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“The world is ending, we’re all gonna die!”
“Not on my watch.”
Douxie flipped the coin into the loud vagrant’s cup and kept walking down the street with Archie and Nari, an eager smile unable to hide on his face.
“You appear excited. Are we getting closer to the location of your friend?” Nari asked.
Douxie double checked the map on his phone, the glass cracked in several jagged directions which made the streets an even harder labyrinth to decipher. Still, he felt like they were heading down the right path, and gave her a confident nod in return.
“Yep. Zoe said she’d be waiting outside the HexTech that’s over here. She says she might even be able to get me a temporary job there as well if all goes according to plan. It pays to know people in upper management.”
“It had better considering our little posse here is vastly low on funds.”
Archie was cautious as always to voice his opinions without any of the mortals overhearing. Not that New Yorkers seemed to care much about a talking cat in comparison to somebody in Arcadia. It was a welcomed change, but a strange one in its own right, and it made him wonder just how many unbelievable things these people had grown accustomed to if THAT didn't even warrant a reaction out here on these busy sidewalks.
“And Zoe is the wizard woman with the flower-colored hair who we met in Arcadia, correct?” Nari motioned.
She was just as enthusiastic and curious as she’d been when they first arrived here a few weeks ago, and talked while mostly looking in all directions at every new thing that they passed by.
"Yep, that's her." Douxie grinned.
She nodded.
“Yes, I remember her. She did not care for Merlin, but she had a good spirit. So, why is it she's here to go to the park with us today?”
“Well she’s actually been in town for a few days now, but this is the first we’ve been able to meet up with her. You see, after the First Order broke her store in Arcadia—” He turned and muttered the next part into his shoulder. “—and after they inadvertently burned down one section of the wall at her record store— She needed somewhere to work and thought transferring over here for a while would be a good idea considering the lot of us are up here as well.”
“Yes, plus Zoe practically founded the HexTech branches to begin with. They’re a company spread all over the world that hire and teach young wizards in the art of technomancy. Meaning, she can basically go wherever she wants to find work and earn money to live off of. ” Archie shot a judgmental glare up at Douxie. “Which is a useful backup plan for an immortal, ever-travelling wizard, wouldn’t you say?”
He rolled his eyes and let out a groan.
“Oh, not this again. I’m sorry I didn’t help to create a massive chain-company, alright? I kind of had other things on my mind!”
“Well I just think you could’ve maybe—”
“Oh look!” Nari pointed, waving vigorously. “There she is!”
The duo broke off from what was about to be a long, semi-repeated argument when they saw the familiar face waiting for them over on the other side of the street.
Like them, Zoe was wearing a bit of a street disguise consisting of a black ball cap, baggy cropped tank, colored-denim tucked into combat boots, and the usual spiked and studded jewelry both she and Douxie enjoyed.
The HexTech building behind her was nearly identical to the one in Arcadia, save for the twenty or thirty extra floors built above it. Whether they were rented out by other offices or all a part of this specific HexTech, Douxie didn't know, but it was still pretty impressive to look at.
He'd helped to build a few of these skyscrapers back in the day. Nothing too major, but it paid well back then and he never was one to be afraid of heights. Come to think of it, that was probably the last time he'd been in New York before these more recent circumstances brought him back. A lot had changed since those days, and not just with the city itself.
He glanced back towards the ground, but as soon as Zoe noticed them coming, Hisirdoux waved a bit dumbly at her, smiling, and forgetting where he was for a moment as he was suddenly caught up in the excitement of seeing someone dear to him after all these weeks on the run. He tried to take a step out, feeling a tug on his arm as Nari helped him not to walk directly into traffic, and embarrassed, he quickly remembered where exactly he was in the universe and when was a good time to pay proper attention to the road signs.
Archie rolled his eyes and let out a knowing sigh, but smiled and gave his wizard a nudge nonetheless.
Zoe, seeing all of this, smirked and lifted a brow at him, crossing both of her arms until the walk sign finally flashed and the trio was able to make their way across to her without getting run over.
“About time, Casperan. Did you find this place okay?”
“Who me? No sweat! I know this city like the back of my hand.”
“He took the wrong subway and then walked us the rest of the way here.”
“Ah, now that sounds more like it." She chucked. "Hey Archie.”
The black cat jumped down onto her shoulders and rubbed along her cheek with a welcoming purr in response.
“Glad to see a friendly face.”
“You too.” She grinned, automatically going for that spot he liked to be scratched just under his chin. “I can’t imagine how many "new friends" you three must be making in New York City, the place so famed for its kindness and hospitality.”
