Blackout

Summary: Something strange is going on in Enchancia. The sun isn't rising, and neither is the moon. Instead of stars at night, the sky is covered in strange glowing points of colored light, which grow dimmer each evening. Concerned, King Roland urges Cedric and a team he's assembled to investigate, lest the kingdom be plunged into darkness for good.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far, and also thanks so much to those who favorited/followed (and also to those who simply enjoy reading). I had one thing I wanted to address. Greylock is actually not going to be in this story. I'd originally planned for him to be when I'd started my drafts and notes, but due to his *ahem* behavior in the "Day of the Sorcerers" episode, he will not fit in with the story line. It's a shame, too, because he was supposed to show up in this chapter! *sigh* Ah, well. Where one goes astray, new ones will come to play. ;) Also, any stories I'd previously planned to write with Greylock will be pushed back until I see some sort of direction/resolution with his character. Just wanted to make sure I made note of that. With that said, here's chapter two!

*Story*

Chapter 2: Assembly

"Me and my big mouth," Cedric complained hours later as he tapped his fingers on his table. He glanced toward Wormwood, who rolled his eyes. "Wormy, what have I gotten myself into?"

"More than you know, more than likely," the raven drawled with a smirk. "That's what you get for volunteering yourself to King Roland. That whole 'at your service' thing was bound to backfire on you at some point."

"Well, I suppose I'd better make good on my offer then. I'm still under somewhat…obligatory conditions considering recent events."

"You mean when they found out your plan to overtake the kingdom," the bird suggested with a loud sigh. "Honestly."

Cedric shrugged as he sat up straighter. "Well, it was bound to happen eventually, I think… I'm sort of glad it's already over and done. It's gotten me closer to the princess."

Wormwood scoffed. "As if you two could be any closer. The girl hugs you more than she hugs her own mother. Anyway, what is this so-called plan you have?"

The sorcerer unrolled a scroll and grabbed a quill. "King Roland wants me to assemble some fellow sorcerers together to determine what's happened and if we can resolve this magically. I have some people in mind who could potentially help us out with this blackout. I do have some theories as to what is going on, but I doubt any of them are actually true… We'll see, I guess. I only hope they respond affirmatively…" He began writing down some things onto his parchment.

"I'm assuming Greylock is out then?" He chuckled as Cedric shot him a look. "Message received."

"Mr. Cedric?"

Cedric turned toward the door as Sofia, still in her usual dress, gently pushed it open, her fingers tightly holding onto a lit candle as she entered his workshop. "Sofia, what are you doing here so late? It must be close to midnight now…"

"Who can tell?" she asked sleepily with a small giggle before shuffling inside. "I hadn't seen you since Dad asked you to look into this whole thing, and I was worried about you—whoa!"

Cedric was quick and caught her when she tripped, the candle now doused and lying on the floor. "Sofia, you're tired. You need to go to bed. I can handle this."

The girl frowned in concern as she looked toward her mentor. "But we're a team. I want to help you."

The sorcerer smiled fondly as he helped her to her feet. "My dear, you'll help me by getting some rest. I can't have you falling all over the place."

She sighed before yawning. "Can you at least tell me your plan? I'm guessing you have one…"

Cedric conceded and led her to a chair before sitting down himself. "I do have something of a plan—some promising names I believe could help us." He turned the previously written list toward the girl, who began skimming the parchment.

The list included names such as Goodwyn, Winifred, Merlin, some names she didn't recognize, and even Cordelia and Calista. Sofia smiled tiredly at Cedric. "You're giving your sister and niece a chance to participate in this?"

"It's not like I really have a choice, I'm afraid." Cedric clasped his hands together. "Cordelia is powerful, and I need her help, as much as it pains me to admit it." He smiled at her laugh. "And Calista naturally must come along, as I doubt very much her mother would leave her behind. Besides, who knows? She may be beneficial to our cause."

"Yeah, it's possible." She shook her head a few times and tried to will away her tiredness, but Cedric caught on pretty quickly.

"All right, it's time for you to get some rest. Come along—I'll walk you back to your room."

Sofia nodded and dropped to her feet before Cedric guided her down the stairs of the tower. He'd brought a candle with them to illuminate their way. "You don't think something bad is going to happen, do you, Mr. Cedric?"

"I'm not sure, Sofia. I certainly hope not, though this entire situation is a bit troubling, to say the least." He placed his free hand on her back gently as he saw her lower her head. The simple action got her attention again. "Don't worry though. Whatever it is that is going on, we are going to get to the bottom of it. And with a team to help us decipher this phenomenon, whether it's magical or something else entirely, we'll be successful."

Sofia hummed in appreciation. She liked that he seemed optimistic about things for a change. Who knew discovering his dark secret would suddenly lead to this new positive perspective? As they approached her room, she felt a bit more apprehensive. Uncertainty didn't sit well with her, especially lately. She paused in front of her door and looked up toward her mentor worriedly. "Mr. Cedric?"

Cedric smiled in resignation before dropping to one knee and holding out his arms. He sighed as she hugged him. He patted her back in a soothing manner before she moved back. "It will be all right, Sofia. I promise you."

She nodded and smiled in appreciation. "Good night, Mr. Cedric. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she walked into her room and shut the door behind her.

The sorcerer sighed as he turned and walked back to his workshop. "At least I hope so…"

With the help of his magic, Cedric managed to get his letters of urgency out to those written on his list. Naturally, his parents arrived first and agreed to aid him under the circumstances.

