After Corey flew the boys to the hospital, she flew Ian back to Guinevere II so he could drive her back home. Using the direction spell, he drove away from the cave and tried to get back home as soon as possible.
He arrives home later that night, pulling into the driveway.
Laurel heads out of the kitchen entrance, ready to see her sons again. But the relieved expression on her face fades when she sees that it's only Ian in the van.
"Ian...where's Barley?" she asks worriedly as her youngest son steps out of the car.
"He's at the hospital again...we get to visit him tomorrow. He can pull through this...it's a long story, I'll tell you when we get inside."
The she-elf could tell he was much better than how he was in the morning, as his skin was its regular blue and the spots were now all gone. But Barley was a different story, as he wasn't even here right now. She assumes he made a sacrifice for him...
Before they walk into the house, Laurel wraps Ian in a tight hug.
"I'm just...so glad you two are alive," she says, tearing up. "I was getting so worried throughout today, it's like I could sense something was wrong..."
"It's fine, Mom, you don't have to worry anymore."
Laurel pulls away from his son to see him giving her a reassuring smile.
Her attention is then diverted to the passenger's seat of the van, where there were two staffs leaning against it; one being Ian's staff, and the other being his father's.
"Your dad's staff...how did you find it?" "That's part of the long story...let's go inside."
Ian gets his staffs out from the van and he walks inside with his mother.
He feels a sense of relief once he enters the kitchen, being swept with the familiar scent of home. He feels like he hadn't been here in ages, yet it hasn't even been a full day. He was exhausted, not just from today, but the last few weeks. He couldn't be happier that he actually managed to cure his sickness and save the day...although he wishes Barley was with him at the moment.
"Colt had to work late, so he'll be here a little late..." Laurel says as she gets some leftover griffin that was still in the fridge from last night, along with a cup of water. "I know you couldn't keep down your griffin from last night, but luckily I had some extra."
She brings them towards her son, who was now sitting on the couch in the living room. He eyes the food and drink, his mouth watering. He'd just realized he hadn't properly eaten anything in almost 24 hours.
He scarfs down the griffin and gulps down the cup of water in only a couple of minutes.
"Thanks, Mom," the wizard says, wiping his mouth.
Laurel chuckles. "Well, I knew you needed it."
"So," she continues. "Tell me all that happened."
Ian then begins to tell her everything that happened today; Barley leaving him at the tavern, how he went off by himself to the cave, the spiders, the pain, the wizard signals, bumping into Barley, falling down a waterfall, getting kidnapped...
The poor elf begins to tear up once he gets to that part.
"Me and Barley fell asleep by the lake...and when I woke up...I wasn't there anymore..."
His mother grabs a tissue from the box and hands it to him.
"It was this tall elf who tried to tie me up...so I tackled him and beat him up...but he put me back to sleep...and...I had a dream about Dad...I talked to Dad, Mom...I thought the sickness finally killed me..."
Ian hiccups and tears begin to fall down his chin.
Laurel holds his son close, resting his head on her shoulder. "Sweetie, if you don't want to talk about this right now, I understand..."
"No...you need to know the rest..." he croaks.
He then tells her about how Barley found him and that he told him Frildar cursed Wilden with the sickness in order to get his powers, and how he disappeared and then returned to manipulate his nephews. He talked about how Frildar found Wilden's staff floating in the ocean after he'd accidentally thrown it in there. He talked about how Barley ended up with his powers, and how strange it felt to watch him using them...
"He had to do the spell for me, but just after he did it, Frildar knocked him out with a desk," Ian continues. "And since I was now cured, I stood up and finished him off..."
Ian turns to look at the shocked expression on his mother's face.
"Too much?"
"Oh sweetie...that was fantastic of you," she says, a smile now appearing on her face.
She pulls him into another tight hug. "My baby boy's grown into such a brave man...look how far you've come."
He feels somewhat strange being congratulated, knowing that he'd just killed a man...but knowing that man manipulated his family and did horrific things to them with no remorse, it was justified.
"So Corey escaped from the chains and she flew us to the hospital...she flew me back to get Guinevere, and here I am."
"Well, I'm so proud of you for having the guts to get through with all of that," Laurel says. "Sounds like you were taught by a self-defense master."
"A very humble self-defense master," Ian jokes, wiping the last tear on his cheek. The two share a laugh.
"Man, I wish Barley was here," the younger elf says. "I can't wait to see him tomorrow."
"Me neither," his mother says. "I bet he's got quite the story to tell."
Despite the hectic day full of surprises, battles, and near-death experiences, Ian slept like a baby that night. Going on a quest while sick and hungry tired him more than he thought it would.
The next day, he, his mother, and Colt walk into Barley's room in the hospital, where's he's been resting in a bed with casts on his nose and arm.
"Hey, guys," he says, looking towards them.
"Oh, Barley, look at you," Laurel says. "Ian told us everything that happened. I can't believe what that man did to you..."
"It's fine, Mom," he says. "Ian put him in his place. You should've seen it, he used my sword to jab him in the back, then later he used the lightning spell to shoot him out of the building, it was amazing!"
Ian nervously chuckles, as Colt was standing right next to him and Ian never told him about that part yet...
"...You heard nothing," Ian says.
"Don't worry, you're fine," the centaur says. "Through all you told me about him, I'm sure he deserved every bit of it."
The wizard walks over to Barley, and he looks back at him with a crooked smile.
"You holding up alright?" Ian asks, after a beat of silence.
"Oh, pft, yeah," Barley chuckles, his voice still sounding rough.
The younger elf chuckles along. He knows that not even the heaviest and fastest of desks could stop his brother.
"I only broke my nose and my right arm again...but I'll be fine. You're alive, and that's all that matters to me."
The burly elf wishes he could hug his little brother, but he couldn't right now for obvious reasons.
"Ian...I'm so proud of you," Barley continues. "You tackled and knocked some sense into Frildar twice. You were so sick, yet you still managed to drive all the way to the caves and get through them to find me. You got on your feet to finish off Frildar after I was knocked out. It just lets me know that I raised you well."
Ian sheds a tear of joy at that statement.
"I wish I could hug you right now, Bar..." "I won't be able to wrap my arms around you, but you can just lean down and hug my neck."
The slim elf does just that. "Thank you, bro...thank you for all you've done to me," Ian says.
"No, thank you, Ian," his brother says. "You coming into my life meant everything to me. And that's all we've done for as long as we've known each other...help each other out."
Ian pulls away from him, feeling the greatest he's felt in a while.
Barley returned home the next day, and everything began to feel somewhat normal again. Frildar was no longer a part of their worries, and they could breathe easily again.
The brothers continue on with their lives and quests, knowing full well that anything or anyone can come towards them. The world was out to get them, after all...they were the duo that almost destroyed the city and brought back magic.
They know that they risk so much going out in the world...but whatever comes at them, they'll get through it together.
They won't dwell in the past, and they'll keep on with their travels, no matter what tries to stop them.
They'll only be going in one direction...onward.
~end fanfic~