The smug look she shot up at Hisirdoux made him stiffen up to the point he could only shrug.
“Well, it was the last place I could think of where the Arcane Order might look for Nari. Honestly, who would think the speaker of the Eternal Forest would be here in such a big, industrial city?”
“I agree this is probably one of the last places on the Earth that Bellroc and Skrael would think to search, unless they are able to locate this overly-sized apple or the concrete jungle that I keep hearing rumors about. Those destinations do sound a bit more like somewhere I might go.”
At that, the three of them laughed, Nari joining in, even though she had no idea what she’d said that prompted so much joy.
Eventually the laughter died down and Douxie, wiping a tear away, took a breath and eased into his next question.
“So, about the job then?”
Zoe shot a look at him and flicked his cap upward with a satisfied wink.
“You start Monday... assuming you’re still interested?”
“Oh he’s interested!” Archie nodded. “We need the money.”
“Perfect. It’ll be a good chance for us to catch up, and for me to see if your technomancy has gotten any better in the last decade. That thing you mentioned on the phone with the Heart of Avalon and the alien tech has my interests piqued. There may just be hope for you yet.”
Douxie grinned smugly.
"Thanks a million, Zoe. Really. Archie’s right, we really could use the money. Rent up here isn't cheap and there's not as many jobs that don't require a background check as there used to be."
“I am still unsure how this money works as well.” Nari admitted. “So odd, and yet it is the simple pattern that makes all the difference to its value. Not like when people gifted us with gold and jewels.”
“Yeah… Nari may have tipped the pizza guy an extra fifty one night by mistake and now she doesn’t really get to help with the money.”
Zoe snorted.
“Well then it sounds like I came just in time. Which reminds me—” She stole his phone out of his pocket and made a face. “Let me fix this thing on the walk. I was relieved to finally get a call from you the other day, but it sounded like you were talking out of a jet engine the whole time, and what is even up with this screen!? No wonder you got everybody lost!”
Hisirdoux rubbed at the back of his head as the many destructive memories started to surface.
“There… may have been a few accidents here and there the last few weeks.”
“Understatement of the century,” Archie scoffed.
“Well, anyway… let’s get going. You ready, Nari?”
“Oh yes!” She clapped. “It is my favorite place in all of this metal city. Let’s go!”
She rushed off and Archie hurried after her, Douxie instinctively stretching his neck and calling out to her as she ran.
“Don’t run too fast! Stay where I can see you, Nari!”
“Oh wow,” Zoe snickered. “You sound like a total dad... or like a worried big brother or something? When did the famed Hisirdoux Casperan suddenly get so responsible?”
She nudged him with her elbow and they chuckled, the sound growing weaker, more tired even, as the simple joke suddenly brought a few unpleasant memories forward in both of their minds.
They walked in silence for about a block, Douxie keeping his eyes fixated on Nari, thankful that Archie was already on her shoulders, listening intently as she spoke eagerly about their destination ahead, not a care in the world other than the here and now.
They tried to visit Central Park a few times a week. Nari liked the nature, and Hisirdoux appreciated the space. It was pretty much a win-win for everyone, so it made sense she was excited to go, and this time with Zoe who she was eager to show all of the best spots in the park.
He snapped out of his trance when he felt Zoe’s hand in his, the weight of his newly-repaired phone now in his palm as she squeezed once and let out a breath.
“So… how are you holding up?”
“As well as one can, given the circumstances, I’d say?” He spoke with a smile, but it didn’t take much to see how exhausted the immortal teen truly was. “The world hasn’t ended yet, so I’d say we’re doing pretty well out here.”
“Yeah, I guess so…” Zoe spoke towards the sidewalk, the two walking side by side as the weight of it all started to press down on them. “But how are you doing, specifically, Doux? I’ve been a little worried about you, you know? What with the Arcane Order, the Genesis Seals…” She looked up cautiously. “...Merlin.”
“It’s alright, Zoe, really it is. Or well— it’s not, but I’m okay.” He splayed out his hands and let out a tired groan as he shut his eyes and tried to form the thoughts into words. “I mean, have I had time to actually process any of this? Not really, no. Did I think all of this was about to go down and that I would get blasted back 900 years in time, change history, lose Merlin, and be the one person left standing between the fate of the entire world and utter annihilation? Can’t say I ever thought about that one.” He chuckled weakly. “If you’d told me a month ago that instead of getting burgers and hunting Niffins in Arcadia that Friday night, that I would instead be the sworn protector of a mystical demi-goddess and run off to New York to hide from two other terrifying primordial demi-gods… I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Or worse… I probably would have thought it sounded fun.”