"Goodness," Winifred mumbled as she looked around the kingdom. Luckily, there were torches glimmering around them, but that didn't take away the fact that there was still a horrid lack of natural light. "No stars, no moon, no sun… This is very strange, Cedric."

"I know," he responded. "King Roland is perplexed. Sofia is terrified. I'm absolutely dumbfounded…"

"It could be any sort of meteorological happenstance, truly," Goodwyn told his son. "Perhaps a shift in the weather… Yet that doesn't necessarily explain the outright disappearance of the sun, the stars, and the moon, does it?"

"Not really, and it happened so fast." The younger sorcerer ran one hand through his hair. "Father, do you think there could be some sort of magic behind this? However sinister or misguided?"

Goodwyn gave his son a curious look. "You've considered that as well…?" He nodded curtly. "Very well. We can't dismiss the possibility of a magic wielder being responsible for this. However, we must eradicate all other natural factors first before pursuing that route."

"Am I late to the party?" a familiar, playful voice called out from behind the family.

They turned in surprise, only to see Merlin approaching with his wand giving off a steady stream of light to help guide him.

"Merlin?" Goodwyn asked curiously. "What on earth are you doing here? I haven't seen you in quite some time."

"Ah, Goodwyn! Winifred! How nice to see you both." He gestured toward Cedric. "Your son sent me a letter of urgency requesting my help." He glanced up with a deep frown. "Yes, I can see why…"

Goodwyn glanced toward his son. "You requested Merlin's help?"

Cedric smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Well, who better? Besides, I guess I forgot to mention that I've met him before…when Calista came for a visit last time."

The older man nodded. He blinked as Merlin walked over and pulled him to the side to talk to him.

Winifred chuckled and nudged his cheek gently. "That's smart thinking, Ceddy-kins. Merlin is a top-notch wizard and the best one to help us out."

"Yes…and why is he so familiar with you two anyway?"

The woman made a sound of boredom. "Eh, he and your father used to have Wizarding Card Game tournaments years ago, when you were a toddler and even before that. They also met up at many magical events, of course."

"Huh. I never knew that."

"Cedric," Merlin began as he turned to face both mother and son, "your father and I were just discussing something. Have there been any strange goings on in Enchancia leading up to this particular…event?"

Cedric deadpanned at the question. Let's see. He had no recollection of it of course, but Sofia had told him of Princess Ivy. Then there was Sascha/Miss Nettle back in her days of deceit. Sofia's wicked twin created from duplication (though they'd taken care of her). Slickwell had had his moment of stardom with trying to outdo Baileywick and take over his job. Several other little things had occurred in and around the kingdom, as well. Then of course there was…him, but he chose not to dwell on that topic for now. "You could say that…"

"Any of particular threat who might have the capacity of power to do something like this?"

He shook his head. "I don't believe so… Merlin, it's one thing to attempt siege of a castle or something, but to completely do away with the sun, moon, and stars? Even magically speaking, I won't necessarily say it's impossible, but I will say it would likely be extremely difficult. One must have some planetary familiarity or something to have done this."

"So normal-level wizards are out," Goodwyn surmised as he shook his head. "Well, this is a mess already, and we've only just begun, I'm afraid. And who else did you send out letters to?"

"A few people I knew from Hexley Hall who could be of help, though I've not heard back from them. And then there's—"

"Uncle Ceddy!"

"...Cordelia and Calista," Cedric finished before feeling small yet strong arms wrap around his waist. He smiled and patted the girl gently on the head. "Calista, how are you?"

"Confused. Where's all the light gone in this kingdom?" She then noticed her grandparents and quickly turned to hug them as well.

"That's what we are trying to figure out, my dear," Winifred told her as she brushed her hand through her granddaughter's hair. She smiled as Cordelia approached. "And you've come to lend a hand as well, Cordelia?"

The sorceress shrugged carelessly before smirking and nudging her brother. "Should be interesting with us working together, eh, Cedric?" she asked playfully.

Cedric sighed in dismay as Calista ran back over to him and clung to him once more. "What have I gotten myself into…?"

Other sorcerers or general magic practicing individuals either didn't respond to Cedric's inquiry or relayed word that they were regretfully unable to aid Enchancia for whatever reason but sent the wishes of the best of luck for those who were in attendance. While that provided Cedric with little comfort, his apprentice cheered him up anyway.

"Don't worry, Mr. Cedric," she told him later that evening as their guests were eating in the dining room with the royal family. Sofia had pulled Cedric aside when she'd noticed the worried look on his face. "Even if we don't have as many as you'd like helping, we still have some of the best wizards ever. I mean, Merlin of all people?" She smiled enthusiastically, getting him to finally crack a smile of his own.

"That is rather remarkable, isn't it?" He sighed in resignation. "Well, it's just as well. Seems like it ended up being more of a family affair after all, though I don't know how things will turn out, to be honest. I don't even know what we're up against with this strange blackout… Eating by candlelight occasionally is one thing, but every day?" He gestured toward the table, which was, indeed, illuminated by several lit candles, both stationary and floating (thanks to Merlin).

Sofia giggled. "We'll figure this out, Mr. Cedric."

"I certainly hope so, Sofia…" With that, he led his friend back to the table so they could finish their meals and begin discussing theories and plausible solutions.

Meanwhile, in the dark mountains on the outskirts of Enchancia, a figure stood on the precipice of the slope, knowing blue eyes gazing out at the obscured land.

"Hmm… So it's come to this, has it? Very well then." And with that, a familiar howl released into the night, echoing across the land.

To be continued…