness seeping through the bond and placed my hand on her shoulder, drawing away every bit I could.

"I'm sorry, Liss," I said for the hundredth time, "We're being watched. I don't know if they're from Court, School, or worse; Strigoi. I need to get us out of here."

My crazy dream went unmentioned. Lissa had enough problems to deal with without my craziness barging in.

"Rose," she looked at me with a tired and pitiful expression as she tied her shoes and watched me throw our meager belongings into bags, "there's no way they could have found us. We've been very careful about covering our tracks. Are you sure?"

"I'm not willing to risk it either way." I nodded at her, picking a grumpy Oscar out of her arms and placing him on the couch. "If they know we're here they'll make us go back with them. Neither of us want that."

Okay, sure, I was lying through my teeth and mostly guessing, but what else was I supposed to say? 'I'm having time traveling dreams of the future and if you don't come with me now, they may make me repeat high school. Also I might end up doing the nasty with my fine ass guardian teacher.' She'd have me committed.

"Do you know how we're going to leave?" Lissa asked a very important question.

"Compel Jeremy to let us borrow his car." I told her, ignoring the bad feeling that I had, "Tell him that we'll leave it at the train station. He can easily take his bike or a cab to pick it up. No biggie."

"I hate this." Lissa growled, picking up one of her tiny fuchsia plants and tucking it under her arm.

The three duffel bags containing our meager belongings were heavy, but as a fairly strong dhampir, they weren't more than I could handle. Lissa gawked as I slung the bags onto my back and opened the door for her to leave first. Urging her to hurry, I almost trampled her on the stairs as the largest bag tipped forward, pushing her against the door to the kitchen. Jeremy walked in, a stack of books under his arm and his keys in his hand, smiling at the sight of Lissa and ignoring me completely. It really made me feel loved.

Lissa had the keys to our housemate's car in hand when Jeremy opened the door for her minutes later, looking dazed and enraptured. Lissa held up a hand, waving goodbye with a sad frown tugging at her cheeks, making me feel even worse. The dark circles under her eyes told me that she really needed to feed soon, but I couldn't risk losing that much energy at that moment. If my dream came true and we had been found, he was somewhere out there, at exactly that moment, waiting for us. No matter how much I wanted to see him with my own two eyes, I couldn't risk Lissa. We had to keep running.

"Stay quiet." I told Lissa, staying close to her side as we trudged down the brightly lit sidewalk.

There was very little noise outside, which was both a good and bad sign. We were in a very safe neighborhood, but usually you could still hear music coming from the neighboring buildings that housed college kids. Lissa handed me the keys to the Honda and I didn't hesitate to unlock the doors and place the bags in the backseat. Lissa shivered despite the warm fall air and I knew it wasn't because she was cold. I could feel her fear and uncertainty flowing through the bond. Trying to give her some form of comfort, I slipped off my old hoodie and placed it on her shoulders, leaving me in a tank top, shorts and sneakers. I felt more than a little exposed.

Lissa looked up at the third story window that led to our old bedroom. "I don't want to leave."

My response was cut off when I heard the rustling of clothing coming from a block away.

"Fuck," I hissed, handing Lissa the keys, "they're here. Meet me at the train station. I'll distract them until you're out of sight and then I'll meet you there."

"No!" Lissa held the keys so tightly that I thought they were going to cut into her skin. "Just get in! We'll go together!"

"We're surrounded, Liss," I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her into the driver's seat. "I'll meet you there in an hour. If I'm not there by then, leave on the first train without me."

"I can't." Lissa's tears flowed down her face as the darkness began to overwhelm her.

My hand stayed on her shoulder as I focused on our bond, doing my best to pull the rest of the darkness from her.

"Go!" I gritted my teeth as the rage started to flow through me.

Lissa took off like a shot in the little green car, its taillights disappearing into the distance, giving me the reassurance that she was okay for the time being. I only had to worry about myself.

