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Easy peasy, lemon squeezy
Everything is fine
Douxie cracked an eye open at the assault on his ears and groaned. Pop, probably the only music he hated, with no exception. Oh, he was going to get that familiar when he found him.
Eazy breezy, one, two, three
It's all because you're mine
The wizard reached out and grabbed the extra pillow, making sure his fingers had a good hold.
We can stand our ground
We can call their bluff
Easy peasy, all we ne—
Douxie let the pillow fly, grinning as it hit the radio, and it tumbled, ending the screeching torture. "Archie!" he yelled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, "I'm turning you into a toad for that!"
"Oh, don't grumble like that!" Archie answered from the kitchen. "You were the one who stayed up until three in the morning and asked me to make sure you got up at seven."
Douxie yawned and got up, collecting clothes and giving them a sniff to make sure they were clean before getting dressed. He finally made his way to the kitchen, stretching as Archie set down a plate.
"You need to make a food run," Archie said as he poured some tea. "Unless you want dinner in the form of a dead bird in your bed."
"No can do, Arch," Douxie said as he sat down and tucked into breakfast. "I grabbed a shift at Benoit's after school today." He dragged his toast through the eggs, breaking the yolk. "I'll grab takeout on the way home, though. Pizza sound good?"
Archie huffed and pouted a little. "Make it sushi, and you have a deal."
Douxie grinned. "You got it, partner."
Douxie was walking down the sidewalk on his way to school when a blur passed him on his right. He had a split second of surprise, replaced by a shot of fear when he realized it was one of his fellow students riding a skateboard into traffic. There was the blare of a car horn, and Douxie surged forward and grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt to pull him back. The skateboard continued into the road and was flattened a second later.
"Whoa," the young man said as he regained his feet. Douxie recognized the local lothario, Tight-Jeans Hank, as he gave the wizard a smile. "Thanks for the save."
The driver of the car got out and started yelling. "Hey! If you damaged my car, I swear you hooligans will pay!"
"Mr. Hammes," Douxie called out with a smile and a wave. "Good thing no one got hurt, right? It wouldn't look good for your election campaign, would it?"
The older man muttered darkly but just got back in his car and drove away. "What a jerk," Tight-Jeans Hank said.
"Just election jitters, I think," Douxie said as he helped Hank gather the remains of his skateboard.
Douxie shuffled to his locker, yawning as he gathered books and supplies. He paused when he felt a tap on his right shoulder. He looked to his right but was met with empty air. There was another tap on his left shoulder, and he turned to see Zoe laughing at him. She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Her smile faded when she got a good look at him.
"You look tired. What time did you get to bed?"
"Three o'clock."
"Studying for the history exam, I hope."
"There's a history exam?" he asked, bewildered.
Zoe shook her head, thinking he was joking, but she snorted when he still looked lost. "You are the dumbest smart person I know, Casperan. If you weren't studying, what were you doing?"
"Writing some new music." He smiled as she crossed her arms. "What? I can't help when my muse hits me. What is the test on?"
"Twentieth-century European history," Zoe said with a smirk.
"Oh, I should be fine then," Douxie drawled with a grin. "We lived through all of that. I'll ace the exam."
"I bombed the exam," Douxie sighed as he and Zoe sat down for lunch on an outside table.
Zoe looked over his paper and winced at all the red marks on it. "I thought you were going to ace it."
"Yeah, well, apparently being sleep deprived means I can't keep dates straight," he fussed. "How many times have we gone through the public school system?"
"Too many times for you to bomb this exam so—" Zoe was cut off as a flock of birds darted across the sky, cawing and squawking. "What has them riled up?"
There were shouts and screams, and Douxie looked up to see a glowing wall of blue about to overtake the school. He stood up and put up a magic shield without thinking. Zoe! But she was too far for him to yank to safety. Then the light reached them, and he knew no more.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy
Everything is fi—
Douxie bolted upright in bed and then shut off the radio. He panted for a moment, trying to get his bearings. There had been blue light. Swallowing everything. Zoe! How did he get back here? "Archie!?" he called out.
