They end up back on that same cliff. Toby sticks close to Krel, and he notices Steve and Seamus doing the same. It's hard not to think that the last time they were here, they thought Krel was dead and they were bringing the Akiridion equivalent of his dead body back to Akiridion-5, but it helps to know he's standing right here and very much alive. It helps to know they're all here, alive, at the calm before the storm, before everything well and truly hits the fan.

Mort is the one to call Aja. That's probably the best choice. She's definitely still mad at all of them, with good reason, but she was especially mad at Steve and Toby doesn't want to test his own chances, either. Krel is out, because revealing his new status of not-dead over the phone isn't really the most tactful thing they can do. Anyway, the fact that she even picks up is a good sign. Mort puts it on speaker-phone for their benefit.

"What do you want?" Aja says. Krel starts forward at the sound of her voice, short and irritated, but stops himself last second. He leans against Steve, next to him, and Steve wraps a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Your majesty," Mort starts. Formality is a nice choice. Hopefully. He doesn't think Aja will turn them away, even if she is still angry at them. She has a strong enough moral compass, right? Losing Krel wouldn't send her down a spiral to villainy. He thinks. He hopes. "I'm calling to request refuge. The wizard we told you about–"

Before Mort can continue, there's the sound of a faint explosion from the town. Toby and the others run closer to the ledge to get a better look. Steve's eyes widen. "Guys, we either gotta leave now or get down there like ten minutes ago."

Seamus's hands curl into fists. His eyes don't leave Arcadia. "We can't just run away. This is our home. We have to protect it."

Mort curses under his breath. "Guys. Stick to the plan. We're not abandoning Arcadia, we're regrouping, now would you please just–"

"Is it the people who killed my brother?" Aja demands. Krel flinches, but he keeps his mouth firmly shut. Steve pulls him closer, brow furrowed and worried. Mort starts to say something, maybe tell Aja that they'll explain when they get there, but Aja, being Aja, doesn't wait for confirmation. "I'm on my way."

"I forgot, all of you kids are impulsive and brash," mutters Mort. "No, Aja, it is far too dangerous to fight him right – and she hung up."

"That's my sister for you," Krel says quietly. "Never thinking things through."

"Okay, what are we doing?" Steve demands. He gestures towards the town. "Are we going down there? Oh, man, we're gonna die. We're all gonna die."

"As usual, thank you for your optimism, Steve," says Nimue flatly.

"We're not going to–" Mort cuts off mid-sentence and covers his face with a hand. "Okay. Here's the plan. The kids are going to get as far away from Arcadia as human or inhumanly possible. Stuart will chaperone because I'm not sure he could survive a fight anyway. Anyone else who doesn't wish to or feel able to fight will go with them."

"I'd be offended if you weren't right," Stuart says sheepishly.

"What about you?" Douxie asks. "It's too dangerous. You're already hurt. You can't face Merlin again."

"Douxie, it is my responsibility to protect you." Mort pulls his nephew into a hug. Toby tries not to think that if Mort faces Merlin again, this could be the last time they ever see him. Toby isn't ready to lose anyone else – well, lose someone for real to this mess. Mort presses a fatherly kiss to the top of Douxie's head. "I won't go down so easily. I promise I'll do everything in my power to come back to you."

"Don't go down at all," Douxie mumbles.

Mort gently pushes Douxie towards the rest of them. One glance at Douxie's expression tells Toby that they're not going to be getting as far away from Arcadia as human or inhumanly possible. The part of him that just wants his friends to be safe wishes they would, but Arcadia is their home. They're not leaving now. Still, with one last sombre look at the adults who think they're going to safety, they follow Stuart into the woods. Krel's natural glow casts a blue tint over the trees and leaves nearby, and Seamus uses his phone as a flashlight so they can better see where they're going.

"So we're going back, right?" Krel says once they're far enough away that the adults won't hear them.

"Of course we're going back," says Douxie. "Just because Uncle Mort doesn't think we can handle it doesn't mean we can't handle it. We're going to need everyone against Merlin."

Steve groans, even though Toby knows he's on the same page as the rest of them. "Like I said. We're all gonna die."