Zoe took his hand and frowned as he squeezed back and looked up at the skyscrapers.
“I waited so long to have some sort of great adventure, to get my staff and finally be a great wizard, to make Merlin proud and do something important for once in my life, but I never thought it would feel this way.” He sighed and stared at her. “I didn’t know just how good I had it until everything flipped on me. It makes me miss the mundanity of it all these days, you know?”
“Well, that just gives you something to look forward to when you get back, right?” She nudged him. “Plus, take it from someone who’s watched you for almost a millennium, Hisirdoux… you’ve been doing important things the entire time I’ve known you. History is far better off with you out there in the background, trust me.”
“Thanks Zoe.”
With a smile, they caught up to the others at the crosswalk, and he stared down into her bright-blue eyes, cut off for the moment from the overlapping sounds of the city and the rush of traffic in front of them. For just that moment, her face and encouragement brought a genuine look of peace to his face.
He leaned down, maybe about to kiss her if he managed to keep his nerves steady, but before he could decide, their two baseball caps jousted one another and collided, causing the wizards to laugh as they fumbled to pick them back up. They even mixed the two up, causing more fluster as they traded hats and diverted their attentions back to the walk sign.
Onlookers judged them silently as Archie and Nari smirked, trying to pretend like they hadn’t seen and heard most of the end of that conversation, but giggling to themselves about it anyway.
“Alright, well there’s the park. You guys ready?” Douxie asked, trying and failing to hide a blush.
“Yes!” Nari cheered.
“Say Zoe, have you ever been to the zoo here?” Archie wondered.
“Can’t say that I have. Why, did you guys go?”
“No, Douxie doesn’t think they’ll let stray cats in there, but I’ve always enjoyed seeing the reactions to the zookeepers when I shapeshift into an animal they’re not expecting to see out of its environment.”
“Wait, what? How many times have you done that?” Douxie exclaimed. “And hang on, where was I?”
“You don’t know everything I do,” he replied with a wink.
“To be honest, I’d probably pay money to see that, Archie.”
“Just make sure it is the right money,” Nari warned, “Otherwise Douxie will get really quiet for a long while, while staring into the corner, like this—”
She replicated the motion, furrowing her brows and covering her mouth with her hands.
The incredibly accurate interpretation made Archie and Zoe burst into laughter even long past entering the more secluded pathways of the massive park, until eventually Douxie rolled his eyes.
“Oh Ha. Ha. Very funny.”
Nari suddenly jumped and tugged on his sleeve as she pointed to the trees nearby.
“Oh! Before we go to torment the animal keepers, I must show you this adorable family of squirrels I met the last time we were here.”
“I try not to speak to squirrels,” Archie said. “They’re terrible conversationalists, not to mention wild conspiracy theorists.”
“Wait, what?”
They were about to get into a long discussion over that particular remark, when a sudden cold breeze swept through the air and rustled all of the trees around them.
Zoe rubbed her arms and blew into her hands.
“Jeez! Was there supposed to be a cold front today? Talk about a sudden North wind, am I right?”
Nari and Douxie’s eyes grew wide and they shared a look before turning back to the sky as the clouds started to grow dark.
“Oh no.”
Both wizards’ hats blew off and into the air before a scorching flame sent them each back down as ash.
“They’ve found us!” Douxie called, his vambrace already glowing blue as his staff appeared in hand and he splayed out a warning arm for everyone else.
Archie quickly discarded his form for a dragon instead as he clutched to Nari’s shoulders with a threatening snarl, Nari frozen in place as Zoe, unsure of what to do, grabbed for her wand and held her breath.
If this had been for anything less, she might’ve gotten whiplash seeing how quickly the two had forgone their secret identities. Throughout the centuries that had been something important which Hisirdoux had always stuck to in order to follow Merlin’s instructions, but now, seeing how much he had truly changed in just a few short weeks really hammered home just how dire things here really were, and it sent a chill down her back.
“Nari!” a familiar set of voices called. “No more games, we’ve waited long enough!”
“Come back to us, Nari. It's time to finish this.”
The two Arcane beings floated down towards them as all of their peace and comfort had suddenly been blown away with the wind.
This was Zoe’s first time seeing the demi-gods in person. She’d watched them on a recording from when they attacked Hex Tech, as well as from some street cam footage throughout Arcadia which she’d “borrowed” to investigate that fateful evening. Leaving that night hadn’t sat well with her, and she regretted it more and more, but it was only now that she understood just how badly they were in over their heads.
