(Inspiration taken from The Conjuring 2)
Angel had grown to love the mall. She could walk through with both headphones on since there were many people around, and there were a good deal of anime stores and bookstores and different food stores. Also, they had a wonderful ice cream kiosk that just tasted differently than the others.
She was eating some that ice cream as she walked through Hot Topic. Another reason she liked the mall- she could eat in the stores. Angel was deciding on whether she should just get a cup that said "Not Every Witch Lives In Salem" or keep browsing when she felt someone bump into her. Pausing her music and taking off her headphones, she turned to him.
"Oh, sorry," the guy apologized with a very clear British accent. His hair was black and messy all but the front, which had royal blue tips. His clothes definitely showed he belonged here, what with the skulls and black of them. Meanwhile, she was wearing a dark green flowing, long sleeved shirt and regular blue jeans.
"It's fine," Angel told him, holding out her hand. "I'm Angel, by the way." The guy took it with a smile that met his hazel eyes.
"I'm Douxie." His handshake was firm and confident while not being too tight. Her stepfather told her that you can tell a lot about a person by a handshake and his was a good one. She hated limpfish handshakes. Though she noted how sweaty his palm was upon letting go.
"Well, Douxie, are you just browsing or looking for something specific? If it's specific, you're better off ordering online. I almost never find what I'm actually looking for. They never have the same things twice. At least not for me. That's why I only come in her too... Sorry," Angel apologized as Douxie's expression turned confused. "I have a tendency to go down rabbit holes."
"It's fine, lovely," he said, smiling again. Angel blushed but pushed it away. She just met him after all. "And to answer your question, I'm just browsing. I like seeing what different towns have to offer."
"You ain't from around here, are ya?" Douxie chuckled and reached up to grab the cup she was looking at. Even if he was only a couple inches taller than herself, she felt a twinge of jealously at the ease his longer arms gave him.
"And what gave that away?"
"Mainly the accent, though I've heard it from at least one person who lives around here with it. And then there's the fact that you said you like seeing what different towns have to offer." She also hadn't seen him around much but her memory wasn't reliable when it came to people, so she left that out. Still, she had a hard time believing she'd forget even seeing him from a distance.
"Right. Did you want this?" He asked as he handed her the cup. She blushed when their hands touched, and he seemed nervous at that motion as well. He pulled his hand away and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Thanks."
"Of course," he said before the two fell into an awkward silence. "Well! I should- should get going. Um, goodbye!" As he waved and walked around her, headed for the door, Angel felt her anxiety go up at the thought of doing something as crazy as stopping the near stranger. That's all he was. She didn't know anything about him.
... He did seem pretty nice.
"Hey," she called as she ran to catch up to him. Her chest was pounding as he turned around and gave her a confused look. Angel felt her face flush but pushed the words out. "I grew up here, so if you want, I can show you around. If it's not too weird, anyway." The smile Douxie gave her made her heart calm and anxiety leave her body.
"I'd love that."
Present Day
Douxie burst into the store, tripping over some wires that had been lying about. He cursed the messy layout as Stuart came out of a room upstairs. He glared at the noise was and a "We're closed" on the tip of his tongue, but his expression softened when he saw Douxie looking up at him with tired, concerned, and questioning eyes.
Stuart pointed to the right, where the next room was. Douxie didn't wait a second more to run in there, even as Stuart called to wait up. Douxie heard a crash but really wasn't bothered by it.
Angel was laying on a makeshift bed, some kind of tech on her arms and middle. Her outfit was something she'd never wear normally, too fancy to be comfortable for her. He fell to his knees next to her, grabbing her too cold hand. Flapjack, who hadn't left Douxie's shoulder since the incident, flew down to nuzzle her face.
"Flapjack, I know you want to be here, but can you go find Arch for me?" Douxie asked. Flapjack gave a disappointed chirp, not moving an inch. "Please, Flapjack." Finally, after what seemed like forever, the bird agreed, leaving in gust wind.
"Sorry about the mess," Stuart said as he entered the room, pulling wires off of himself. "She put up quite the fight after Vex left. It's why I have her hooked up to that. It's the only thing that kept her down."
Douxie didn't say anything. He just moved some hair out of her face, showing how tortured her expression was. It wasn't long before Toby arrived with Strickler, and the ingredients needed for the spell, Archie and Flapjack trailing behind.