"Oh, don't grumble like that!" Archie answered from the kitchen. "You were the one who stayed up until three in the morning and asked me to make sure you got up at seven."
Douxie got up, collecting clothes, and getting dressed. He slowly made his way to the kitchen, looking around as Archie set down a plate.
"You need to make a food run," Archie said as he poured some tea. "Unless you want dinner in the form of a dead bird in your bed." Archie had a smug look on his face that faded as he looked at Douxie. "What's wrong?"
"Haven't we done this before?" Douxie asked as he sat down.
"Run completely out of food? Why yes, yes we have."
"No, I mean..." Douxie trailed off as he grabbed a piece of toast. "Nevermind. I grabbed a shift at Benoit's after school today." He dragged his toast through the eggs, breaking the yolk. "I'll grab takeout on the way home, though. Sushi sound good?"
"Sounds better than pizza, that's for sure," the familiar said with a smile.
Douxie was walking down the sidewalk on his way to school when a blur passed him on his right. He realized it was one of his fellow students riding a skateboard into traffic. Douxie surged forward and grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt to pull him back. The skateboard continued into the road and was flattened a second later. The driver kept going.
"Hey!" the young man shouted as he regained his feet. Tight-Jeans Hank gave the wizard a glare. "Why did you do that for?"
"Just keeping you safe," Douxie explained as he helped Hank gather the remains of his skateboard.
"Yeah, well, make sure to save my new skateboard next time," Hank grumbled back.
While Douxie was at his locker, he felt the tap on his right shoulder but looked to his left, surprising Zoe, making her laugh. He felt a flush of relief. Zoe was safe. She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Her smile faded when she got a good look at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Just, you know, having the strongest sense of déjà vu ever. I swear I have done this before."
"Well, if you have, then I don't need to tell you about the—"
"Twentieth-century European history exam coming up," Douxie finished for her. She blinked. "Yeah, I think I will ace it this time."
Zoe looked at Douxie's paper as they went outside for lunch. "Damn, you did good for someone who didn't study," she muttered. She looked up, expecting him to look smug, but he was examining the sky instead. "What's wrong?"
"Well, if this has happened before," he explained, "then a big, blue wall of magic is about to hit us."
"Really?" she asked, also looking up. "Maybe it's not déjà vu then. Maybe it's a time loop."
"A time loop?" Douxie asked, glancing at her.
"Someone may be restarting the morning, over and over. They may not even know they're doing it if they are stuck in it too."
Douxie stroked his chin. "How do I remember that time is repeating itself, though?" He snapped his fingers. "I put up a shield. It must have protected my memories."
"Just look for the source and stop the person from doing the spell. Otherwise, time will continue repeating itself and never go forward," Zoe explained as the birds started to caw and take flight.
Douxie pointed in the direction the light would come from. "Which direction is that?"
"East. Why?" But Douxie did not have time to explain as he put up a shield and the light passed over them.
Easy peasy, lemon sque—
Douxie bolted upright in bed and then shut off the radio. Well, at least he knew what was going on now. "Archie!?" he called out.
"Oh, don't grumble like that!" Archie answered from the kitchen. "You were the one who stayed up until three in the morning and asked me to make sure you got up at seven."
Douxie shot up, collecting clothes and getting hastily dressed. He sprinted to the kitchen, making Archie jump as the feline set down a plate. "We are stuck in a time loop," Douxie explained in a rush. "We are repeating the same morning, over and over. I don't know for how long, but this is my third time. We have to find the source. And yes, I know we're out of food, and you prefer we get sushi tonight."
The familiar gave his wizard a long, perplexed look, but in the end, he just nodded and accepted. "Who told you all that?" he asked as Douxie picked up a piece of toast and broke the yolk of his eggs.
"Zoe did yesterday. Or later today. Or, whatever. Look, we have to look for the source. It was coming somewhere in the east. What is out there?"