"Thank you, Steve," says Jim flatly. "Alright, here's the plan. We go to the bridge."

"Oh, not the bridge," moans Toby.

"It is always the bridge," Claire agrees reluctantly. "That's probably where we'll find Merlin."

Krel frowns and furrows his brow. "Should I tell you guys where the formstone is?"

"I know where the formstone is!" Stuart pipes in helpfully.

"The less people who know, the better," decides Jim. "So not yet. If this goes wrong and Merlin captures one of us…"

"We won't let things go wrong," says Seamus. Toby appreciates his determination, but they don't really get a say in whether things go wrong. Things always go wrong. Considering they don't really have an actual thought-out plan for this, things will definitely go wrong. The only times things have gone right is when they've planned ahead, and "go to the bridge" is hardly a plan. They're screwed.

Arcadia is eerily silent. It puts Toby on edge. It's not that late at night – normally the town would still be bustling with activity. Even cars are stopped in the middle of the street. Steve stops abruptly in front of a restaurant window.

"Um, so that's creepy," he mutters. Toby peers in the window. There are people inside, all as still as statues, even the waiter poised as if he just tripped. It's as if they've been frozen in time.

"Merlin must have done this," says Douxie grimly. "A stasis spell of some sort. They'll be fine – well, except that guy, he's going to fall on his face when we find a way to break this."

"If Merlin can freeze everyone in Arcadia," Eli says warily, "how are we supposed to beat him?"

Jim shakes his head, eyes conflicted. "I don't know."

"He's a powerful wizard, fine." Seamus raps his knuckles on the glass, as if this might get a reaction from the frozen people inside. "We have our own advantages. Numbers. Something to fight for. Krel may or may not be an actual god."

"Please stop saying that," says Krel, in a tone of voice that tells Toby that he and Seamus have already talked about this somewhere between Krel getting his powers and – the incident in the shop.

"My point is, don't count us as done for just yet," Seamus says. "We can't give up before we've even tried."

By the time they reach the canal, Mort and the others have also arrived. Toby uses his hammer to float down into the canal while the others more heroically skid into it. They join the adults. Nimue rolls her eyes and hits Douxie on his good shoulder. Mort doesn't even look surprised to see them, just quietly resigned. His expression promises that they're all grounded if they live. Toby thinks being grounded would actually be a nice break.

"What are you doing here?" Ikram hisses, as if she'd actually expected them to run away like Mort told them to. Surely she knows them better than that by now. She lets out a frustrated growl and glares at them. Aaarrrgghh!!! offers Toby a fist-bump. See? Aaarrrgghh!!! knows them well.

"No sign of Merlin," says Steve suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm here." Toby tightens his grip on his hammer as Merlin appears, out of nowhere, on cue. A cloaking spell or something, then. He'd probably been waiting for them. Steve steps protectively half in front of Krel, and Seamus mimics him on Krel's other side; Krel himself hovers a few inches off the ground. Toby isn't even sure if he knows he's doing it. Claire's hands tighten into fists, and Jim's mouth curls into an angry snarl, the betrayal still sharp in his eyes.

"Bold of you to face us alone," says Nimue.

"Bold of you to assume I'm alone," Merlin retorts. He waves a hand and the Red Knight appears behind him followed by dozens of trolls with eyes all glowing an eerie green. Jim takes a step backwards, eyes wide. Aaarrrgghh!!! lets out a low, rumbling growl.

"Great Gronka-Morra!" Blinky cries. "You're using our own brethren against us! You fiend!"

"I needed an army," says Merlin, tone as calm as if he was discussing a grocery list instead of mind-controlling a bunch of innocent trolls. "I'm sure you're bringing one."

Toby doesn't know if Aja will be coming with an army or not. It'd be nice if she would bring an army. He doubts she thought that far ahead. Man, Toby really doesn't want to fight the trolls. They seem to be, like, mind-controlled or something, and he has a lot of issues with mind-control. These trolls don't deserve to be fought, potentially hurt or worse, but he's not sure how careful they can afford to be.

Jim makes a weird grunting noise, something first like surprise and then like pain. Then, to Toby's horror, he grabs his head and stumbles backwards. Blinky reaches out in alarm, but then Jim freezes in place and stands straight. He opens his eyes again. They're glowing green – Merlin's green.