They had warriors and aliens, trolls, wizards, and even freaking Morgana that night at HexTech and they were still defeated.
But they didn't have you… Zoe thought, trying to convince herself of her own place in this fight as she looked to Douxie and Archie, both more prepared for a battle than she’d ever seen them. More importantly, they didn't have them. They'd been in scraps together before, so with the three of them plus Nari, there was no telling what they might be able to do.
“No matter what else happens, keep Nari safe!” Hisirdoux called, a grim warning laced beneath the instructions as Zoe and Archie nodded in understanding.
“You stay out of this!” Bellroc hissed, sending a scourge of flames across the battlefield.
Douxie took the bulk of it as his own, the fire swallowing into blue before he sent it surging back towards its caster, distracting Bellroc as the two held a stalemate of fire between them.
"Someone's been practicing..." the demi-god teased.
“Doux!”
“It's okay, I’ve got this!” He ground out. “Skrael is still out here. Get to Nari, Zoe! Go!”
She nodded and headed off, worried, but trusting him despite all other reserves she might've had.
"Why is it you insist on repeatedly showing up just to get in our way." Bellroc growled. "Does your destruction of our castle and your centuries-worth of irritation know no bounds?"
"What can I say? I have that effect on people." He grinned, his features going serious as he continued pushing back against the flames. "But so long as you keep trying to take Nari, I'll never stop showing up to stand in your way! She is under my protection! Mine and all other defenders of Arcadia who will always be there to fight and protect this world!"
"Big talk..." They said, sounding unimpressed with both of their voices. "But if I'm not mistaken, I remember killing you once already. I'm eager to see if I can get a much more permanent outcome this time around"
"You can certainly try..."
And with that the flames grew brighter, both magical beings keeping up their evenly matched attack, just waiting for the other to tire out or slip up.
Meanwhile, Skrael floated down to Nari, the calmer of the two, though it was no less menacing as his gentle, yet raspy voice sent shivers up each of their spines.
“Nari, don’t you think you’ve played in this world enough? Trust me, the new one will be much more fun, you’ll see.” He held out his hand, his fingers black with frostbite. “Just come back with us and we can remake the world the way it used to be. We can even add as many plants and trees as you always wanted. Remember how you wished to replace all the nature that these pitiful mortals so greedily destroyed?”
“I remember, Skrael.” She nodded shakily, her head slowly shifting to rock in the other direction. “It may not be perfect, and there is much that I would like to change, but there are still things in this world that are worth saving. That are worth protecting! It does not deserve to be completely forgotten!”
He wrinkled his nose and made a face at her in response just before a blast of fire sent him gliding away for cover.
“You heard the lady!” Archie warned. “Now stay back!”
Skrael snarled and lifted himself higher off the ground, holding his staff out to them with threatening intent.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Nari. Your new “friends” here can either die today or they can die tomorrow. It makes no difference to us.”
Nari let out a startled sound and that settled it for Zoe, the wizard swallowing down whatever was left of her fear and self-preservation for something a little braver and stupider. She didn’t get to be this old by being reckless, (that was more of Douxie’s forte,) but here… now… she’d just have to make an exception.
“Yeah, that schedule doesn’t really work for me either, pal! Can you maybe pencil the end of the world down for another time? Maybe sometime between next week and never!”
With that, she shot out a ray of pink lightning, catching the staff like a conductor and sending the small ice-man soaring in a zap of smoke and speed halfway across the tree line.
"THAT was for my shops!"
“Nice shot!” Archie praised.
“Thanks...” she said with a breath, surprised at how much more terrifying that was than satisfying. “But that won't keep him down for long. Come on, we've got to hurry!”
“But Douxie—”
“—Says he’s got this!” Zoe interrupted, trying to convince herself as well as Nari. “Come on! We need to get you out of here fast! There should be a gyre station underground near here. We can use that to get some distance if we can shake these guys.”
Archie nodded and tightened his grip onto Nari’s shoulder.
“She’s right, Douxie can hold them off. We need to move before they have a chance to—”
A yell broke off as Douxie dodged out of the way of Bellroc’s attack, getting overpowered, but not for long as he readied his spelling circles and sent another blast of rays to keep Bellroc pinned, their focus on him and him alone.
“Go, let’s go, go, go!”
The three of them took off, Skrael coming to with a zap and a growl as he let the last of the electric shock fade away through clenched teeth.
“Detestable wench…” he muttered, taking off from the leaves and into the sky where he saw the battle from above and zoned in on Nari who was trying to flee again.
