Sadly Alice didn't get what they wished for. Douxie didn't come back from the mission safe. He came back broken.
Alice knelt their glowing form down next to Douxie, placing a hand on his shoulder.
'It's all gone. Everything. The Heart of Avalon. Camelot, Merlin.' Douxie said, kneeling down to pick a piece of the shattered crystal.
'Maybe we should say a few words?' Claire asked, looking over at Steve.
'Yeah, okay.' He replied. 'Ahem, battleship. November. Fruit Punch. Purple...' He then gave himself over to his sobs, much like Alice wished they could do.
'Oh, what could I say about Merlin? He was,' Douxie started, looking down at the staff in his hands. 'He was everything. He was all that we had.' He then sat down and patted Archie on the head, defeated. Alice followed suit well, leaning on his shoulder. They were now in their troll form; which often happened in times of great stress.
'We'll get through this together.' Claire stated, walking over to Douxie and Alice with the book. 'We need you two. Now more than ever. The world, our friends are in danger.' Gingerly Douxie took the book from her.
'And the order is about to kick off an arcane apocalypse.' Archie added.
'Merlin didn't tell me anything. And of course he gave us a book that I can't even read!' He said, turning the pages around. 'I mean, what is that supposed to be? Orcish? Elvish?'
Archie gasped then, startling Alice. 'It looks like Ancient Draconic.' Archie said, backing away off the rock he was on and transforming into a dragon. 'Charlemagne the Devourer.'
'Charlemagne, the Devourer. Keeper of the most sacred stones and treasure. A vicious dragon.' Douxie said.
'Which is why we shouldn't trouble him. Maybe someone else can translate?' Archis asked, worriedly.
'Come on, Arch! This is clearly about The Genesis Seals. And if the order finds them first-'
'Yes, yes. We're all doomed. I suppose we'll have to pay Charlemagne a visit.' Archie concurred. Douxie then summoned Merlin's ship and turned to face Claire and Steve.
'What about Jim? I need to find him.' Claire questioned.
'Go back to Hex Tech. Research any dark magic that could help him.'
'Okay. Let's go Steve.' Claire said.
'Aw, but the dragon quest!' Steve complained.
'What are you going to do? Get eaten again?' Claire sassed, before pushing Steve through a portal. She then opened another one
'Stay safe, my love. And, please, bring me back some rocks if possible.' Alice said, saluting Douxie with a smile. Douxie saluted them back, and within seconds (and a flash of golden light) they were gone.
+
'I can't believe that Merlin's gone.' Alice said, still fresh from seeing Douxie so distraught.
'And Master Jim is still trapped in the body of a loathsome beast by Arthur's corruption.' Blinky said.
'I sense all souls, small and great.' Nari said, floating a small flower. 'And I felt Merlin's soul leave this plane.'
'Nari, if you can feel all souls, do you think you can find Jim's?' Claire questioned.
'I will try.' Nari replied, stepping off the computer desk and walking away. They then made the floor glow green with roots and began to float. 'My roots extend across the world. But I can't find the soul of your friend.'
'So all that's left of Jimbo is the beast?' Toby queried.
'I won't accept that.' Claire stated. 'If I can't find him here I'm going to find him in the shadow realm.'
'Claire, you mustn't!' Blinky cried. 'With Morgana back, that dimension is no longer safe.'
'I can't abandon him. Jim was turned by dark magic. So I'll save him with my own.' Claire then created a small portal and stepped through defiantly.
+
'Come on, Claire. Come on.' Toby muttered anxiously. A few seconds later Claire crashed through the portal and landed on the floor of the technology shop. Morgana followed a moment later, causing everybody else to jump into defensive positions.
'Stop! You've got it wrong! She's not the enemy.' Claire defended. Then, from somewhere outside a horn blared.
'They've followed me.' Morgana said, sadly. 'We have to get out of here.'
So they all rushed towards the doors of Hex Tech (which was now empty), only to find they were far too late. The Arcane Order's castle was hovering over the small town. They had nowhere to run.
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[ Author's Note ]
Alice has astral projection abilities because she's connected to Douxie. It's a rare ability/skill to possess.
They were trained by another mage several centuries ago, and he taught them how to master it before he died. He also taught them how to use poison, which they used to try and kill Douxie. But Alice projected (out of their body) to Douxie via the soul bond and took him to Zoe's to save them both.
(^ I'm sorry to add lore here, I was going to put this in the book, but got to stressed when thinking about the scale of that act. It may appear as a oneshot in the future, but I make no promises.)
Only one more chapter to go! I can't believe I actually got this far!
Written: 4th of July 2022 Published: 6th of July 2022