"Woods and mountains mostly. It will take forever to search for your source."
"Well, luckily, we have all the time in the world," Douxie grinned as he ate.
When leaving the apartment, Douxie turned towards the Academy. "You're going the wrong way, Douxie," Archie murmured in his ear, low enough that if anyone was passing by, they wouldn't hear the cat with glasses talk.
"Just have to do one thing first."
Douxie paused when he got close to the street and turned around. He recognized the blur of Tight-Jeans Hank approaching on a skateboard. When the boy passed him, Douxie reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt to pull him back. He also expertly stomped his foot down, flipping the skateboard and catching it with his other hand.
"Hey!" the young man shouted as he regained his feet. Tight-Jeans Hank gave the wizard a glare. "Why did you do that?"
"Just keeping you safe," Douxie explained as he pointed at the car speeding in the street. "And this time, I saved your board." He handed the bewildered teen his skateboard. "No need for thanks, mate, just promise not to do that again."
They had made it into the woods and were searching when the birds took flight from the east. Douxie grabbed Arch to make sure he would be covered by the shield as the blue light washed over them—
Easy peasy, lemon squ—
"Well," drawled Archie from the foot of his bed as Douxie turned off the radio. "That is certainly an interesting sensation."
"Tell me about it," Douxie groaned as he stretched. "Any idea where it was coming from?"
"None, I'm afraid."
"Then we keep looking."
"Hey!" the young man shouted as he regained his feet. Tight-Jeans Hank gave the wizard a glare. "Why did you do that?"
"Just keeping you safe," Douxie explained as he pointed at the car speeding in the street. "I even saved your board." He handed the bewildered teen his skateboard. "Try to more be careful, okay? I may not be able to help next time."
They tried different directions each time, but the same thing always happened. Birds would take flight, and Douxie would have to grab Arch to make sure he would be covered by the shield as the blue light washed over them—
Easy peasy, lemon squ—
Douxie moaned as he used his pillow to knock the radio to the floor. "Archie! I'm still turning you into a toad for that!"
"Sorry!" Arch called out. Several minutes later, Douxie shuffled out to the kitchen with a murderous glare leveled at the feline.
"If I knew this was going to happen, I would have never done that. I was just—"
"Making sure I got up at seven," Douxie finished for him. "Yeah, I know."
"Hey!" the young man shouted as he regained his feet. Tight-Jeans Hank gave the wizard a glare. "Why did you do that?"
"Just...." Douxie sighed as he pointed at the car speeding in the street. "Look, mate, I'm trying my best here." He handed the bewildered teen his skateboard. "Now... Try to more be careful, okay?"
They finally got to the point in their search where the blue light was coming from their right, the south, before birds would take flight, and Douxie would have to grab Archie to cover them in a shield as the light washed over them—
Easy peasy, lemon squ—
Archie heard the radio clatter to the floor and winced. Douxie came out of the bedroom, every part of the wizard looking weary and exhausted. "I'm bloody tired of that song," the wizard uttered darkly as he tucked into breakfast.
"You know what the definition of insanity is?" Archie asked dryly, pouring himself a cup of tea, knowing that the wizard was close to the end of his rope.
"Oh, please, Arch, enlighten me," Douxie growled, not unkindly.
"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
"So, how do we change what we are doing?"
"Well," Archie stated as he added sugar to his cup, "Zoe realized it was a time loop when you told her what was happening. Maybe she would have more insight?"
Douxie looked thoughtful as he broke the yolk of his eggs with his toast. "You know, Arch, that's not a bad idea."
Zoe was about to climb the stairs to the school, intent on finding Douxie and mess with him before class, when suddenly somebody grabbed her and dragged her into an empty classroom. "Hey!" she cried, turning towards her assailant, about to blast them with a bolt of lightning, but stopped when she realized that it was Douxie and Archie. She took in Douxie's ragged and wearied appearance, and her anger quickly evaporated. "What is wrong with you? You look terrible," she asked.