Like a magnet, I felt his presence. He was across the road, standing under the streetlight, his face shrouded in the shadows cast by the yellow bulb. He had been watching Lissa and I. I could feel it. No matter how realistic my dream had been, I wasn't going to take that chance, I wouldn't trust it. I wouldn't trust him. I had to keep Lissa safe. Even if that meant beating the hell out of a really hot guy, or getting my ass kicked by one.

Acting like a late night jogger, I pulled the hair tie off my wrist and pulled my hair up into a bun, appearing as though I didn't even notice him. The small alley behind me was leading in the opposite direction Lissa was heading, but if I was fast enough and took a few detours, I had plenty of time to lose him and meet her for the morning train to Los Angeles. His steps were quick and quiet as he crossed the street toward me and I didn't hesitate to take off running like a horse at the track. My pace was steady and sure, but I knew that he would catch up to me soon. I was grossly out of shape and had already started to feel winded. After running almost a block away, I heard his voice. The deep sweet sound of it startled me so badly that I stumbled into a low hanging tree branch and was effectively knocked off of my feet and fell flat onto my ass. My head was pounding and my chest felt badly bruised from where the branches hit me, but I got back up and started running again.

"Miss Hathaway," he wasn't even out of breath though he was running just as fast as I was, "we need you and Princess Dragomir to return to St. Vladimir's at once."

My feet kept going even though I wanted to stop. Some weird and demented part of me wanted to turn around and look at his face and find a man that I could fall in love with, but I pushed it away. If I did that everything that Lissa and I had been through to get away from that damned place would be for nothing. She didn't need that kind of stress. We were doing just fine on our own. Just thinking of that dream and just how bad things could get if we were to return to the Academy had me picking up my pace and running faster than I ever had before.

It wasn't long before I realized that I'd lost him, but I wasn't stupid enough to believe that I had outrun him. He'd let me go.

'Love fades. Mine has. Love fades. Mine has.' His words rang loudly in my ears as I kept a steady pace and tried to push the dream to the back of my mind.

The train station was a beacon of sorts, casting tall beams of light into the parking lot in front of me. After a quick search, I found Jeremy's car parked beside the main platform. But I already knew that she hadn't avoided capture. My heart felt like it was in my throat as I took the last few steps to the doors. Something was wrong. I'd felt Lissa's irritation and fear while I ran through the lot, but now, all I felt from her was resignation. I didn't dare waste time to look into her mind through our bond. I needed to find her and fast.

It was easier than I thought it would be and at the same time so much worse. The train station was completely deserted except for the dozen guardians that surrounded Lissa.Hewas at the front of the group, kneeling in front of Lissa and speaking to her in a quiet tone.

"Leave her the fuck alone," I growled, making all of the guardians turn their attention on me, "You want to bully someone, well come and fucking get it."

"Rose!" Lissa's distress poured through the bond, spurring me into action.

The darkness took over and my vision was shrouded in red. The stanchion poles - that kept people from cutting in line - seemed like a good choice of weapon and before I could even register my own actions I had ripped one away from the group and wielded the metal bar like a baseball bat.

The first guardian that came at me didn't stand a chance. He ran at me in a tackle and subdue maneuver that I quickly countered by dodging to the side and hitting him in the ribs with the pole. Number Two came at me thinking that brawn would win. He'd used the other guardian as a distraction while he quietly moved in from behind me. Grabbing me by the tops of my shoulders, he squeezed, trying to get me to drop the pole. Instead I let myself go limp. The suddenness of my dead weight in his arms caught him off guard and I used his own momentum to throw him over my shoulder and slam him hard into the tile floor. Three was off to my right, but he was slower than the others. With a lightning quick punch to the throat he was on his knees choking for air.

My own breaths came in hard shallow gasps as I narrowed my eyes at the other nine and readied myself for the fight.

"ROSE!" Lissa screamed at me, making the bond even harder to ignore as my vision blurred.