"Where have you been?" Toby asked the familiar as he turned from dragon to cat and walked over to sit next to Douxie. Night had fallen outside.
"I was busy doing some research of my own," Archie said simply, flicking his eyes to Strickler. "Not that I don't trust you- though, I suppose that was part of it- but I found a better source of information who's been around almost as long as Merlin."
"What did you find out?" Douxie asked, only glancing quickly at Arch.
"Well, I found something out that could help us fully expel him. And no, I don't think the changeling would have known beforehand." Archie added, sensing the rising anger in his familiar. Flapjack flew over to lay next to Angel's head, nestling in her hair. Douxie sighed and got up reluctantly, turning to Strickler, expression mostly unreadable except for the obvious worry and determination.
"What did you learn?" Douxie asked.
"His name. Unfortunately, I can't say it aloud, for it will make him stronger."
"I thought you said it could defeat him."
"It can, but Miss Angel must say it when you re-enter the conscious mind. Here." Archie handed him a piece of paper from wherever he was keeping it before, and Douxie read over it quickly.
"Right, let's get started," Douxie said, putting the paper in his pocket.
The brewing of the potion wasn't a lot different than when they brewed the creepers sun remedy, Toby found. Though, why spells like this always needed a tear like that, he'd never know. Either way, when it started smoking, Archie perched on Douxie's shoulder so he could go with him. The emotional anchor when Toby asked about it, had to be a person this time. Since her and Douxie were so close, Strickler didn't bother telling him until now.
"Now, say Magda Ara Zuth and focus all your energy on her," Strickler said.
"Magda Ara Zuth," Douxie chanted. The light purple smoke seemed to only be focused on three people. Angel herself, Douxie, and Toby. Pretty soon, all Toby and Douxie saw was that smoke. Faintly, he could hear Strickler mutter something and Archie yowl. But suddenly his vision went black, and he could no longer hear anyone.
. . .
"Bleeding Balroths," Douxie muttered, shielding his eyes against the white expanse around. "We did it Arch! We're- Arch?"
"Yeah, I don't think he made it," Toby muttered, blinking away the brightness of the plain.
"Uh..."
"Why am I here? Why did it take me and not your cat?"
"Familiar," Douxie corrected. Toby rolled his eyes before something behind Douxie caught his attention.
"What's that?" Toby ignored him and pointed behind Douxie, the wizard turning to see what seemed to be a glass pain that was surrounded by a deep red hue. Douxie felt himself moving towards it despite Toby's worried protests. He reached out to feel it but the moment his fingers made contact his entire arm was pulled in.
Douxie shouted and tried to resist, planting his feet in vain. He tried to use his other hand to pull it out, but that backfired once the other hand touched the pane. He felt hands wrap around him in attempt to stop the decent into the- whatever it was. Unfortunately, Toby just got pulled down with him.
Douxie yelled fuzzbuckets as he fell, the world around him blurring. Once he finally found something solid, and by that he fell on something solid, he tried to get up. Toby fell on him, slowing his progress. Finally, after Toby regained his composure, got up and helped Douxie to his feet.
"Thank you," he said before looking around in awe. "By the seven rings..."
The area around them was dark mahogany wood with windows that were surrounded by different colors. Three colors to be exact. Red, maroon, and light pink. The hues swirled around each of the windows like magic, seeming to be whispering to each other. It seemed to go on forever, and music seemed to be playing from somewhere, a medley of different songs. Douxie made to touch one of the windows next to him, but Toby pulled his arm back.
"Let's not touch anything else until we know how this place works, ok Doux?"
"Uh, right. Of course." Douxie didn't know why he felt the need to touch everything, but he'd wager that it had something to do with being her emotional anchor.
"So, where do we go from here?" Toby asked as he looked around the area curiously. Douxie shrugged but Toby didn't see it as something caught his eye. "Hey. My name is there."
Indeed, when Douxie followed Toby over to a nearby window, right above it was his name. Douxie took a look at the one next to it. Claire. The next one said Jim, the next was someone named Kristen, and the one after was his name.
"This must be who the memories are about."
"Ok. That's good and all, but how are we supposed to find where she is?"
"Strickler said she was in her subconscious and Za- the demon, said that she was going through her worst fear... Oh no.."
"What? What is it?" Toby asked, slightly worried at his tone. Douxie began looking around at the other names.
"It seems that we'll have to go into her worst memories to find her."
"Well, they can't be that bad, right?"