"No," whispers Toby. "No, no, not you. I can't fight you."

Jim roars and charges forward, just as the rest the trolls and the Knight attack. Mort takes to the sky just as Merlin does – oh, kleb, that's right, if Mort is Mordred he can fly – and they clash in mid-air. Toby doesn't have time to focus on the others when Jim's sword comes down at him.

"Jim!" he exclaims, barely managing to dodge and then bring his hammer up to block the next attack. "Jimbo! It's me! It's Tobes! Your best bud! Remember?"

"Jim, snap out of it!" Claire's hands flare with wavering purple focusers – huh, when'd she learn that? – and she thrusts them towards Jim. He's surrounded in violet for a second, before he bursts out of it and charges at her. She jumps out of the way.

Toby blocks another attack. He reminds himself that this isn't Jim right now, anymore. The otherworldly green glow of his eyes looks so incredibly wrong. Toby's eyes burn with tears.

"Jim, please!" he pleads. "You have to snap out of it, man! We're your friends! Your best friends!"

Jim gives no response. This isn't a stupid kids' movie. Merlin's magic is too strong for the power of friendship to break through. The only choice Toby has is to fight his friend, try to knock him out without hurting him badly and without him hurting them.

Toby dodges Jim's next attack too slowly. Daylight slices through the side of his face. He's lucky he got this far away or he'd be dead. He can't help the yelp that slips through in response to the pain.

"Toby!" Claire cries.

"I'm fine!" Toby grits out, even as warm blood seeps into the under-suit of his armour. He has no idea how they're going to get through to Jim. If they can get through to Jim. The thought that Jim might be lost to them – permanently – makes Toby sick to his stomach. The thought of this going on much longer – of Jim causing damage, more damage than a simple cut like this, and of Jim snapping out of it to realise what he'd done – that makes Toby even sicker.

Jim lunges again, and Toby uses his war-hammer to shoot upwards and out of the way. From his higher vantage point, he can see the rest of the battle – they're outnumbered and disadvantaged simply because they aren't trying to kill the trolls. Mort and Merlin are still fiercely battling in the sky. It's a terrifying sight to behold. Krel has also taken to the air, wobbly and amateur in his flight compared to Merlin and Mort and dive-bombing trolls with a shield to knock them out. Steve and Seamus are fighting the Red Knight. Toby catches sight of blood on Steve's face and winces. That's great, they're all getting injuries.

Then, before Toby's feet have even touched the ground again, a wormhole opens behind them. Krel sends it a panicked look, and then suddenly his form shifts and he looks nothing like himself and more like the disguise he'd used what feels like decades ago, when they were trying to avoid the Black Knight. Yeah. Okay. Maybe in the middle of a battle isn't the time for Aja to find out her brother is alive.

Aja, Zadra, and Vex storm out of the wormhole first with matching, furious battle-cries. They're followed by dozens of Akiridions, at least, before Toby has to focus again to dodge Jim's next attack.

"Be careful!" Toby hears Douxie yell. "The trolls are mind-controlled! Don't kill them!"

"Got it!" Aja hollers. "But leave the Knight to me."

Toby doesn't pay attention to them after that. He's glad they have back-up, but he really does need to focus on Jim. He's coming at them with everything he's got, which is a testament to how strong Merlin's mind control is. Toby barely somersaults sideways, away from the sword that would have otherwise buried itself in his chest. Jim's trying to kill them.

Aaarrrgghh!!! – where did he come from? – grabs Jim from behind, trapping him in his arms. Blinky skids up beside Toby and Claire as Jim struggles and snarls in Aaarrrgghh!!!'s grasp like a rabid animal.

"Master Jim," Blinky pleads. "You must fight this! I know you can. You are incredibly strong and you have more heart than you know what to do with. Use that heart. Please, Master Jim!"

Jim's only response is a deep growl. Tears sting Toby's new wound. It physically hurts him to see his best friend like this. Blinky reaches out to Jim and he snaps at him with his teeth. Is Jim even in there anymore? Or is this all Merlin? Is Jim gone forever?

