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Heat swept over Nox as he slept. The Hollow house was empty, Chase having gone out to rescue Deacon from Boris and rescue Boris from a bear. Grandpa Ralph was out at a store to buy all the barbecue sauce he could so he could defeat Diane in the Sugar Springs Great BBQ feast. Prunella was actually staying in her own house, which was a rare event.
Of course, Nox did not know any of these as he snored through all the horse cries, Deacon cries about the crime of eating novels, and Chase’s cries of song.
But when the sound of something crashing onto the ground echoed through the house from the windows, he bolted awake and promptly fell into the sink. It turned on by default and drenched him with a nice, refreshing blast of water that left him dripping and miserable. Lovely. Now he was soaking wet and stuck.
Suddenly, he heard strange crackling sounds, and became aware of the waves of heat in the air surrounding him. He stared up, shocked, at the towering mass of flickering flames shooting and burning everywhere, superheating the water bottle he had been sleeping next to. The fiery mass of red and orange and gold and silver flickered like enraged ghosts, twisting and contorting in a destructive dance. He could feel his metallic features heating up NOT in a good way and threatening to melt.
Desperate, he yelled for the first person that popped up in his head, “CHASE!!!”.
His response was a medley of grunts, whinnies, and thuds.
Nox’s eyes widened as the flames reached the edge of the sink, and he began pounding on the slippery sides of the sink.
“THERE’S A FIRE!” he shouted between strikes, “THERE’S A FIRE!”
He continued to pound on the sides, each moment feeling like an eternity, “I-It’ll be okay, Nox. Chase will come. S-somebody will come. I’m okay. Everything will be alright. W-who said it wouldn’t? Someone will hear, or someone will see the smoke- and they’ll set it out- it’ll be okay, I’ll be okay- no, no, no. I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine, nothing bad will happen to me, I’ll be fine- I’ll be okay- It’s okay-”
He continued his chant, continued his pounding. Nothing worked to get anyone’s attention. When he, out of breath, eventually sat down to rest, he looked up at the flames.
They were so close… so destructive…
A sharp memory suddenly pierced his mind, forcing a cry from him. The library… the narratonin thief… Violet, Silver, Bronze, Ro- his whole family… split because of him and his selfish wishes...
The cracked heroine key…
“N-no,” he stammered, “I-” Overwhelming guilt crushed him as he stumbled to the corner of the sink.
He deserved this fate.
He began to sob, frozen.
This was because of him, Chase needing to find the rest of his family.
It was all his fault, all along.
He didn’t belong here.
He didn’t belong anywhere.
He didn’t deserve Chase, or his kindness, or even- even-
… Freckles.
He shuddered at the horrifying revelation.
The smoke began to choke him. He couldn’t breathe-
“My heavens! Is that Brother Nox I hear?” a sunshiney, noble voice pierced his misery, as small metallic steps were heard, “EGAD, WHAT AN INFERNO! I daresay, these will melt my gummi bears! ‘Tis a great tragedy, as these are in the flavor of the mighty PINEAPPLE! NOX, whither art thou?”
“Goldie!” Nox scrambled up, “I-is that you?”
The golden face of the Hero Key popped up on the side of the sink that wasn’t burning.
“GREETINGS, NOX!” Goldie shouted over the loud crack of fire, “WHY ARE YOU DOWN THERE, BROTHER???”
“I-I fell in”, Nox began.
“WHAT IS IT YOU SAY?” Goldie began to devour his gummi bear, “I CANNOT PERCEIVE THROUGH MY ORGAN OF HEARING OF WHAT YOU SAY!”
“What does that even mean? Ugh, whatever,” Nox sighed then shouted, “I WAS STARTLED AND FELL IN HERE!”
“YOU SAY YOU FELL? I SHALL FETCH OUR SIBLINGS THEN!” Goldie looked triumphant, “FEAR NOT, BROTHER NOX! WE, TOGETHER, WILL DEFEAT THIS INFERNO MONSTER!”
Moments passed after Goldie’s steps died away.
The flames were in the sink, now. Nox felt like they would surround him any moment, smothering him and burning him and-
He shuddered, pressing his hands to the side of the sink.
The tired face of Bronze peeked through, eating a peanut butter fluppy.
“Wh- WHERE DID YOU GUYS GET THE ALL THE FOOD???” Nox yelled, ever focusing on the relevant.
The blaze leapt higher, and he was forced back to reality, his heart crashing in his chest, threatening to burst, because he couldn’t leave this small space- couldn’t breathe… and the fire-
“HELP!!!”