"Toby, even I don't know the details of them. It causes her panic attacks just to think of them for long periods of time."
"Wait, she has panic attacks?" Toby asked, his expression turning from mildly worried to very concerned and guilty. Douxie nodded solemnly.
"They've gotten better, according to her, but an encounter with Bular, and unfortunately a lesson with me, brought them back a few months ago." Toby was about to ask more, but a cold feeling fell over him. Douxie tensed and readied to fight at whatever was behind him. Toby didn't turn because he was sure what it was.
"Leave!" The voice snarled, something like glass breaking sounding behind him. "She's mine!"
Douxie saw the fog surrounding the man stalking down the corridor. He was horrifying, bleeding pores all over his body, the blacked-out eyes seeming to stare directly into his soul. Already, he'd tried to cast a spell when he was falling, and he'd found that magic couldn't be used.
But as he watched the man, he noticed the fog wasn't touching and of the windows, not even the walls. It was a long shot, but-
"Toby! Follow me!" He said as he began to run to his own window.
"Uh uh! No way!" Toby crossed his arms indignantly and turned up his head. "I don't what you two do in private and I've got virgin eyes!"
"Just come on!" Douxie grabbed Toby's arm and pulled him along. The demon realized what they were doing too late. As he rushed over, banging on the invisible barrier, Toby and Douxie were already in the memories of the latter. The demon howled in rage.
. . .
"What's going on?" Archie asked as Angel's body twisted and convulsed. Already he was upset that Strickler didn't mention the fact that only humans would be able to go into the mindscape beforehand. And apparently Toby was just too close to Douxie when he said the incantation.
"It seems the demon knows that they are in there," Strickler said, too nonchalantly for Archie's liking. He glared.
"Um, I'm new to this part of Earth," Stuart started. "And correct me if I'm wrong here, but that did not sound good at all."
"No, it's not," Archie said as Angel began to pull and tug on the machinery that she was hooked up to harder.
"Don't worry," Stuart said with a confident smile. "That technology could hold back my ex girlfriend. I know, that doesn't sound very strong. But she's a Gorbon, and she's huge and- kleb!" Stuart very nearly got his head taken off by a flying piece of metal. Things around them began flying around and lodging themselves in the wall.
"Well, this is bad," Archie muttered.
. . .
"I swear, if I see anything, and I mean anything, I'm making you pay for the therapist bill!" Toby yelled as he got up. Douxie rolled his eyes as he followed suit. At least he'd had the foresight to roll over before Toby had fallen on him again.
"We haven't done anything like- that," Douxie countered with a blush as he looked around the bookstore. It was hard to pinpoint when and what-
"Be with you in a tick, lovely!" Douxie heard his own voice from above call out as the bell rang, indicating that someone had come in.
"You're making me wait after an almost 3-hour flight?" Angel teased with a smirk. The sound of books dropping startled her a moment, but she quickly giggled as Douxie poked his head over the balcony, first with a hopeful and confused expression that was very quickly traded for an excited one. "I'm kidding, by the way. Take as long as-"
"Angel! Y-you're here already? I thought you're plane just landed."
"Yeah, the uh, flight landed a bit earlier than expected." The Douxie next to Toby chuckled. When Toby looked at him weirdly, he just shrugged.
"This was about three years after we met," he said in a whisper, though he knew he didn't need to. "Neither of us knew about the others status as a wizard."
"Ah," Toby answered. Memory Douxie interrupted his next words as he had fallen down the spiral staircase and face first on the ground in his hurry to meet Angel.
"Buckets," Memory Douxie muttered. Angel was laughing like crazy, but she found enough focus to walk over to help him up.
"Dude, you're clumsier than me," Angel said as she pulled him up with one hand.
"Uh, thank you," Memory Douxie muttered with a blush and obvious nervousness as he ran a hand through his hair. Angel didn't seem to notice as something on a nearby so caught her eye.
"No way! I've been looking for this book!" Angel said, pulling out a book with the title Throne Of Glass and missing Douxie's both relieved and nervous sigh. Toby laughed as Memory Douxie started up a conversation with Angel about the book.
"What?" Douxie asked, glaring slightly at him.
"You are just like Jim was with Claire. Minus the drooling." Douxie groaned. "So, how long have you been into her?"
"Um...." Before Douxie answered, the scene changed to a busy mall with a couple of the stores having their names blurred for some reason.