"Jim," Claire says softly. She takes a hesitant step forward, but doesn't dare get too close. Her own face is streaked with tears. "O fortune, fortune! all men call thee fickle: If thou art fickle, what dost thou with him, that is renown'd for faith? Be fickle, fortune; for then, I hope, thou wilt not keep him long, but send him back."

Not even a flicker of recognition in Jim's eyes. If Romeo and Juliet can't get him, Toby's not sure anything can at this point.

"Come on, Jim," he tries, one more time. "Come back to us."

Jim roars furiously once more, and before any of them can stop him he's busted out of Aaarrrgghh!!!'s grip and charged them. Toby is pinned within seconds, breath caught in his throat, staring into the bloodthirsty green eyes – wrong, wrong, wrong – of his best friend.

"Toby!" he hears Eli yell. Suddenly, Jim is tackled off him by a blur of pink. Eli helps him to his feet as Nomura and Jim circle each other.

"Nomura? When did you get here!?" Toby manages.

"You kids can't be left alone for ten minutes!" growls Nomura, which means she probably has a vague idea what's going on.

"Are you okay?" asks Eli.

"Physically? Yeah, sure," says Toby.

"I do not believe this is a fight we can win," Blinky says gravely as Jim lets out another animalistic snarl.

"This is impossible!" Vex yells from nearby. He catches sight of them eight charges over, picking up Jim and chucking him across the battlefield. He gestures angrily in the same direction. "Varvatos is trained to SLAY! NOT SPARE!"

"None of us are really trained for this, man," Toby points out.

On cue, there's a loud crash and a whole lot of dust kicked up. Toby hears Douxie scream, "MORT!!"

"Oh, kleb," Toby manages. If Mort is down, they're screwed. They're the most screwed they can get. He searches for the wizard on the battlefield, but it's impossible to find him among the chaos. He tells himself Mort will be fine, back up in the air in a few minutes. He doesn't believe himself.

"We must make a tactical retreat!" calls Zadra. Krel lands next to her and stumbles, but she steadies him, even though she currently has no idea who he is.

"Not yet!" Aja exclaims.

"Revenge is going to have to wait," says Ikram. "The Akiridion is correct, we cannot win this."

Merlin still hovers in the air. He looks far too pleased with himself, or maybe the right amount of pleased with himself, considering the fact that he's winning. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!! pull Mort up. He looks unconscious, but then his face contorts and Toby knows he's not dead. He still looks – bad – but bad is better than dead.

"I believe I'll be taking my key, now," says Merlin. Toby sees Steve's eyes widen in horror as both of them understand this at the same time, before Krel is enveloped in green light and cries out. Aja's head snaps towards him, eyes wide like she's heard a ghost. Steve starts running. Toby starts running, flying even, but he's not going to make it to Krel.

"Don't touch him!" Steve hollers. He yanks Krel out of the path of the spell, throwing him to his knees, and suddenly Steve is caught in the acid grip. Krel shoots to his feet as Steve is dragged away, Steve's name ripping from his throat in a painful and gut-wrenching scream, lunging forward only to be grabbed by Dr. Lake and Strickler. Aja shrieks and charges towards Merlin, but Jim intercepts them. Toby is thrown into the side of the bridge. Through spinning vision, he sees Jim slam Aja headfirst into the ground. She stays down for a long moment, too long for comfort.

"Go!" Steve yells, struggling in the grasp of Merlin's magic. His next breath comes out as a choked gasp. The spell is hurting him – Toby's heart lurches at the realisation. "Get out of here! I'll be okay!"

It's a lie. Toby knows it, Steve knows it, Krel – still screaming, still desperately trying to get to Steve – knows it. Merlin wants Steve dead. If they leave Steve – like they left Krel – they're never going to see him again. The end. Toby refuses to let that happen. Not again. Not for real this time.

"Let go of him!" Toby yells. He shakes off his disorientation and flies back towards Merlin. Seamus joins him, shouting incomprehensibly as he charges forward on the ground, spear poised in front of him and ready to attack.

