All his thoughts were swirling in his head as he dragged the ice box behind him. Step, drag. Step, drag. Out the door, with a bag over his shoulder. All his belongings and prized possessions-his report card, his science fair trophy, a locket with a picture of his dead mother, a few anime-style drawings he had made, and his phone-were tucked in the bag. On his body he wore his favourite jacket, a hoodie with white rib lines and a green five over the heart.

His heart. His beating heart, the muscular lump of flesh trying to pound its way out of his chest and escape. It throbbed faster than his legs, faster than the nightmarish thoughts racing into his mind.

Slam! His face ran into a wall of rocks.

Not a wall, a person. A towering silhouette of boulders, condensed into a bulky humanoid shape. Its eyes were empty and hollow, yet full of life. "Lloyd! I was just coming to look for you! Did you see-"

"MydadjustcalledmesayingtheSerpentinearehereandweneedtogo!" He didn't take a moment to breathe before heading past his Golem friend. Cole held him back by the collar.

"Slow down, Green Bean," Cole said. "What's in the ice box?"

Lloyd glanced at the box behind him, imagining a discomforted Zane contorting himself to fit in the confined space of the ice box. "Zane."

"ZANE can FIT in that thing?"

"I sure hope so. Can we-"

BAM!

An explosion rang out at the entrance of the sanctuary, and chunks of debris were blown every which way. Lloyd almost toppled over, but Cole supported his back and kept him upright.

The two of them winced, and through cringing eyes were glimpses of a sea of people. Unkempt, green hair was matted to their heads. They wore green leather jackets studded with faux golden sequins. Evergreen masks hid their faces, and black jeans clothed their legs. Team Venomari.

The Serpentine gang was split into five main factions: Team Fangpyre, Team Hypnobrai, Team Anacondrai, Team Venomari, and Team Constrictai. But no matter the team, everyone could agree that a Serpentine is a Serpentine, and Serpentines are horrible people. They stole the name of an actual species of Creature, and used that name to ruin the reputation of all snake-people around the world. The real Serpentines went into voluntary exile because of the allegations against them, and no one had seen or heard from them since.

Cole snatched up the ice box in one hand and put it above his head, and scooped Lloyd into his other arm. Running, running fast. Go fast, go faster.

"We need to let the others know!" Lloyd shouted over the roaring of the Venomari soldiers. The assailants threw themselves and their weapons at every available Creature within range, capturing Lloyd's non-human brethren in nets and reeling them in.

Cole tried not to look at the carnage. It was the Serpentine that raided his town all those years ago, and took his Creature friends and killed him. That was the day he became a Golem. That was the day he became this horrifying freak of a thing. Stupid poachers.

Lloyd didn't try to struggle free of the rock-monster's grasp. It would be a futile resistance. Plus, Cole could get them to the Fairy Wing faster than if Lloyd had gone on foot. Sitting also gave him the time to reflect.

"I love you," said the ghost of his father's words, still rattling in his head.

"I love you too, Dad," Lloyd mouthed in response. But his phone conversation was over. It was too late to tell his father how he felt, and perhaps he would never get another chance. Maybe his dad was dead, maybe HE would be-

Knock, knock, knock. It sounded more like pounding, as Cole slammed his fists against Nya's fragile door. B440. The '4' unhinged slightly.

A pause.

Nya, paint-spattered and breathing heavy, opened the door. "Cole? Lloyd? What's going-"

"Get Kai and Jay and let's go!"

"Why?"

A few Serpentines ran past, capturing a Wisp in the background.

"I'll go get them." She turned around and flew down the narrow halls of her Fairy home. "Kai! Jay!"

The two Fairies flew into the living room. "We gotta go. Serpentine are here."

"SERPENTINE?!" Jay sputtered. "What are THEY-"

Smash! All eyes were on Cole, who had just face-planted a scrawny Venomari into the floor. "What?"

"Let's goooo," Lloyd groaned. Why did they have to be so nonchalant about something like this? They should have been running and screaming and frantic. They should've been just as hysterical as he was, why was he the only one panicking?

Jealous of Cole's calm demeanor and frustrated that no one heeded his advice, the human-faced boy crossed his arms and huffed.

The three Fairies flew out, and the six friends raced for whatever exit was available. Cole held Zane in the ice box, Kai had for once put his phone away, Nya was in the lead, and Jay was whining incessantly. Lloyd just sat there, in Cole's earthen arms, thinking. Since he didn't have powers (none that he wanted to admit or acknowledge, at least), thinking was the only thing he really COULD do.

Why here, why now? Why did the Serpentine have to exist? Why couldn't they just leave everyone alone? What about his Uncle Wu and father? Were they alright? Sure, they could more than defend themselves in a fight but...an entire team of Venomaris? At once? Just the two of them? Lloyd hated to underestimate their skills, being that both of them fought in the Great War and even founded the world's first Creature sanctuary, but he figured it would be better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised.

A Venomari lashed out, pouncing on Jay. Cole ripped the Venomari off. A few more rushed in. One grabbed at the ice box, only to be thrown aside.

"Flamethrower!" Kai shouted, and a stream of fire bursted from his palms. He overcame the crowd. They kept passing through.

Jay electrocuted all who dared go near, and Nya drowned a few of them by forming water bubbles around their heads. Cole wasn't one for fancy attacks, and just bulldozed his way through.

Zane knew this was going to happen, Lloyd was certain of that. They all were. Zane could see time, and perhaps he even WAS time. Zane likely saw this coming years ago. So why didn't he say something? Maybe the Visionayr knew something the others didn't. Maybe Zane WANTED this to happen.

Trying to understand the science of Zane threw Lloyd's head in for a spin, so he quickly ceased all attempts to make any sense of it.

Lloyd turned back to see what had become of the sanctuary. The name "Two Brothers Safe Haven" had become something of an irony, seeing how there was so much destruction and malice spread about. Fires had lit here and there, some of them being Kai's fault, bodies lay motionless on the ground, and the screams of the unlucky ones still pierced the hearts of the survivors.

It had taken a lot of running and fighting to get away, but all of it was worth it. Once they reached the epicenter of a forest, Nya concluded that they had gotten far enough.

The twinges of pain could be seen on all their faces, Jay's in particular. His electric eyes were downcast, and his voice was no longer lit with witty quips and wordplay.

Kai wanted to take his phone and scroll down his social media feed. Anything to drown out the thoughts of what he had lost. He already lost his parents. He and Nya vagabonded for much of her childhood. And just as they had finally found a place to call home, it was destroyed. Burnt to the ground. Gone. He didn't go on his phone, though, because this wasn't exactly the best time to be checking how many likes his latest selfie got.

Cole tried not to think about it too much. He and Lloyd were similar in that sense. Both of them would go to whatever measures possible to NOT think about their trauma and pain. Ignoring it felt like the best way to prevent emotional pain.

Nya had to be strong. She could see that the flame in Kai's soul was close to extinguishing with grief. Really all of them were about to freeze over with agony. This sort of loss didn't seem to effect her much, mainly because this kind of loss was all she knew. Being chased across the globe by all sorts of poachers or exterminators or whatever they called themselves these days. The adrenaline still coursing through her Fairy veins was familiar, and the sentiment dampened her cheeks with soft tears.

Zane just sat there, scrunched up all snug in his ice box. He hadn't seen it first-hand, but he had seen it. The images of past, present, and future haunted his every thought. But all the same, he knew how all this would end. He knew how he would die, and Lloyd, and all the others. He knew who would get to have a happy ending, and for that reason he smiled.

For a good time, no one mustered the courage to speak or even whimper. When the time came, however, it was Jay who spoke.

"What now?"