By now there were others who were gathering around Central Park, unsure as to whether this was a stunt or a real attack, but many not wanting to wait around and find out, especially not after a wall of frost came shooting across the ground, trapping the three and separating them from the rest of civilization.
“He’s up!” Zoe warned.
“I’m on it!” Archie said, kicking off into flight as Zoe took Nari by the hand and stumbled backward, going the long way around the ice while fire glowed from above as soon as Archie had made contact with Skrael in the sky.
“You’re in my way you little pest.”
"And you won’t be taking her while I'm here!"
"Tsk! An easy enough obstacle to correct."
Archie snarled and sent out another blast of fire, diving in close for claw strikes as he repeated the attack of blinding flame and piercing talons to distract the frigid demi-god.
He let out a hiss as a single scratch struck his face, dripping blood onto his fingers. He almost seemed surprised by the color of it, as though he'd never actually seen it before, or if he had, it was a very rare occurrence. With that small cut hurting his pride more than anything, Skrael was far less amused by the dragon in his way, and readied himself as the wind started to pick up around them.
"You'll die for that."
Archie struggled to keep his wings steady, but snarled and showed off his teeth, smoke seeping out as he prepared to go in for another dive.
If the god could bleed, then he could lose... Archie thought, and now that they both realized that, it was all the motivation he needed to keep fighting.
For Nari!
“Zoe…” Nari started as the wizard shoved her under a gap in the ice, following quickly behind before grabbing for her hand once more.
“Don’t look back!” She warned, the instructions (once again) more for her own sake than Nari’s. “Just keep running. They’ll be okay. Just run!”
They'll be okay. They were always okay. They've always come out of things okay.
But the two of them didn’t make it far, and those thoughts of Zoe’s didn’t last for very long.
The sounds of battle slowed as blow for blow was met, until there was a horrible piercing sound, followed by a scream from Hisirdoux and a distant sounding thud.
Nari let out a gasp and stopped, her hand gripping the shirt near her chest as she looked back in horror towards the battle.
“Archie…”
Zoe couldn’t help but look as well, feeling a similar chill, and seeing a sudden bright-orange light bleeding through the cold as a huge blast of fire sent the ice wall exploding into chunks behind them. The wreckage had knocked them both back, Zoe dropping her wand, but forgetting about it in order to hurry over to Nari's side and pull her in close.
With the wall gone, not only did they see Archie on the pavement surrounded by icicles and scorched debris, but in the distance, they could tell Douxie was lying on the ground, unmoving as well.
“Oh no...” was all she managed to breathe out, before the two demi-gods closed in on them without skipping a beat, Skrael quickly waving out his staff to form a cyclone to drag them back over.
The chill wind sent the two of them into the air and back towards the battlefield. Zoe held on as tight as she could to Nari as the cyclone and what felt like hail beat into her from all sides, and she started to feel her grip slipping.
“Zoe!”
“No, no, no… Hold on, Nari!”
She felt a vine twisting up her wrist as Nari attempted to keep them together, but the gust was too strong and the plant snapped as their hands broke apart.
With a curse, the vortex spit Zoe out on one end, and Nari out on the other, Archie and Hisirdoux skidding along the ground beside her, as the winds died down. Her wand was the last thing to fly out, cracking into five different pieces as it tumbled out of the fading cyclone and struck the sidewalk a few feet away.
*CRACK!*
With that, everything went quiet.
Douxie was out cold, his fist clutching at that same spot on his chest which Nari had grabbed on herself. Zoe studied him as he lay there looking drained and a little scorched against the grass, but still breathing. Archie on the other hand was motionless and silent, and it didn’t take Zoe very long to see why. She understood now why Nari had stopped, and her hand came up to cup her mouth, tears pouring down as vomit threatened to travel up.
What had they done? She thought to herself, something inside of her snapping as she heard electricity echoing through her own ears.
They'd given their all to keep Nari safe and this was what they got for the effort? No, not them, not her boys, not her oldest friends, and the people who were the closest thing to family she’d had in a millennium. She refused to let them fail. She refused to let this all be for nothing. She refused to accept that these Arcane freaks wanted to take them away from her.
Take them away like... like... Archie.
What have they done..?
What had they done?!
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” She screamed, her vision going bright as all of her hair stood on end, a giant ball of lightning welling up between her fists.
She sent the beam towards the Arcane Order, the stroke of the blast thicker than anything she’d ever fired off before, and it struck them far enough back that Nari was able to use the distraction to get up and hurry back to her friends. The attack grazed the skyline, her lightning dancing along the black clouds before blending into the storm above and losing its color.