Toby's grabbed out of the air by an armoured hand and slammed into the ground. The air is knocked out of him. He pushes himself dizzily into a sitting position. There's a metallic clatter as Seamus is thrown to the ground next to him. The Red Knight's foot slams down on Seamus's chest, eliciting a sharp gasp, and the Knight's sword is levelled at Toby's throat.

"No!" he hears Krel howl. "No, no, no!"

Flickering teal focusers light up around Seamus's hands, like he's going to attack the Knight. The Red Knight responds by driving his sword into Seamus's upper arm. The focusers vanish as Seamus cries out despite himself. Toby, no longer at sword-point, adjusts his grip on his war-hammer, forces himself to his feet, and swings it towards the Red Knight. Before he knows what's happening, there's a sharp pain in his side. He stumbles backwards, free hand going to the injury – he doesn't know what that guy's sword is made of, but it managed to cleave clean through his armour and right into, well, him. Blood spills in crimson rivulets down the orange metal. Oh. That's a lot of blood. He wavers and falls back to his knees. Seamus is still sprawled on the ground, the Knight's boot once again holding him down, a puddle of red spreading from his arm. He struggles to no avail.

Great. Now even more of them are going to die.

Toby's vision blurs and black spots start popping up. He can still faintly hear Krel screaming, the sounds of a battle still raging, the whirl of a wormhole and Zadra yelling, "Retreat!" The world is fading around him fast, now, and he knows not all the blood is Seamus's anymore. Someone with olive-coloured focusers and silver hair appears in the corner of his vision.

Nana…?

The world finally drops into darkness.

Toby wakes up to the faint smell of hospital. He opens his eyes to recognise the med-wing on Akiridion-5. It takes him another moment to remember why he's here. When he does, he shoots into a sitting position and immediately regrets it when pain flares from the wound on his side.

"Good morning, Toby-pie," chirps Nana from the side of his bed.

"Nana...?" he mumbles.

"You took quite a beating, dearie," she says, reaching over to brush his hair out of his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he says. Bruised. His side and face hurt, but he's alive. He adjusts to a more comfortable position and glances around. Seamus is in another bed next to him, asleep or unconscious. It takes Toby a second to recognise the boy asleep between their beds, arms reaching in both directions to keep a hand on each bed. He doesn't know why Krel is still in his disguise, here on Akiridion-5. Claire is awake on the other side of his bed, with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh!!!.

"Jim?" he asks.

Claire shakes her head. Her lips move to form syllables, but no sound comes out for several moments. She swallows and finally shakes her head again.

"We had to leave him," she mumbles.

Toby expected that, but it still hurts. He's not sure he wants to know, because as long as he doesn't know he can still pretend, but he makes himself ask anyway. "Steve?"

"We… lost him too," she admits.

Toby feels tears gather. That's it, then. They lost Steve.

"Do not despair, Tobias," says Blinky. "We will get them back."

"Maybe Jim," says Toby. Merlin wanted Steve dead. Toby doesn't know how long he's been out, but it's been long enough. Steve is probably already dead, and it's their fault for leaving him behind. He angrily wipes his eyes. "We lost pretty bad, huh?"

"Arcadia is Merlin's," Blinky rumbles grimly. "But, he still doesn't know where the formstone is – I trust young Krel hasn't told Steven?"

"Not that I know of," says Toby, which is basically a confirmation. Toby's been there since Krel – got back – so he'd know if Krel had told Steve. Part of him almost wishes he had. If Merlin thought Steve knew, if Steve could convince Merlin that he was valuable – but no. Even if Steve had the information, he'd never give it up, and torture would be worse than death. Toby doesn't want that for his friend.

There's movement from Seamus's bed, and a few seconds later, the wizard shoots up with gasp. His left hand goes to his bandaged right arm, sitting in a tight sling. Toby realises for the first time that both of them are dressed in Akiridion clothes, Toby in some sort of crop-top that exposes his bandaged side, Seamus in a tank-top that reveals his injured arm. Seamus's rough awakening manages to startle Krel from his sleep as well.

"You're awake!" he exclaims, glancing from Seamus to Toby and back to Seamus. It sounds super weird hearing Krel's voice come out of a stranger's mouth. "How are you guys feeling?"

