2022, roughly one year after the defeat of the Arcane Order.

Carter was doing his best to avoid bumping into people on the crowded street. He was keeping an eye on the two young girls across the street who were trying to go unnoticed. Definitely runaways if he'd ever seen them. He'd just found them. Marceline and Sarah Mccarthy. His sisters. Yeah. That thought was still weird.

But he needed to get them to safety and he didn't know how to do that yet without freaking them out, so he was waiting. Fenris was by his side, keeping a keener eye out for danger. Carter wasn't sure what the mortals were seeing the giant wolf as. He'd seen one kid point at Fenris and go, "Puppy!". Another lady was watching them carefully, keeping her young child at her side. Maybe she thought he was a giant weasel or something.

Carter glanced at his companion. "Anything yet?"

"No." Fenris sniffed the air. "But patience. The harpy might return, so we should use caution."

"Yeah, and the longer we wait, the more chance of them getting snapped up by some giant mole or something."

"Those don't exist."

"You never know."

Fenris gave him a look. "But I do know."

Carter rolled his eyes. "I was being sarcastic, buddy."

"Mmm, okay."

Carter ignored him. He tensed when he saw Marceline and Sarah dart down an alley. "Shit," he ran after them, Fenris not far behind.

As he turned the corner, he heard screaming. He ran through to the other end of the alley, seeing the two girls were being attacked by a harpy. Carter sprang to their defense, shield forming over his wrist. He stood in front of the girls, the harpy's claws scraping over the shield.

The monster screeched in outrage, zipping away to form a plan and to get away from Fenris' teeth. "You!" She screamed. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Me." Carter agreed with a slight snarl. "Stay off the kids, bitch."

"When I am done tearing the flesh from your bones, they will be next!" She screeched.

"Good luck, bird brain." He glared at her, sword blade snapping out with a flick of his wrist.

The girls huddled together behind him, staring with wide, fearful eyes. Fenris stood behind them protectively, crouched low and snarling at the chicken woman.

The harpy hissed at him and lunged. Carter bat her out of the air with his shield, watching her roll across the road. The empty road, Carter realized. All the mortals were gone.

An enraged screech shook him from his thoughts. Sharp talons scraped across his arm. Carter swung his sword, hearing the she-monster scream in pain. He shook off his bleeding arm, gripping his sword tighter.

The harpy stumbled to her feet, blood dripping from a deep gash across her chest. She glared at him, stalking forward. She leapt at him again, only to get a sword in her chest. She let out one last pitiful screech before disintegrating into dust.

Carter let out a heavy breath, blade snapping back into the sword hilt. He turned to look at the girls, who were staring with wide eyes.

"Hi," he said softly, kneeling in front of them. "You two okay?"

The oldest, Marceline, just stared at him. Sarah looked between him and Fenris, eyes wide as saucers.

"Are you a superhero?" Sarah asked suddenly.

Carter laughed. "No, I'm not. But I am here to help you." He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Carter."

"Sarah," Sarah said, shaking his hand vigorously. "This is Marcy."

Marcy cleared her throat, tightening her grip on her sister. "What are you?"

"A regular person." Carter answered deadpan as he stood, holding his hand out to help her up. "Like you."

Marcy frowned. "A person with a giant wolf and seemingly magic swords who just chopped a chicken lady in half?"

Carter smiled wryly. "Well," he hauled her to her feet. "Then what do you think I am?"

Marcy squinted at him before her eyes widened. "Are you like us?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We're called half-bloods. Or demigods. One of our parents is mortal and the other is a god."

"Huh." Marcy pursed her lips. "How did you… know about us? Me and Sarah, I mean."

Carter looked at her for a while, guilt flashing over his eyes. "I've been looking for you and Sarah for almost a year."

Sarah gasped and Marceline's eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

"Because… I'm your brother. We share the same immortal parent." He ignored their wide-eyed, questioning looks and gestured for them to follow him. "Come on. I'm gonna take you somewhere safe."

"Hang on!" Marcy grabbed Sarah's hand and jogged to catch up with him. "You can't just say something like that and then walk away! You're our brother!?"

Fenris trotted along behind them, keeping the girls in the middle for safety purposes. Carter tried to keep his focus. They were so close to being safe. They just needed to make it to the gyre.

"Look, it's a long story and one I don't really have time to tell." Carter said, not turning around. "But I'm going to need you to trust me. Okay?"

Marcy frowned at his back. "I have a hard time trusting people I don't know."

Carter sighed. "Yeah, me too kid."