"I'd love that," Douxie heard himself say again. Toby followed the wizard as he entered the store the voice had come from. Hot Topic.
"Why am I not surprised?" He muttered. Memory Douxie was standing a few feet away from the entrance. Douxie grimaced at how obviously he was blushing at the fact that she wanted to spend time with him. They had only just met, yet he was somehow infatuated with her. So much so that he had accidentally bumped into her in his rush to introduce himself.
Douxie had partially lied when he told her about how long his feelings had been around, saying it was a few months after they met when really it was when he first saw her. It was like he was always waiting for her, like he had met her before. Memories from his Camelot days came back in blurs when he saw her, but once it was clear that she had never seen him before, he pushed them and his little crush away. For a while...
"Where are we going now?" Toby groaned as the scene changed again, a red glow faint but noticeable as it did. Was that always the case when a memory changed, or did it just now begin? Either way they were outside in a forest, covered with snow. It took a moment for Toby to realize that it was Arcadia's.
"You can take it off now," a voice announced. "See you later, Douxie." The two turned to see Angel taking off a blindfold as a red head with double braids walked off smugly. Angel looked confused until she walked up the gazebo steps and spotted Douxie standing nervously.
"Hey..." Angel blushed as she looked around. "Snow?" She turned to an equally red faced Douxie. "How is it snowing?" Toby was about to ask the same thing to his Douxie when Memory Douxie answered for him.
"I may have asked Jack and Elsa for help with that," Douxie said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Angel chuckled and leaned against a nearby railing.
"You mean you let Jack loose and asked Elsa to keep an eye on him?"
"Pretty much." The two shared a laugh before it awkwardly went quiet.
"Wait, you're the reason it snowed on Christmas?" Toby exclaimed. Douxie clarified that it was his friends that did it absently, trying to make sense of the changes in the memories. He thought about a night that they had been sitting in their living room watching a random Disney movie and in a pink glow the memory faded to the one he thought of.
Angel was practically belting out Friends on the Other Side from The Princess and The Frog, one of the first instances that she was just herself around him. He saw himself staring at her with absolutely lovestruck eyes and remembered himself glaring at Archie for laughing at him but didn't see it happen here.
He tried it once more, thinking of another moment they'd had a few weeks before the Eternal Night happened. A pink glow and they were at the gazebo only daytime and green now. He saw Flapjack fly past him, knowing that he was flying to meet Angel and himself.
"Bleeding Balroths," he muttered, turning around to exactly what he remembered himself being. The pair of them introducing Archie to a newly healed Flapjack.
"What?" Toby asked. "And why does the memory keep changing?"
"Because it's connected to what I'm thinking of- no wonder the emotional anchor needs to be human!"
"This is great! Just think of her worst memories and we can find her!"
Douxie did as Toby suggested, asking for the worst memory she had ever. Instead of getting something from her past like he'd envisioned and instead was just a memory with Merlin and the Trollhunters once the brightest red glow yet faded.
The memory was yet again at the gazebo, at night this time. Angel had just popped in looking both frazzled and exhausted. She ended up running through Douxie, the memory following what happened despite their presence.
"Flapjack?" She called, looking in his nest for the elusive bird. "Please, I need to talk to you."
Of course, he's not here, echoed around them in Angel's voice. Toby jumped and grabbed Douxie's arm in fear. I can't talk to Barbara, Claire's out of the question right now, and Douxie...
"What. Was. That?" He asked. Douxie pulled his arm away and wiped it off, muttering something about sweaty palms. "What? I'm scared."
He needs to know! I know he does! And I'm just a horrible person.
"I think those are her thoughts, Toby," Douxie said as he sat down next to Angel, who had already slumped down on the steps and was clearly struggling to not scratch her arms. He reached to put a hand on her shoulder, forgetting that it would just go through it. Douxie sighed and looked down like she was.
Her phone rang, startling everyone around. Angel fumbled in her haste to pull it out. Douxie looked over her shoulder and felt his face fall when he saw that it was himself that was calling. Angel quickly hit ignore, tears falling down her face as she set it down and put her head in her hands.
"Angel," Douxie sighed again at her sobbing form. "I'm so sorry."
I'm a horrible person, aren't I?
"No. You never were. I should have never put you in that position. I knew how you felt about lying, but I still asked you to." He reached out to wipe a tear from her face, sighing when his hand went through her face. "And I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," Toby said, walking over them. "I've met Merlin. He's, how do I put this nicely? Very um..." Douxie chuckled at Toby's attempt to paint Merlin in a kind light. He knew his master wasn't the nicest person, but Toby was still trying.