It was incredible... but this newfound power was too much, way too much, and Zoe felt her control over it swiftly slipping as her emotions grew stronger. This was not your everyday attack, this was heartbreak and pain and fear, anger, hatred, and everything she’d never thought she’d live to lose now lying on the ground beside her in shambles. With that, over 900 years of pent up magical energy exploded from her and all she could do was hold it in her hands and scream. It felt good, but horrible all at the same time, the confidence canceled out only by the pain. What was worse was that she couldn't figure out how to make it turn off, not even when she saw Nari desperately running towards her.
The small green demi-god hurried towards all three of them, ready to help in any way she could, and dodging out of the way of the forcefield of lightning. She knew this newfound power wasn't good, but maybe there was still something she could do to help.
However, before she could move far enough into range, a hand with long nails grabbed her by the arm and yanked her backwards.
“No!” She struggled, ivy coming up to ground her and try to pry the grip off of her. “Let me go, Bellroc! I have to help!”
“You will help them when you are no longer using them as shields against us.”
“How much more must they suffer for your sake, Nari? The dragon is already dead. Do you truly wish to kill the wizards as well?”
“N-no.”
She teared up, looking from her siblings, to her friends, and back again.
Zoe had lost control of her magic, Douxie had felt the bond of his familiar break and fallen in his fight against Bellroc, and Archie— she stopped herself from even thinking about it, but she could smell it from here.
Was this really her fault? It was true that Douxie and Archie had been fighting to keep her safe and hidden. Douxie had already almost died because of that once before. Now Zoe was here trying to save her as well and Nari could feel all of her life force and magic draining out of her the longer she was lost to her heartbreak. The emotions she could sense there felt overwhelming and terrible to the point it pained her just to be nearby.
Skrael and Bellroc held out their hands to her and she gulped, knowing what taking those two hands would mean for the world, but also knowing what it would mean for her friends.
If she went with them now, she could spare their lives, buy them a little more time, and if she planned it very carefully, she could even bring Archie back to life.
Nari shut her eyes, but opened them with fierce determination and took their hands without another thought.
“Alright. I will go with you, but only if we can leave this place.”
“We can finish them off, right here though!” Bellroc offered.
“No. I will only go with you if we give them the time left you promised them. Skrael even said as much...”
Bellroc’s two shoulder-level eyes shot a look towards their brother and he only shrugged.
“Heh… heh… well, technically, I did say that, I suppose.”
“Argh!” the aggravated dual tone groaned out. “Very well. I suppose it doesn’t make much of a difference. But you must swear that you won’t run away again, Nari!”
She took a moment to herself and swallowed back everything else she wanted to say, instead settling for a nod and a forlorn look of defeat.
“I promise.”
Pleased by this, Skrael and Bellroc took off into the sky as Nari used what little of her siblings' magics she could absorb, to release one small, floating green ball of energy behind her, letting it slip silently out of her hand as she flew into the air behind her siblings and vanished behind the clouds.
With the three of them together, she could do at least this much, and with it, at least she would be able to undo some of the damage she’d helped cause. It was all up to them now. She could try and stall for as long as she was able, but as for the world… well... their fate now lay in their own hands.
“Good luck my friends.”
Douxie groaned, coming to as the foggy sounds of somebody screaming sent a sudden shockwave through his core.
He jolted upright, clutching the place on his chest where he’d felt something burning into his skin. The feeling of being branded, only in some ways opposite, as a very familiar feeling left his being and drifted away. He wasn’t really sure what that meant, though his heart told him otherwise, and he knew the sinking feeling he held in his stomach was the result of something too terrible to think.
He felt concussed, his eyes blurry, but slowly coming into focus as the sounds around him grew clearer with each passing moment.
Nari and the Arcane Order were nowhere to be seen, meaning they had failed to keep her out of harm’s way and now they had to deal with the consequences of that.
Despite all of that though, he wasn’t dead, which also meant that there was still a chance, however small it might be, to find the time for him to fix this. Somehow, someway, he needed to fix this and save the world.
Luckily, the boy was in far too much shock to process all of his own thoughts and fears, pushing the pain in his heart and mind away for the time being to focus on his friends instead.
The screaming, he could now tell, was coming from Zoe. She was a few feet away, but her visible pain was something terrifying that he'd never seen on her face before. She was out of control, and releasing a very dangerous amount of raw magical energy into the area, the pink bolts enveloping her and the park around them, even attracting natural lightning from the clouds above.
This was how wizards turned into Niffins, he knew, and if something wasn’t done quickly, he might just lose Zoe today too.