“Nox?” Silver peeked over, her knitting needles flashing, a snippet of yarn falling into the fire.
“What in the heavens are you doing down there, Nox? You know we went over this in etiquette lessons,” Violet’s purple, glittery heels penetrated the crackling sounds, and Ro appeared next to her.
“HELP!” he repeated, with his fancy and expansive vocabulary, tired of the same questions being asked.
“How do we save him?” Silver turned to her siblings.
“I HAVE A PLAN!” Goldie raised a finger, a mouth full of gummi, “MIGHT WE UNLEASH THE MIGHTY TERRENCE AGAINST THIS FOUL BEAST?”
Bronze shook his head, “Not Terrence. He is taking a shower.”
No one asked any questions, and the subject was dropped.
“Well, what should we do, then?” Silver asked.
Ro suggested that Nox try to romance with the fire. Bronze snorted, and Silver asked him kindly to try and go find Chaz, despite Ro’s protests that it would be very cute and effective.
So, so far, very helpful suggestions.
The flames rose higher, as the siblings conversed. Nox felt heat scorching his back, and, paranoid, he whipped around, expecting the flames to engulf him any second. The fire was trapping him, growing closer, his surroundings becoming smaller, and smaller- his panic began to rise.
No. No. NO. Don’t think about that, anything but that. You’ll be okay. Just-just focus on something else.
He stared at his siblings, trying not to think about the fire behind him, but the heat rose, impossible to ignore. Finally, his nerves frayed to a breaking point, he cried, “SILVER! THROW ME SOME OF YOUR KNITTING STRING!!!!”
The siblings grew quiet.
“That… is not actually a bad idea,” Violet said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh!” Silver said anxiously, “But I do not have anything to cut the yarn!”
“I SHALL BEGIN TO WEEP!” Goldie announced helpfully, “REMAIN VIGILANT, BROTHER NOX! EVERYTHING SHALL TURN OUT QUITE ALL RIGHT!”
The flames were practically next to Nox, now. Fear was now evident in his face, and his hands trembled as he clenched his fists. The fire blazed closer and closer, almost brushing against him. Nox began to hyperventilate, each breath shaky and uneven as his despair grew. His features were hot, and his vision blurred.
I’ll be okay, I’ll be okay, everything will be fine, it’s alright, I’m okay-
“J-JUST USE YOUR NEEDLES, SILVER!” Nox’s voice cracked in desperation.
“AH, AN IDEA WORTHY OF CONSIDERING!” Goldie stopped weeping. A “snip!” followed, and a long red string slipped down to Nox.
Just then, the door slammed open, and Chase entered, followed by Deacon, who was wearing a very ripped-up and chewed-up sweater vest.
“Is something burning?” Chase’s voice rang out, and Nox practically weeped in relief at the sound of his voice.
“In the kitchen!” Deacon shouted. The two ran into the kitchen, to find a scene more chaotic than they could have imagined.
“Quick!” Deacon turned on the sink, which unfortunately was still where Nox was, but managed to stop the fire, “Ughhh, Chase! I told you not to leave things in the toaster!”
“Not my fault if gluten-free bread burns more easily than normal bread!” Chase retorted, “Besides, Dorkin, I was busy saving your miserable butt from Boris and that bear.”
“By climbing onto a tree, singing and screaming about how bears are not in your skincare routine?” Deacon snorted, “Yeah, real helpful.”
“Exactly!” Chase peeked over the sink, “Buddy! Buddy??? Oh, dang, Buddy, are you okay?”
“Y-yes,” Nox was sobbing, now, “C-Chase!”
Chase lifted him gently out, “Hey, buddy, it’s okay now. You’re all good.”
Nox continued weeping in Chase’s grasp, gasping and choking. He was so kind, so understanding, and more than anything he deserved. Chase held Nox close. He clung to him like he was the only thing in the world, blubbering helplessly, but a feeling of comfort and warmth settled over him as he did. He was safe with Chase.
Later, Nox promptly denied anything that happened.
“Ohhh my-,” Chase fell over after Bronze had retold what happened, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAAA, you fell in a sink???”
“N-no!” Nox protested, glaring at Chase, and trying to defend what was left of his pride, “I-I mean… I… y-you should have seen me! I jumped in with incredible grace! Like a cat!”
“Sure!” Chase howled, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!”
“Like you would have done anything better, idiot!” Nox continued, regaining some of his composure, “I was very much startled! And s-strange how you remember an event like that when that never even happened!”
“No, no, I’m glad you’re safe,” Chase lifted Nox tenderly and Nox’s heart fluttered as he looked up at Chase, “... Jerk.”