"Thanks Toby," he said giving him a small smile. Toby returned it nervously. Suddenly the memory rumbled and shook, Angel disappearing in a red mist. Douxie hopped up quickly, ready to fight.
"I said to get out of my head!"
"Is that-"
"It's Angel!" Douxie exclaimed with a sigh, interrupting Toby. "She's fighting back!"
"But she can't beat him without knowing his name!"
"We have to- ahh!" Douxie and Toby shared a yell as they were pulled away in a rush of pink and red. Douxie wondered as they fell just how many times Toby would fall on him throughout their time in Angel's mind. So far, he counted two times and one close call. Toby groaned as he got pushed off of Douxie as the wizard stood up.
They were back in the main hallway of mahogany and windows. Angel was a translucent red in front of them, practically glowing with the rage she must have felt. The demon was scared, his black eyes wide. He was towering over her with the fog.
"How do you keep breaking from my grasp!?" The demon growled, sending a wave of fog at her quickly. Somehow, she was able to deflect and attack with her own red magic. "That's not possible!"
"The more you try, the stronger I become!" Angel yelled, blasting another bit of magic at the demon. "I refuse to let fear control me again!"
"Angel!" Toby yelled without thinking, drawing the attention of the two. Douxie had already slapped his hand on his mouth, but it was too little too late. Toby's eyes widened when he saw the smirk on the demon's face and Angel's concern, and he chuckled nervously. The demon gave Angel a glance before his smirk grew to a malicious toothy smile.
"Wanna bet?" The demon said before sending a wave of the fog towards the boys.
"No!" She screamed.
. . .
Now, what had once been flying around without any indication of a magical hold, had stopped in a glow of red. Strickler had been using his wings to keep some of the things away from Stuart and himself and Archie had been in dragon form, blasting the pieces away from the other two.
"That's new," the dragon muttered as he landed. Strickler helped Stuart up but couldn't shake the horrible feeling he had. "What is it now?"
"This either a very good thing or a very bad thing," Strickler muttered. "This means she is either fighting and regaining control...."
"Or?" Stuart asked as Strickler trailed off. The changeling sighed and looked away.
"Or she is losing what little bit of control she had before."
"Oh no," Archie muttered as he turned back to a cat.
. . .
Angel still had her magic, even in the mind scape, so she had teleported to them and then away from danger. On instinct she pulled the boys into the nearest memory window. Unfortunately, the feeling of dread fell upon her the moment she entered the place.
"Angel!" Douxie yelled this time as he put his arms around her. "You're ok!"
"Yeah- Yeah, I'm fine," she said, hugging him back, tears falling down her face. "You came for me."
"Of course, I did, love. Of course." Douxie sighed and held on tighter for a moment before she pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. "I will always come for you, no matter what."
"But- but how?"
"We can thank Strickler for that."
"Hey, Angel?" Toby asked, the two turning their heads where his attention was. "I don't mean to interrupt but where are we?"
Angel looked around the familiar space. Dark brown concrete floors, a little counter looking into the open floor plan living and dining room. Light grey leather couches, one with cup holders, and two older chairs that one would find within an older woman's home. Glass tables that were stained with cup rings because the cleaning for the day hadn't happened and littered with decorations and books.
Angel herself walked through the front door, looking decently happy. Two kids, one a thirteen-year-old girl and the other a sixteen-year-old boy, suddenly appeared on the couches simply playing on their phones with the TV paused on some game.
"Hey guys," Memory Angel said as she entered. The boy merely waved but the girl looked at her with an almost neutral expression.
"Hey," the girl said as Angel shut the door. "How was the date?"
"It was fine. We ate at Dairy Queen, and I got my favorite blizzard. What'd you do while I was gone?"
"Played Call of Duty and stuff," the boy answered. As Memory Angel continued the conversation jovially, the Angel Douxie was still holding onto tensed and shrunk back into the kitchen. She knew exactly what was about to happen and she wanted to be as far back from that side door next to the dining table as possible.
Douxie felt Angel try to slide out of his grasp, but he kept ahold of her hand. Her face was translucent, so it was hard to make out what her expression was. However, when the door she was trying so desperately to get away from was pulled open, she jumped and tensed. He followed her then, putting himself between her and the woman who came stomping out of that room.