Too.
He shot a look to Archie, feeling the mixed emotions within him trying to stir up as well, though he used whatever was left of his reserve to keep his racing worries calm. He chose to deal with things one issue at a time. Merlin had helped him learn this patience, both in life and in death, so sod it all if he wasn't going to listen to that lesson now to help Zoe calm herself down before it was too late.
He crawled forward until he was able to get himself back onto his feet, dodging out of the way as streaks of lightning spazzed out around Zoe like a wave. He was able to time it just right and make a final leap through the barrier, lunging forward and shouting her name as he wrapped his arms around her and held her as tight as he could go, feeling the sensation of static on his skin as her body released its tension at his touch.
"It's going to be okay, Zoe,” he said softer now, talking into her ear and repeating the words as many times as she needed to hear until her screams started to soften, turning into a breath, and then into a whimper, before finally going silent.
The lightning died down, her eyes fading back into their normal color as tears flooded onto her cheeks. Hisirdoux kept his hold on her and stepped around to cup her face, watching her eyes cautiously as the last of the magical light drained out of her pupils.
She could only look up at him, revealing a thousand panics with only her stare, the rest of her too shocked to move for what felt like an eternity.
“They’re gone…” She cried, her hand prying itself upward to grab his own. “They’re both gone. I couldn’t stop— I let you— Archie, he—”
“I know,” he said, calming her as best he could. “We’ll fix this somehow, but for right now, I’m right here. You did your best, and I'm just happy you're safe. It's going to be okay.”
She fell forward, gripping his jacket as his hand pressed her into his embrace. They waited like that for a long moment until Zoe sniffed and the two wizards looked a few feet over to where Archie still lay, still unmoving, and still with no sign of ever getting back to his feet.
Their faces twisted in despair, neither having the words to process what had just happened as they moved towards him together.
Archie was his last bit of family, the one who’d been the most constant presence in his life ever since Douxie could remember. He was his best friend, his family, a part of him. For 900 years this trio had been together through hell and high water, facing Camelot, and each century with its challenges with stride, and now… and now…
Douxie fell to his knees and blinked away tears as he shoved his gaze skyward. He kept that pose for as long as he could bear before finally, he opened his eyes and suddenly saw something floating down from the air. He let out a small gasp and pointed.
“Look!”
She did, rubbing her eyes as the bit of green magic fell like a gentle snowflake, bits of flower-like glow dripping from each side before finally landing on top of Archie, and spreading a healing surge of magic throughout his entire body in pulsating green waves.
The wizards waited, holding their breaths, unmoving and unblinking, before finally the dragon’s body lifted with a new intake of air and Hisirdoux shot over to tackle him in a hug.
“Oh don’t you ever do that again!” He said through relieved tears and a wide smile.
“Oww! Watch it! Wh-what happened?” Archie asked. “Where are my glasses? The last thing I remember was the Arcane Order showed up and— Wait! Wait!” He shot up, his wing smacking Hisirdoux backwards as he squinted, looking around for any sign of a green blur that might be Nari. “What happened to Nari?”
“You’ve missed a little bit, buddy,” Douxie said with a chuckle, wiping away the last of his tears as well as the new red wing marks forming on his face.
He stood with his familiar in his arms, the dragon suddenly going a bit tired as the resuscitation of life had all of the sudden started to hit him.
"I feel awful..."
"I know... but thanks to Nari, it'll pass. You're going to be okay, Arch."
That said, Douxie looked around at the destruction of the park. Luckily no mortals wound up getting caught in the crossfires as far as he could tell, though that was more that could be said for the trees and sidewalks. All the while, the sounds of sirens were quickly approaching the park, and the wizard shook it all away, opting to worry about what was more important now.
“I need to get back to Arcadia and warn the others that the end is coming. Maybe together we can come up with some sort of a plan to fix all of this before it's too late.”
“I’d mentioned to Nari that there should be a working gyre station under the city near here. I was able to fix most of the damaged railing system back in Arcadia before I came out here. If anything, that should get you back to town the fastest.”
He hugged her and handed over Archie.
“You’re the best, Zoe.”
She ignored the compliment, squeezing tighter to her revived friend until blinking up at him and furrowing her brows. Douxie's eyes were telling her instructions that he didn't want Archie to hear, and she understood this order well, feeling the same way after what had almost just happened. She nodded, thinking how she could help, if there ever was a way to help him now.
“I’ll stay here with Archie and try to get the word out through the other Hedge Wizards. Maybe with all of us scanning the tech across the globe, we’ll be able to track the Arcane Order down and pinpoint their next location.”