Sarah wiggled away from her sister, running up next to Carter to grab his hand. "I think it's cool! You saved us. Thank you."

Carter smiled thinly and glanced down at her. She was cute. Curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, face full of freckles. She kind of reminded Carter of himself when he was her age. "How old are you?"

Sarah stood a little straighter and puffed out her chest. "Ten!"

"Wow. You're a big girl, then."

Sarah nodded seriously. "Yep! Mommy always said I was tall for my age."

Marcy huffed behind them. "Sarah…"

"But then Marcy and me had to run away. It wasn't safe."

Carter's brows pulled together and he glanced at Marcy. "Yeah?"

Marcy met his gaze, and they keep to an understanding as Sarah prattled on. She nodded slowly as she understood his intentions. He really did just want to help them.

"What's your dog's name?" Sarah asked, seeming to not care that they almost died nearly ten minutes ago.

"Fenris." Carter said.

"Like, the Fenris?" Marcy asked.

"Yep."

"... Why?"

"Again, long story." Carter stopped right on the edge of the curb. They were almost there… but something didn't feel right. "Hang on…"

"What's that?" Sarah asked, pointing to his ears, not noticing the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

"What?" Carter asked distractedly, looking behind them.

"In your ears."

"Hearing aids." Carter let go of her hand and activated his hilts. The blades sprang out.

"You're deaf?"

"Partially," Carter nudged her and Marcy behind him. "Fenris," he looked at the wolf, who was glaring at the sky and growling. "Take them and run."

"Carter," The Wolf began to argue. "Don't do it."

"Trust me. I've got it."

"Got what?" Marcy asked anxiously.

"I suppose he means me." A new voice rang out over the empty road. They looked to see a young woman clad in black stalking towards them. A mask covered the lower half of her face, but her gray eyes were sharp and cold. Her bright red hair stood out amongst the gray, stormy sky. A javelin spear was slung across her back. "But as they say, pride is what makes the heroes fall."

Carter glared at her, gripping his swords. "Who the hell are you?"

Her eyes glinted with amusement. A flash of red echoed in her steel grays. "Your enemy. Or your friend, depending on what choices you make in the next fifteen minutes."

Carter remembered what Nari had said to him. About meeting new friends. Although, this lady definitely did not look like a new friend. "You know, not exactly in the mood for riddles."

She stopped, tilting her head to the side. Thunder echoed through the clouds. With blinding speed, she ran at him, barely giving him time to react. Carter caught her hand just as a knife was about to cut his throat. Sarah screamed behind him.

"Run, both of you!" He shouted, blocking her next strike. "Fenris! Get them to the gyre!"

They ran. Carter was determined to hold off Crazy to give them time. Unfortunately, she seemed more interested in him than anyone else.

"Sending away your backup?" She taunted, dodging his sword. "Not too smart, Carter."

"They're kids." He hissed, catching her wrist and flipping her over his shoulder.

The lady rolled and sprang to her feet. "I meant the wolf."

"I don't need Fenris' help to take you out."

"Don't you?" She laughed, running at him and roundhouse kicking him in the ribs.

Carter hit the ground hard, his head smacking against the asphalt road. His vision swam and he was pretty sure his hearing aid had been broken. He struggled to get up, only to get a heavy boot slammed against his chest. He gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs and he hit the back of his head on the ground again. His vision blacked in and out. Yep. Definitely was gonna have a headache later.

Carter cried out when she dug her boot into his chest and he felt his ribs snap. For a moment, he was launched back into that day nearly eighty years ago. The face above him shifted between a sneering man's and the woman's. He tried to shake himself off, grabbing her ankle to push her off, but the memories were flooding into his brain, forcing panic into his chest and mind. He couldn't focus. Panic overwhelmed him as he remembered how helpless he was that day. How helpless he felt now.

She leered over him, digging her heel into his chest more. "And Father thinks so highly of you." She scoffed. "Imagine. His greatest weapon is undone by a memory."

Carter forced down his panic attack. It wasn't the time to be a scared kid. There was never a time to relive the past. It didn't help anyone, and it certainly wasn't helping him now. His head hurt and he was fairly certain he had a concussion. "Bitch." He muttered.

"Cute." She unslung her spear from across her back, pointing it at his throat. "Father said to bring you in alive. He didn't say you had to be able to talk."