"I can hear you all the way in here!" The woman yelled, walking through Toby. She was a bigger set woman with dark brown hair and mean eyes. Even Toby backed up in her presence. "I have a headache and you all are in here yelling-" the boy gained a confused and annoyed look but just sighed and went back to his phone. Memory Angel had stiffened just like her translucent counterpart, her face a familiar expression to Douxie.
"I'm-" Memory Angel started but the woman interrupted.
"Especially you. You're always loud." Toby scoffed, having been around her for almost a year disproved that. "You are so insensitive to the people around you."
But I didn't know you were asleep.
"She was usually at work," Angel began, pausing the memory. "And even then, when I saw her car here, I didn't expect her to be taking a nap."
"You didn't know," Douxie said, trying to console her. Toby just looked confused and unconvinced that this was as bad as Angel thought it was.
"I mean, I get the outburst even if you weren't that loud," Toby said, earning a glare from Douxie and a tired look from Angel. He raised his in defense. "I'm just saying, she was annoyed and having a bad day. So long as she apologized-"
"She didn't," Angel said. "And this was hardly the worst of it." With a humorless chuckle the time of day changed and the positions of everyone were now at the four-seat dining table. Well, the three young kids were with another around Angel's age. There was an older man now who was likely Angel's father because they looked so much alike. In fact, the other two that they saw in the first memory looked a lot like her.
"This is my family," Angel muttered an attempt at a dramatic flair but just sounded depressed. "The boy is my brother, Adam. The girl who's about thirteen is my sister, Layla. The girl who's my age is my stepsister, Lena. The guy on the couch is my dad."
"And the lady we saw earlier?" Toby asked just as the woman came in the front door. She looked exhausted and was wearing nurse scrubs.
"My stepmother, Ashlynn." Ashlynn didn't say much of a greeting, just heading to the bedroom while she pulled out her ponytail. The memory seemed to be put in fast forward for a few seconds until Ashlynn came out and moved to the pot on the stove behind them. Angel quickly moved out of the way though Ashlynn wouldn't have been stopped by her.
As Angel held on tighter to Douxie's arm, tensed for whatever was about to happen. Toby again was confused at her reaction, wondering what could possibly go wrong with dinner. Ashlynn lifting the top off the pan and almost immediately throwing it down gave him some clue.
"What is it, Ash?" Angel's dad asked her.
"Guess I'm not eating tonight," she said, turning to glare at Memory Angel. "You're never making dinner again. You clearly didn't think make or save enough for me."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I thought-"
"No, you didn't. You never do." Ashlynn stormed off to her room, slamming the door. Everyone's eyes turned to her but all she did was look down and slowly eat her food. The memory paused again. Toby went over to check the pot and scoffed.
"What's she going on about?" Toby asked. "This is a decent meal size! Something I would eat."
"I know," Angel said, now holding onto her wrists at the memory. "It's not a perfect recollection, nor is it likely what actually happened. But the feeling, the basis of it is all I remember. Things said-"
I'm just saying, if you can say you like both boys and girls, can't people say that that they are attracted to kids?
"Wait, did she actually say that?" Toby asked incredulously. Angel nodded, unable to speak anymore.
That won't work.
No one will like you if you do that.
You can't do that; Adam and Lena's friends are making fun of you and it's putting them in a bad position.
I'm just saying-
Her voice echoed with different phrases of the same sort, telling her that she was the problem and all kinds of detrimental things. Tears of anger and sadness and started falling down her face and her translucent red body started glowing. Douxie didn't expect it to do much, but he covered her ears anyway. If anything, he just wanted to tell her not to listen to the words, that they weren't true.
"I love you, Angel," he said, leaning forward enough to put his forehead on hers. Her expression calmed at that gesture and the glow dimmed. "Ignore what she's saying, it's not true. You have people that care, that will always care. Claire, Arch, Flapjack, me-"
"And me," Toby added with determination. Angel looked to him confused which caused the boy to sigh. "I know, I haven't always been the nicest to you. Like throwing that Gaggletack at you or yelling at you for leaving your parents the minute you could."
"It's fine Toby," Angel said wiping her eyes.
"No, it's not. You were right. I didn't think before I said that and I'm sorry. It's just- my parents won the lottery and to celebrate, they decided to-" he was cut off by the memory rumbling and shaking. Screaming that was not her own echoed as the space around them as it fell apart.