My whole body shook in sharp tremors while I grounded myself for the fight, watching all six foot seven of sexy, Russian, bad ass walking toward me. He didn't look happy to see me either. Everything fell sideways, my legs giving out beneath me, but I was helpless to brace myself for the fall. I could only watch as he lurched forward, wrapping me up in his arms, and keeping me from hitting the floor.

He released his hold on me immediately, and I fell to my hands and knees, retching and coughing up large amounts of blood onto the concrete floor.

My laugh came out like an odd gurgling sound. "Fucking trees, right, comrade?"

The other eight guardians surrounded me, and for a moment I felt a little bit of an ego boost that they considered little old me as such a threat. That is until Lissa ran into the circle and slammed into me, knocking the last bit of air from my lungs.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" She put her hands on my head like she was going to try to heal me. "You're coughing up blood!"

"I'm okay, Liss, I just bit the inside of my mouth," I weakly pushed her hands away, "they didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No," Lissa sighed in defeat. "I'm okay. They didn't hurt me. But I think we're going to have to go with them."

"Not if you don't want to." I told her seriously, ready to get up and fight if necessary, but she shook her head, knowing that I could feel the fear and desperation she was trying to hide.

"We need to leave, now."He pulled me to my feet and kept a firm hold on me, whether to keep me from running or to support me, I didn't know. But I knew that walking on my own wasn't really looking like an option at that moment, so I let him.

The private jet was just as posh as it had been in my dream and I leaned back in the comfortable leather seats and pulled my knees up to my chest, trying to get some relief from the pain. I knew for a fact that I'd fucked myself up pretty bad by running into that tree. Hell, my chest felt like it'd been caved in. My head hurt like a son of a bitch and every breath that I took made me feel like I was slowly drowning. It made me very thankful that this time around they still hadn't let me sit next to Lissa. She was up in the front of the cabin with her six guardians, her head leaned back as she snored quietly. That made me feel both at ease and on edge at the same time. She was safe with them, I knew that, but still I didn't want her to go back to that place.

Bad ass Russian sat to my right, giving me these odd glances, and staring at me like I had three legs.

"How badly are you injured?" He asked with narrowed dark eyes. "I know you lied to the Princess."

"Punctured lung, cracked ribs, concussion." While I tried to sound nonchalant, my flinching and wheezing probably killed that effect. "Well, possible concussion. I've got a pretty hard head."

"I can see that." He held a plush white towel in his hand, staring at my forehead in deep thought. "Can I help stop the bleeding?"

"Have at it." I turned slightly in my seat and really looked at him for the first time, though I had seen him a thousand times before.

My heart broke in that moment and I didn't know whether it was Lissa's sadness that I was feeling or my own, but when I looked into Dimitri's dark brown eyes I felt as though my world had been turned upside down. I had not allowed myself to think of his name until then. To name him would have made it personal and I wasn't sure if I could take that. It hadn't been a dream. I realized. I lived through every second of it and I knew it. I had loved this man with all my heart and he had loved me right back.

"You were very brave to protect her like that." Dimitri said gently, wiping the blood from my forehead and lips. "You will make a fine guardian someday."

"If I survive that long." I turned to stare out the window, not really in the mood to talk anymore.

My mind and heart battled fiercely between knowing the reason why our relationship had ended and not want to feel that pain again, and hoping that it would be better this time around. Either way, I was in no shape to decide tonight. It'd definitely be something I'd obsess over later though.

Good old Vampire Academy appeared in the moonlit distance, her Gothic architecture standing out like a sore thumb, surrounded by the beautiful Montana mountains. It reminded me of a zombie in a field of daisies. It just looked wrong. After all of the trials I had faced, and all that I accomplished, I still couldn't comprehend the fact that I was back. I didn't want to be back, but I also didn't want to go back to running away. I felt lost.

End Chapter One

I've recently gone through and edited this story to make it a bit easier to read. I apologize for any lingering errors.

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