Carter felt the spear tip press into his throat and he was too overwhelmed to react in time. He felt blood dribble down his neck and pain sear his throat. Then the weight on his chest was gone and the spear clattered to the ground. Tiny hands were pulling him up and he was vaguely aware of Sarah and Marceline leading him away from the fight. His vision was tunneling and he was fighting to stay awake. Marcy's hand was over his throat to staunch the blood flow and she was yelling something to someone behind her. Carter realized, a little sluggishly, that he couldn't hear her.

Sarah was pulling on his hand, leading him into a building. She said something to Marcy before dragging him behind a wall, taking her sister's place in keeping him from bleeding out. She looked scared. So scared. Carter forced himself to awareness, moving her hand away from his neck. The blood was still pouring, but it probably looked worse than it actually was. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Douxie's number.

He looked towards the doorway as it rang, anxiety washing over him. Where was Marcy? He hung up before Douxie could pick up the phone, grabbing Sarah's hand instead.

"We're gonna make a run for it." He said, hoping he wasn't being too loud. "When we get to the gyre, you stay there. Got it?" He looked at her and she nodded. "Then I'm gonna help Marcy and Fenris."

Sarah pursed her lips. She pointed to his throat, eyes big and concerned.

"I'll be fine." He squeezed her hand. "Ready?" He waited for a few seconds. "Go!"

They ran out of the building. Carter held on tight to Sarah's hand. It wasn't a long way to the gyre, but it felt like it took them an eternity to get there.

They ran down into an older building until they got to the basement. They took a sharp right, heading into a dirt tunnel. Just as they got to the giant contraption and Carter had boosted her in, he felt the ground shaking. He turned to see that the ground above them was rattling, dirt sprinkling from the ceiling. Marcy and Fenris were running towards them, Marcy on the Wolf's back and hanging on for dear life.

Carter hoisted himself into the gyre, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest as he started it up. He felt the gyre shake as Fenris dove in and he didn't waste another second. He released the mechanism and the gyre shot into the tunnel ahead.

Douxie leaned on the counter, watching as Eli left the bookstore, his arms piled full of books. Ever since he'd gotten back to Earth and discovered wizards existed, he'd been bugging Douxie about the history of magic. Douxie didn't mind. He enjoyed Eli's curiosity.

He looked behind him at his phone, to see he had a missed call from Carter. Douxie immediately tried calling him back, only for Carter not to pick up. Anxiety swirled in his gut but he brushed it off. Carter was probably just busy. He tried to not let it get to him. Carter could take care of himself. Douxie knew he could.

The bell rang as the door opened and Douxie looked up to see Jim walking in. He smiled and leaned forward on the counter.

"Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?" He asked cheekily.

Jim laughed. "Just wanted to know when your shift ended."

Douxie glanced at the clock on the far wall. "In about fifteen minutes. Why?"

Jim tapped his hands on the counter, glancing off to the side. "Mom wants you to come over for dinner."

Douxie smiled. "I'll be there."

"Great!" He turned to leave, before looking at Douxie over his shoulder. "Oh, and she thinks you work too much."

"I-" Douxie watched as he left. "Jim." He sighed and rolled his eyes, walking out from behind the counter to restock the shelves. He knew Barbara meant well, but he was fine. He liked working. It kept his mind off of anxiety inducing situations.

When his shift ended, he tossed the keys to his co-worker and started walking to the Lake's house. Archie was already there, probably. Jim fed him too often. They were spoiling his cat.

Douxie climbed up the front steps and opened the door, walking inside. He waved at Steve who was sitting on the couch, tossing cheese puffs at Toby and Aja.

"Hey dude," Steve said, waving at him. "How was work?"

"It was uneventful." Douxie said, tossing his jacket at Steve's face. He pulled out his phone, face tightening with worry when he saw he hadn't even gotten a text from Carter saying he was okay.

"Are you okay?" Aja asked worriedly. "Your face is doing that thing again."

"What thing? My face doesn't do a thing."

"Yeah it does." Toby interrupted. "It's like this kinda face you get when you're worried or anxious. You look like you're gonna be sick."

Douxie rolled his eyes. "Okay."

"Hey, Dumbledork." Steve looked genuinely concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Douxie reassured. "Just… waiting for a friend to tell me he's okay."

"You don't have friends." Krel piped up from the kitchen. "I should know. I'm one of them."

Douxie flipped him off. Krel returned the favor.

"Hey, okay boys." Barbara chided as she walked down the stairs. "Don't make me ground you."

"Does she even have the ability to ground us?" Steve asked.

"Yes I do."

"Okay then."

Douxie snickered, walking into the kitchen to help Krel set the table. "Yes she does. She's done it to me before."