"Ok, heartfelt apologies later, get that demon out now," Douxie said, reaching into his pocket for the paper. Only it wasn't there. "Fuzzbuckets..."
"You lost it?!" Toby asked furiously.
"We've been moving from memory to memory! I must have dropped it somewhere."
"And you didn't notice!? It was in your pocket!"
"What is so important about a piece of damn paper?" Angel asked, Douxie wincing in shame and Toby crossing his arms with a glare.
"Oh nothing," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just the one piece of information that we needed to give you to get this creepazoid out of you!"
"Can't you just tell me? And please don't say you forgot what it said already."
"No. We just can't say it, or it'll make him stronger." Angel facepalmed.
"Great..."
. . .
Archie was getting worried for them all. Dawn was approaching and they still hadn't come back. At midnight, the objects had stopped moving by both the demon and Angel's will. It had been so quiet that Stuart had fallen asleep in the corner, his snores louder than Douxie's or even Angel's the odd times she did snore.
Strickler was out getting breakfast considering there had been no activity for a couple hours and he was getting hungry. Granted, Archie was too but he wasn't leaving-
His ears perked hearing Douxie's scream, followed by Toby's; Suddenly in wave of lavender fog, the two were back in room.
"Douxie!" Archie exclaimed as he jumped down to nuzzle close to his familiar as he sat up. Douxie gave him a quick hug back before moving to Angel's side again and pulling off the machinery that kept her asleep.
"Hang on, what are you doing?" Stuart asked urgently but with a yawn as well. Toby stopped him from coming closer so Douxie could continue.
"She's fighting back, but she needs to be able to wake up after," Toby explained as Douxie finished with it and grasped onto her hand, holding it close.
"Come on, come on," Douxie muttered over and over, Angel's hand still extremely cold. Minutes passed like hours as Toby again explained what was happening to Strickler as he entered. Suddenly, objects began flying around in both a red glow and without any glow whatsoever.
Then, just as suddenly, they fell, and Angel's hand gained some warmth back. She shot up with a gasp, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Douxie let a sigh out with smile as he saw the color of her eyes. A wonderful pale bluish green.
She smiled back as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. Apparently too quickly because her expression turned to one Douxie had unfortunately grown accustomed to the past couple weeks and grabbed the nearest trashcan in a blue glow of his magic. He moved next to her and held her hair back as she puked up inky black sticky goo.
"Oh, that is so gross," Toby gagged. Strickler and Archie turned their noses up. Stuart just shrugged, not knowing what the big deal was.
"So, did you do it?" Stuart asked once she finished. She was shaking and shuddering as Douxie rubbed her back and Strickler handed her a handkerchief. Angel took it and gratefully wiped her mouth off.
"If his screaming 'Noo! You'll pay for this!' I think so," Angel joked, earning a chuckle from Archie and hug from Douxie. He kissed her head tenderly as he rubbed her shoulder.
. . .
Angel couldn't sleep that night, the way she cast out Za-rúk, the demons name, was still haunting her. The fear he had practically pumped into her veins still lingered. The only reason it didn't hurt her in the fight was because she had long since turned her fear into anger.
Still, the fear always came back later. That's what brought her to Douxie's door. Before she even knocked, he told her to come in.
"Am I really that predictable?" She laughed as she poked her head in. Douxie chuckled as he continued tuning his guitar. It was new considering that the guitar he'd used as a weapon during the Eternal Night happened to be his own. At least he didn't have to pay back someone else for it.
"Partially," he said, gesturing for her to sit next to him. She did so, smiling nervously to herself. "The other part is that I heard you coming. Are you feeling alright, love?" Angel blushed but didn't look at him, so she missed the soft concern on his face when he looked to her.
"Not really. I'm having trouble shaking the feeling of that stupid demon. I-" she hesitated before laying her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "I don't think I wanna be alone tonight." It was Douxie's turn to blush, using a spell to put up his guitar. Angel grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I feel like I haven't slept in months."
"Just a few days, actually." Angel chuckled, but it was sleepy. Douxie's nerves were through the roof at what she was asking. It had felt different when he had pulled her close in her sleep simply because she had been out of his reach, hurt badly, and he really was just plain tired. Now she was asking to sleep next to him. "Are you sure?" He asked. She held his hand tighter, or as tight as she could in her sleepy state.
"Positive," Angel sighed.