Simon

I've dreamt a lot about dying. It's not surprising since I was tasked with saving the World of Mages when I was 11.

It's always in those seconds before I die in my dreams that I fight to hold on to consciousness. I figure that if I can keep thinking and keep remembering my life, I can stave off death just a little longer.

I find myself doing that now as I feel the blood drip down my arms.

I shouldn't be fighting it. I chose this. I'm doing this to make things better. But it's hard to let go in the end. You can't help but want more time.

So I let myself remember.

Baz

As soon as I run into the nursery, I see him.

Simon's laying on top of a stone platform on the opposite side of the room, blood flowing from both his arms into basins at his sides. His eyes are closed and I'm not sure how long he has left. The Mage is leaning over him, whispering whatever spell he's using to take Snow's magic away. To take him away. From me.

I take a page from Snow's playbook and just act. The fire from my hand launches directly at the Mage, but he deflects it at the last moment into the wall behind him.

He looks over at another man I didn't notice at first and shouts "Take care of it!" before leaning over Simon again.

The man walks towards me and pulls a wand from his jacket pocket.

"Let me guess- Christopher?" I say as I close the distance between us and fill my palm with fire once more.

Simon

I think of the memories of my mother. Of her holding me and making me giggle. Of her truly wanting me.

I think about pressing my palms against the car windows as the Mage drove me in into Watford my first year. Of being in awe of the buildings and the spells being cast by students across the front lawn.

I think of Baz reluctantly shaking my hand at the Crucible ceremony. How even in that briefest touch, there was some deeper connection it would take me years to figure out.

Baz

Even though Christopher has a wand, he fights more like Snow. He uses magic sparingly and relies more on his physical skills to avoid attacks and retaliate.

When I can spare a second, I look back at Simon. His breathing is getting dangerously slow and I've never seen him so pale. The smell of his blood is nearly overwhelming now, but I keep my focus on Christopher.

Or I was keeping my focus on him until he shoved me into the wall and knocked the wand out of my grasp while I was turned around.

His forearm is pressed tightly against my chest and he casts "Stay put!" to keep my legs from moving.

"Why?" I growl in his face as my arms struggle to push him off me. Christopher was looking back at the Mage, but his eyes meet mine again. "Why are you helping the man that killed your sister?"

"What?" Christopher asks. His grip hasn't loosened, but I see doubt flicker in his eyes.

Simon

I think of when Penny introduced herself to me and decided to be my friend. How I embarrassed myself in questioning her name and saw her give me the first of many exasperated looks I would grow to love because no matter how hopeless I was, she was always going to be my best friend.

I think of the nights over the Christmas holidays watching Dr. Who with Agatha and her parents on the sofa and eating more than my fair share of the popcorn.

I think of Professor Bunce trying to encourage me after I lost my magic. Of him trying to assure me that the dead spots that I created would someday be thriving again. It was just a matter of time.

I think about laying in Shepard's truck bed with Baz and looking up at the stars. And then finding I could only look at Baz. The cool feeling of his arms on my back and his lips gently pressing against mine.

Baz

"Didn't tell you that part did he?" I say, trying to breakthrough to Christopher enough so I can overpower him.

"Lucy sacrificed herself for Simon," Christopher says, but he sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than he's trying to convince me.

I look directly into his eyes now. They are similar to Snow's, but have flecks of green mixed in with the blue.

"He stabbed her with a dagger right in front of Simon when he was a baby. He wanted power more than he wanted her." I keep my voice low and even.

I see Christopher process this and he squeezes his eyes shut as he presses against my chest and arms harder. A few tears escape under his eyelids.

When he opens his eyes again, his sadness has turned into resolve.

"If Davy goes back, he's going to kill Simon. It's the only way he can take his power," Christopher whispers into my face.

My heart doesn't beat very fast, but I think it nearly stops at these words.

"It's not what Lucy would have wanted. You have to get Simon to stop Davy. He has to decide to stay and fight," he glances back at the Mage and Simon. I realize he's not trying to hurt me. He's trying to help me.

"I can only give you a few minutes," he says as he turns back to me. I stop struggling against him and nod.

Christopher's arms finally let me go. He releases me from the spell holding me in place. Then he points his wand at the Mage and I hear him shout "Out like a light!"

The Mage immediately crumples to the floor. I snatch Christopher's wand out of his hand and snap it in half as I run towards Simon. He may be on my side for the moment, but I'm not taking any chances. I grab my own wand from the floor as I run and pray I'm not too late.