Barbara nodded. "Yes I did. And I'll do it again." She playfully ruffled his hair. "So, Doux." She took some of the plates from him. "What's wrong?"

Douxie stared at her. "I'm sorry?"

"You look worried."

"That's what I said!" Aja called.

Douxie glared at her, then looked at Barbara. "I'm fine. Really."

She frowned at him. "Douxie, please. I know when you're upset. We know when you're upset."

Douxie pursed his lips, looking away. "It's just… I'm worried about a friend of mine. That's it, alright?"

Barbara narrowed her eyes at him then nodded slowly. "Okay." She put down one of the plates. "Should we be worried about it?"

Douxie shook his head. "No." Not yet.

Carter winced as he tightened the bandage around his ribs. The gyre had just come to a stop, and by now, his chest was throbbing. He was just glad he wasn't coughing up blood. That wouldn't be fun.

He glanced up at his sisters, who were both trying not to throw up a few feet away. The gyre was definitely not for the faint of heart. Sarah was dry heaving over by a cluster of rocks that Carter was pretty sure were troll remains.

"Girls," he called, struggling to his feet. "We gotta go."

Marcy looked over at him and said something, her face pinched with nausea.

"Sweetie, I can't hear you." Carter informed her, picking up one of his sword hilts. "Miss Crazy broke my hearing aids."

Marcy and Sarah exchanged glances. Then Marcy helped her little sister up.

"She asked where we were going." Fenris said.

"Oh, thank you." Carter nodded at him, then looked at the girls. "Fenris and I have a telepathy link. For now… he'll be my ears." He gestured for them to follow him. "And to answer your question Marcy, somewhere safe."

Marcy grabbed Sarah's hand, squeezing it tightly. "You okay?"

Sarah nodded, still looking a little queasy. "Yeah. I'm more worried about him."

Marcy sighed. "Yeah… me too, Sarah."

Behind them came a roar and a screech. They looked at eachother, eyes wide. Fenris stiffened and snarled. Carter stopped for a moment and then turned, eyes narrowed and staring into the treeline. His hand went to his hilt, jaw tightening. He felt the ground rumble.

"Run!" He shouted, activating his shield.

Marcy and Sarah ran past him. Fenris nudged him, trying to move him away from the forest.

"You too, Carter!" He snarled. "Don't be stupid!"

Carter huffed but put his shield away and ran after his sisters.

"Guys, you know I'm not completely stupid when it comes to romance, right?" Douxie asked, sipping his drink. They'd moved to the living room to play board games.

"Yeah, yeah," Steve said, propping his legs up on the coffee table. "You've been alive for over nine hundred years. I'm sure you've had a few one night stands, right? One or two longer relationships?"

"Dude, seriously?" Jim threw a pillow at him. "Not cool."

Douxie chuckled. "Ah, Steve. You're adorable."

Steve nodded, sipping his drink. "Thank you."

"Be nice to him, Steven." Claire said. "Just because he's single right now-"

Archie laughed. Suddenly. Loudly.

Claire stared at the cat. "What?"

Archie cleared his throat and grinned at Douxie. "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

Douxie smiled. "Archie-"

Steve gasped. "Do you have a secret girlfriend?! Is it that pink haired girl who works at Hextech?"

Douxie grimaced. "Zoe? No." He paused. "Well, she is my ex but that was a while ago."

They stared at him.

"Then who is it?" Toby asked.

Douxie smiled thinly. "You've never met him. He lives in New York."

"Dammit." Claire groaned as Jim whooped.

"Claire, Toby, you guys owe me ten bucks!"

Douxie stared at the Trollhunter. "Were you betting on me?"

Jim nodded with a smile as he was handed the money. "Just a little bit. We would've asked but it's more fun to make it a game."

"Hey!" Eli grinned at him, holding a fist out for a fistbump. "Gay solidarity!"

Douxie obliged him with a smile. "Pansexual, actually. But sure. Gay solidarity."

"How long have you two been together?" Claire asked, leaning forward.

"And when can we meet him?" Toby added.

"Going on close to eighty years now, and he doesn't like people so I don't know."

"What?"

"Eighty years!?"

Douxie laughed again. "Guys, it's not that big of a deal-" he stopped when the skull pendant around his neck started flashing red. His face paled and he looked at Archie.

"Oh no." Archie jumped down from the couch's armrest and started running to the door. "Stay calm, Douxie! He can't be far!"

Douxie ran after his familiar, leaving his friends scrambling to get their weapons and follow them.