"Sorry, I have been perpetually operating on four hours of sleep for the last 32 days," Douxie said, waving his hands vaguely.
"Thirty days," Archie corrected him. Douxie gave the familiar a glare.
"We have done this 32 times, Arch," he growled.
"Nooooo, we have done this 30 times," Archie bit back. Both wizard and familiar started counting on their fingers, paws, and a tail in Archie's case. Zoe just looked back and forth between the two of them, slightly worried for their sanity. They came up with an answer simultaneously, both yelling "31 times!" at the same time, making Zoe jumped.
"Done what 31 times?" she asked.
"A time loop Zoe," Douxie finally said, rubbing his eyes. "The morning keeps repeating, and I use a shield to protect Archie's and my memories, but we can't find the bloody source."
"A time loop? Are you sure? That takes a lot of energy."
"Well, you were the one who suggested it."
"Well, if I was the one who came up with it..." Zoe said with a smile. She rubbed her chin for a moment. "Come on guys, let's see if we can figure this out together." Zoe fired up the projector, brought up a satellite image of the forest east of the town on the whiteboard, and then grabbed some markers. "Alright," she said, uncapping a marker. "Show me what's going on."
And so, they spent the whole morning recounting every time they had gone into the forest. Where wizard and familiar were and where the light came from, agreeing on some points and arguing on others. When they could agree on the light's direction, Zoe would put an arrow on the board. They worked through bells and hid from prying eyes, but by the late morning, Zoe took a yardstick and extended the arrows. All of them, without fail, crossed over the planetarium. Douxie gave a low woop. "Nice work, Zoe," he said, getting up and giving her a half hug and a kiss to the temple.
"What the hell?" she said, mostly to herself as she looked at the board. "Why would anyone do a spell there? It's way too public."
"Well, we will have to go straight there tomorrow and find out," Douxie said.
"Yes, we will," Zoe agreed.
"Hey now, it might be dangerous."
"And that's why I'm playing hookie and coming with you two," she said with a smile.
Douxie heard the birds taking flight outside. He looked at the witch with worry but then sighed. "Alright, come here. You need to have your memories protected too."
Zoe stepped up to him as Douxie made a shield to protect all three of them from the light that would pass over them any moment. "Want me to bring breakfast?" she asked.
"Oh yes, please, tired of those bloody eggs," Douxie sighed, and she laughed as the blue light took over.
Easy peasy, lemon sque—
Before Douxie could hit the radio with his pillow, it was cut off. He blinked in the early morning light, making out Zoe sitting on his bed. "Pop music?" she asked with a smirk. "Really, Casperan?"
"That is my fault, I'm afraid," Archie called from the kitchen.
"Come on," Zoe said, handing Douxie a large coffee as he stretched. "I brought that breakfast. You want a bagel?"
"Oh Zoe, you're one in a million. What do I owe ya?"
"Let's just get this time loop done with, so you can get some sleep," she said with a smirk.
When leaving the apartment, Douxie turned towards the Academy. "You're going the wrong way, Douxie," Zoe said, pointing to her Vespa down the street. "If we don't move, we won't get to the planetarium in time."
"Just have to do one thing first."
Douxie paused when he got close to the street and turned around, pulling Zoe so that she wasn't in the way. He recognized the blur of Tight-Jeans Hank approaching on a skateboard. When the boy passed him, Douxie reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt to pull him back. He also expertly stomped his foot down, flipping the skateboard and catching it with his other hand.
"Hey!" the young man shouted as he regained his feet. Tight-Jeans Hank gave the wizard a glare. "Why did you do that?"
"Hey!" Zoe shouted back, making the young man flinch. She pointed at the car speeding in the street. "He just saved your butt, so you might want to show a little appreciation."
"Um, thanks," Hank said.
Zoe picked up the skateboard and thrust it into the teen's chest. "Look where you're going, dumbass," she spat and started stomping down the street.
Douxie just shrugged and started to follow the witch. "Sorry, mate, but she has a point."