"Like I got stabbed," says Seamus dryly. He frowns. "Steve. We – he's still there, isn't he?"

Krel's expression falls. He looks pointedly at a spot on the floor. Seamus runs his good hang through his hair and leans back.

"Then that's it," he says softly. He doesn't say what Toby knows he's thinking, what they're all thinking, and Toby's glad. It would make it all the more awful to hear it out loud, no matter how true it already is.

He turns his attention to Krel. "How is Aja taking it?"

Krel winces. "She's, uh. Not. I don't know."

"She'd talk to you," Toby says. "If anyone, she'd talk to you."

Krel's wince deepens. "She wouldn't talk to me. As far as she knows, I'm Seamus's brother and Krel Tarron is still dead."

"Krel!"

"Wait, why are you my brother?" Seamus asks.

"I wanted the doctors to let me in here," offers Krel unhelpfully. "It was an easy excuse. Just – what's the saying? – just ride with it."

"Roll with it," Seamus corrects.

"That's not important!" Toby exclaims. "You haven't told Aja!?"

"Not yet," Krel says. He wraps his arms around his torso and looks away. "I – I don't know what to tell her. How to tell her."

"Try, hey, Aja, I'm not dead after all," suggests Seamus. "Surprise!"

"Oh, yeah, that will go over well," mutters Krel. He sighs angrily. "Maybe I should just wait until this all calms down."

"If you don't tell her, I will," Toby warns. "No more secrets and lies. Not from family."

Krel nods, face still guilty enough that Toby isn't convinced he'll talk to Aja. He'll just make it worse for himself if he doesn't. Part of Toby wonders if there's more to it, if maybe Krel… doesn't expect to survive all this. Part of Toby also doesn't expect to survive all this, so he gets it, and he gets wanting to spare Aja the pain of losing him again, but Toby's going to do everything in his power to keep the rest of his friends alive. He won't fail them again, not like he'd failed Krel, like he'd failed Jim, like he'd failed Steve.

"Wait," he says. He turns to Nana with a frown. "Nana, did I see you at the battle?"

"Well, yes," she says. "These old bones still have a bit of fight left in them."

"How did you avoid the stasis spell?" Toby asks.

"Please, I was a magical spy in World War One, I know how to avoid stasis spells," she scoffs.

Toby opens his mouth to say that this makes sense, except– "Magical? Wait, wait, wait, back up. You're a wizard!"

"Of course," she says. "Retired, of course. How do you think my cookies are so good?"

"Whaaaaaaa–"

"You know a ton of wizards, Toby, this isn't that huge," Seamus says amusedly.

"Yes, it is!"

Krel laughs, but he sobers quickly and pulls his knees to his chest on the chair. "How are we ever going to beat Merlin?"

"Try to stay heartened," says Blinky. "We will figure something out. And we will get Master Jim and Steven back."

Toby's not so sure they will – at least, not Steve – but he tries to convince himself Blinky's right. They'll figure something out. They'll save Jim and Steve and all the mind-controlled trolls. They won't die. The thought feels unrealistic, but they've done the impossible before.

He glances around again, ignoring the sting of the bandaged cut on his face. "Where's Mort and Douxie? And Ikram and Nimue? Usually at least Mort goes all Papa Bear on us when we get hurt."

"Ikram and Nimue are talking to Aja, I think," says Krel. His face falls and he looks pointedly at the ground again. "Douxie is with Mort. In another room. He's – Mort's in... pretty bad shape. He was hurt in the fight."

Toby swallows. Right. He'd seen Mort go down, but it never occurred to him that it was – bad. "Oh."

"He'll be okay," Claire rushes to assure him. "But it was kind of scary at first. It was kind of scary for all three of you. You – lost a lot of blood, Tobes."

It almost hurts to hear her call him that, after they'd lost Jim. Claire's his friend, one of his best friends, but she's not Jim and she never will be. Jim's been there for him for so longer. Toby can't imagine what life would be like if they can't get him back. Toby's anger at Merlin only multiplies the more he thinks of it, the more he thinks of all the wizard's done, of how much he's hurt Toby's friends.

"We're going to make Merlin pay," Toby growls.