“Now wait just a minute!” Archie argued. "Who said now was a good time to be splitting up? In any case, I should be by your side most of all, Douxie."
“No, Zoe is right...” he said fervently. “I doubt the thing you need right now is a gyre trip halfway across the States. Stay here and help Zoe! Regain your strengths, then when you’re both done here, you two can take the airship back to Arcadia and meet up with us, sound good?”
"You got it." Zoe agreed, but Archie only sounded reluctantly convinced.
“I suppose, if I must.”
He nodded and the three ran off to avoid the sea of media and law enforcement heading their way. Zoe held tighter to Archie as their paths were about to break off, and without stalling for another step, reached out for him to wait.
"Hisirdoux, hold up."
He stopped.
"Yeah?"
She hugged Archie and the two shared a look before she stared back up at him.
"What happened back there sucked… like majorly sucked! I'm scared, Casperan... and I'm scared for you."
"I know," he said softly. "I am too, but if it's the last thing I ever do, I'm going to try to fix this so we can go back to Arcadia and make things just like they used to be." He made a face. "Well almost like they used to be. It's like you said. It's something to look forward to, right?"
"Right…"
Zoe paused, waiting there for a moment of thought before grabbing him by the shirt collar and yanking him down, leaning forward on her toes as she did in order to reach his lips and deliver one quick kiss between them.
Douxie blinked, shocked, but a small smile creeping in on him as his fingers drifted up to his lips.
"Don't you dare die until then, okay Hisirdoux?"
"Y-yeah… wouldn’t dream of it. Yeah!"
Archie smiled to himself, thinking it was about time one of them finally made the first move. All it took was the end of the world and almost dying to at last see a millennium's worth of slow burn finally beginning to pay off.
"Well I'm not going to kiss you...” He teased. “But you be careful out there on your own anyway, Douxie."
"I'll see you again soon. But don't worry Arch, we're not going into this fight alone, not this time."
They started to spit apart, Archie wishing to be following his wizard, but understanding his worries. Coming back from the dead was not the best feeling in the world, and to think Douxie had done this just a few weeks ago and then hopped on an airship! He should throttle him for pushing himself so hard. But that could wait.
“Good luck!”
“You too!”
He watched until Douxie vanished and then looked back up to Zoe while she hurried inconspicuously out of the park just as the authorities began to arrive.
“So..." he whispered. “Do you think we might really be able to track the Order through the Hedge Wizards?”
“I don’t know, Arch. It’s never been done before, but I hope so. By the way, I—” she paused. “I’m sorry for what happened back there. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You too. And don’t blame yourself. I knew what I was getting into after Douxie nearly died to protect us from the Arcane Order the first time.”
“Wait, there was a first time?! What do you mean Douxie nearly died!?”
“Oh... did he not mention that over the phone?” The cat gulped and grinned sheepishly. “Whoops…”
“I’ll kill him!” she spat through gritted teeth, having half a mind to turn around and march back towards him, but using all of her reserve to keep walking forward.
“Let’s just build our strength back up and see your plan through quickly so we can get back and give that boy a piece of our minds in a more opportune setting.” He shot her a look, still squinting due to losing his glasses back at the park. “Speaking of which, why did he bench you too? What happened?”
She made a face.
“I may have freaked out back there.”
“In what way?”
“Like in the “three more minutes and I might be a Niffin” sort of way…”
His eyes shot wide and he swatted at her arm with his paw.
“You two are going to give me gray scales if you don’t stop trying to get yourselves killed!”
“Oh trust me, Archie, that feeling is super mutual.”
She shot him a look and scratched his fur for a moment until he let out an involuntary purr. Then the two hurried into HexTech, ignoring the stunned concern coming from the workers inside as she held out her hand and hurried into the back room and over to the massive control panel inside.
“Well, here goes nothing.” She cracked her knuckles, feeling her magic more prominently as she hoped she still had enough energy left in her to hack into all of this technology. “Let’s hope we can get a couple of clear messages out in time.”
“It will either help or cause a panic, but we’ve got hours left at best. This might be the last day we get. The end of the world as we know it. The final countdown as it were.”
"Stop trying to get songs stuck in my head to make me feel better," she said, smirking despite how hard she tried not to.
"What do we have to lose?"
She took a breath.
"Worth a shot?"
He nodded.
"Worth a shot."
They shared equal glances, hoping this plan was going to be useful, and praying Hisirdoux would be able to get back to Arcadia quick enough to make a difference.
Now, it seemed only time would tell.