They made it to the planetarium just in time, surprised to see the building full of people. "What is going on?" Zoe asked as they walked inside with Archie hidden in Douxie backpack.
"Looks like Arcadia Oaks High is having a science fair," Douixe said, gesturing at dozens of paper mache volcanoes.
"Well, we better avoid the teachers then," Zoe said. "Don't want them calling the cops for two truant students, even if we go to another school."
They headed to the second story, looking around the space from their vantage point. "So," Zoe asked. "What are we looking for?"
There was a roar behind them, and Douxie pulled Zoe down as a red troll dropped from the ceiling. They peeked over the railing as screams filled the air. "Think that is our source?" Archie asked sarcastically as he transformed into his dragon form.
"Well, he's a likely suspect," Douxie answered, as he used his gauntlet to call a fireball spell as Zoe's hands crackled with energy. The magic users were going to jump down and stop the troll, but Zoe grabbed Douxie's arm and pulled him back. "Wait!" she cried. "Look!"
A boy in armor was running up to the troll, and as the troll roared at him, two kids flashed blue and transformed into... Douxie didn't know what. He couldn't remember ever seeing anything like them. Then, there was a shout, and suddenly the planetarium started filling with smoke. "Glorious!" shouted another blue being as it dropped from the ceiling. "Die time, troll!"
There were shouts of fighting, and as the smoke cleared, Douxie and Zoe watched in shock as the armored boy used a sword almost as big as him to kill the red troll. "It can't be," Douxie murmured.
"What is it?" Zoe asked.
"Merlin's amulet," Archie explained.
"I knew there was something about this town," Douxie said as the group of warriors, humans, trolls, and whatever-they-weres were surrounded by dozens of students with camera phones. "But a human with the amulet?"
"Well, you are always saying you hoped there were more people to help fight the dark side of magic," Zoe said. Down below, the warriors were lifting their arms up as cops filled into the planetarium. "Maybe these people are the... defenders of Arcadia you are always looking for."
"Well, they are making a mess of things," Douxie said.
"But maybe we should let them fix it," Zoe said. She put her hand on Douxie's arm as they heard one of the blue being's talking. "...we can reset the day again. But this time, the charger will be destroyed, and your Troll menace will not find it."
"Well, at least it will be the last time I hear that blasted song," Douxie joked as the blue light overtook them for the last time.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy
Everything is fine
Douxie cracked an eye open at the assault on his ears and groaned. Pop, probably the only music he hated, with no exception. Oh, he was going to get that familiar when he found him.
Eazy breezy, one, two, three
It's all because you're mine
The wizard reached out and grabbed the extra pillow, making sure his fingers had a good hold.
We can stand our ground
We can call their bluff
Easy peasy, all we ne—
Douxie let the pillow fly, grinning as it hit the radio, and it tumbled, ending the screeching torture. "Archie!" he yelled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, "I'm turning you into a toad for that!"
"Oh, don't grumble like that!" Archie answered from the kitchen. "You were the one who stayed up until three in the morning and asked me to make sure you got up at seven."
Douxie yawned and got up, collecting clothes and giving them a sniff to make sure they were clean before getting dressed. He finally made his way to the kitchen, stretching as Archie set down a plate.
"You need to make a food run," Archie said as he poured some tea. "Unless you want dinner in the form of a dead bird in your bed."
"No can do, Arch," Douxie said as he sat down and tucked into breakfast. "I grabbed a shift at Benoit's after school today." He paused as he grabbed a piece of toast. "Hey, Archie? Is it just me, or does all this seem familiar?"
"Having a sense of déjà vu, hm?" the feline asked as he added sugar to his tea.
"Yeah, I think so." He dragged his toast through the eggs, breaking the yolk. "What does that mean, by the way? I was never really good with French."
"Already seen," drawled the cat.
"Huh," Douxie said. He shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll grab takeout on the way home. Pizza sound good?"
Archie huffed and pouted a little. "Make it sushi, and you have a deal."
Douxie grinned. "You got it, partner."