Simon

My memories are starting to dim. The edges are growing dark, like a film strip slowly burning under too much light. I don't have the strength to fully recall events anymore, so I cycle through the faces that I care about most, ending with Baz.

His dark flowing hair. His cool gray eyes. The rare smile I could pull out of him that completely melted my heart.

"Simon, love…" I can hear his voice now. I must be reaching the end.

"Look at me!" he says more urgently. It takes so much energy to open my eyes.

Baz isn't a memory anymore. He's here. He's come to save me. I love him for trying, but it's too late. He spells the cuts on my arms closed, but it isn't holding because my will is fighting against his magic.

"Baz," I'm barely able to whisper. "Let me go. Let me do this for everyone. Let me do this for you."

He doesn't look back at me lovingly. He looks…angry. And determined. He lets go of my face and holds up his wand to the wall on my right. He yells "Seeing is believing!" and then uses his free hand to gently tilt my head so I can see what he's trying to show me.

Baz didn't come alone. I see Penny and Agatha working together to launch fire at a pair of charging vampires. Shepard is right behind them, slaying merwolves left and right with…is that the Sword of Mages?

Baz's aunt and Nicodemus are nearby taking out vampires as well. Fiona with fire and Nicodemus with his bare hands.

The Bunces are fighting together as a team. Penny's mum must have taken out at least seven merwolves by the looks of what's laying around her. The incoming merwolves can't get close enough to attack because Penny's dad is doing some sort of spell to keep them back.

And then I see Baz's dad send a knife flying through the air to spear a merwolf about to reach Dr. Wellbelove, who is trying to protect Baz's stepmother and watch out for Agatha behind him at the same time.

Baz tilts my head back to face him. "We don't want to be saved. We're all fighting together for a world with you in it."

"But the prophecy- the greatest power…it's not me. I messed it up. This will fix it." I say, defeated.

Baz glances down at my wrists concerned. The cuts are slowly starting to open again.

He looks back at me more urgently. "Do you remember what we spoke about in the library at my house in Hampshire? Before Bunce and Wellbelove came over?"

I can barely keep my eyes open, so pulling up a memory from over a year ago is a struggle. My voice is weak again as I speak. "About finding your mother's murderer?"

"No- about what would happen after," he says and the corners of his mouth turn up into the beginnings of a wistful smile. "You said we would help each other and then forget about the rest. That we could help everyone see we're better off uniting. I teased you about it then. I laughed at the idea. But look outside!"

It takes up my last bit of energy to turn my head a few centimeters to see the window he created in the wall again.

"The Mage was wrong about the prophecy. We were wrong about the prophecy. It wasn't about people, it was about ideas," He says emphatically and then continues. "Pride came to end us. On both sides. We were so focused on being right we couldn't see what we were doing wrong. Love- your love for me and your love for saving everyone's magic, brought its fall when you took down the Humdrum. We were able to stop the Mage and bring a tentative peace to our world for the first time in decades. And the greatest power? It's all of us. United. Working together to not only save the World of Mages but make it thrive."

When he pauses I turn to face him again.

"But we can't be united if you tear us apart. We need you. I need you." He's cupping the side of my face now. His eyes are staring into mine pleadingly.

The power of his words slowly spark something in my heart. The one that I wanted to tie to his forever. The one that is tied to his forever.

I close my eyes and focus on Baz's touch. I pull on my magic through his hand on my face and direct it towards my arms. The burning cools and then I feel my strength returning.

"Simon-" Baz starts to say hopefully, but his sentence gets cut off as I feel something fly swiftly over me. I open my eyes and see a blade sticking deep into Baz's shoulder.

Baz staggers back from me, his now injured arm pulling away from my face. His blood is soaking through his shirt around the hilt of the Mage's dagger. I can't reach him from here and he's still stumbling back.

I fight against the shackles on my wrists and lean up to see the Mage standing with his wand pointed at Baz. Everything seems to slow to a stop as the next words come out of the Mage's mouth.

"Up in flames!" he yells.

I try to turn my head in time. To look at Baz's beautiful face. To tell him I won't leave him.

But all I see is fire.

"Noooooo!" I scream.

Baz

I wasn't expecting the dagger. I was too focused on Snow. But he was changing his mind. He was choosing to stay with us. With me.

I shouldn't have let go of Simon's face…

I hear the Mage cast the spell that will end my life. Simon's face is turned away from mine. My last memory will be of his bronze curls.

I only see them for a second before fire engulfs my vision.

I always knew this would end in flames.