Douse the Flame

Summary: When Sofia gets word that Greeneyes has been revived and is out for revenge against Sofia and her family, she calls for help to eradicate the evil entity for good.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Sofia the First, as they belong to Craig Gerber. I own Serena, Charlie, Angel (mentioned), Takoda (mentioned), Butterford, Muscles, and several others. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana and Tanya (both mentioned).

A/N: You will see a character mentioned in this chapter called Lauren. Lauren belongs to my friend Fictionary The Fairy, who has written stories for Butterford and Muscles in the past. If you want to know more about her, please read those stories! Long story short: Lauren is the adopted daughter of the guys. But there is WAY more to the story than that. 😉

Chapter 5: Standing By

Upon arriving at the Mystic Isles, Cedric and Sofia realized it was still rather early (around 4:30 AM), and there was little doubt that people were sleeping. Of course, there was a night crew working at the headquarters, but their preferred Protectors (namely Orion, Vega, and Chrysta) were obviously unavailable. However, that did not stop Cedric from attempting to contact them anyway.

"Please, sir, it's an emergency," the sorcerer pleaded with an older gentleman—a Protector he'd never met before. He assumed there were probably thousands who worked in the Mystic Isles, and of course, there was a strong likelihood they would never meet them all. "Our daughter has been abducted by an evil being called Greeneyes. We desperately need their help." Their help, of course, being that of the aforementioned Protectors.

"I'm sorry, but they are all indisposed," the gentlemen responded calmly. "Sleeping, rather. It was a very long day yesterday, and they need their rest."

"It's all right, Otis," Orion's familiar voice came as he stepped up next to him. "These are friends of ours, and we'll hear them out."

"I thought you were still sleeping," the older man commented, stroking his beard.

The Wind Walker shrugged. "Not to worry. I got enough sleep. You can head out. I can handle things." Seeing his friend nod and leave, he looked back at the small family. He frowned, noticing a glaringly obvious detail. "Where is Serena?"

"She was taken," Sofia told him quietly, grateful Charlie was still asleep and nestled in Cedric's arms. "Charlie woke us up after he'd gotten up and noticed she wasn't in her bed. Cedric used a spell to track her through her amulet, and…"

Cedric sighed, his chin nuzzling his son's hair. "She's in a strange realm that we cannot access. We don't have strong enough magic to do so. And from what I gather, it's not that straightforward… Both time and place are altering constantly, so there is no guarantee that we will be able to find her in the exact location my spell indicated. It's honestly the most infuriating thing…"

"Besides Serena being taken by Greeneyes in the first place," Sofia added, watching as Orion's demeanor shifted.

"Greeneyes? Are you sure?" Seeing the princess nod, he frowned, folding his arms. "I thought she'd been destroyed."

"Evil never dies, Orion," she responded almost cryptically, sighing. "You've said so before yourself. We just want our daughter back… And we can't do that without your help. Please…"

Orion nodded with a gentle smile, reaching out to place his hand on Sofia's arm. "Of course, we'll help, Sofia. Cedric." He turned to the sorcerer as he lowered his hand. "If you'll come with me, you can show me the spell you used for locating your daughter, and I'll alert the others so they can help."

"I feel so bad that we're interrupting you guys after you worked all day yesterday," Sofia lamented. "If it was anything else, I promise, we never would have—"

"Nonsense, Sofia. You and Cedric are like an extended family to us. We can always get more sleep. There is only one Serena, and we intend to help you rescue her."

Hearing the Protector speak of her daughter like that made Sofia a bit emotional, and she held her tears back as she reached out and hugged Orion, sighing as he returned the hug. "Thank you…"

While Cedric had left with Orion, leaving a sleeping Charlie with Sofia, some more familiar faces had arrived. Both Muscles and Butterford arrived at headquarters around 5:30 AM, approaching their friend with sincerity and considerable empathy.

"Sofia," Butterford addressed her gently, smiling sadly as he could tell his friend was about to completely break down. He could recognize the signs by now, though that alone was rather disheartening to him. Still, he knew what he had to do. "Muscles…" He looked toward the ex-pirate. "Would you mind taking Charlie back to our place and letting him get some sleep? Since Lauren is on that Junior Protectors trip, the house will be quiet."

"Sure thing." He approached Sofia calmly, holding out his arms. He smiled as Sofia carefully passed her sleeping son over to him, and he shuffled the boy to one arm as he gave the girl a quick side hug. "You'll get her back," he whispered. "I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Muscles…" As she watched her friend walk off with her little boy, she could feel her last strand of composure unraveling. There was something about her two oldest daughters being gone on their own for a while now, her younger daughter being abducted, and now her youngest child no longer in her arms… Something about that sent her spiraling. She had barely turned when she found familiar arms wrapped around her, and she sobbed openly into Butterford's soft white shirt. She'd barely noticed that he was dressed far more casually than usual (due to the very early start, more than likely), but it ended up being a very good thing for both of them…

"Oh, Sofia… I'm so sorry…" Butterford caressed her hair while also trying to rub her back to calm her down. "You know we're going to get her back. The Protectors will do anything for you guys, and so will I."

Sofia sniffled as she tried to calm down, and she glanced up at him with somewhat bleary vision, sighing as he reached out and wiped her tears away. "Jas…" A bit of resolve returning to her, she frowned. "When they figure out where she is, I'm going to her. I'm going to save Serena."

"I know, sweetie, and I won't stop you, but…" He moved his hands a bit to settle alongside her arms. "I'm going with you." He noticed her hesitation, but he shook his head. "Not just as your Guardian, but as a friend, and as someone who loves you and your family."

"Greeneyes is just as bad as Evanna, Jas—maybe even worse," she mumbled, hating that she'd uttered both evil women's names in one sentence, especially after he flinched at hearing his murderer's name. "I… I don't want to risk you losing your life again. You have a family now. You have a little girl who needs you and loves you."

"So do you, Sofia… Look." He guided her over to a bench and sat down with her, keeping one arm around her as a sign of comfort. "I know I died protecting you in the past, but I wasn't nearly as strong as I am now. I'm more powerful and I'm well-equipped to handle just about anything at this point. Am I invincible? No… But I'll be okay."

She sighed. "Jas…"

"As your Guardian, Sofia…" He smiled as she glanced up at him curiously. "And as your friend… Please, just let me go with you. Let me protect you, okay?"

The princess nodded, giving in. It's not that she didn't believe Butterford was strong enough to handle things and be safe. Even all those years later, and even after a few incidents since, she still worried about him any time his role as a Guardian was mentioned. While she no longer had nightmares about him dying in such a horrible way, those images never went away. They were always in the back of her mind, painting a blurry sanguine scene of her friend lifeless on the ground while the evil woman who'd attacked him stood victorious above him…

Butterford reached out, using his right hand to gently tilt her chin up, and he smiled at her softly. "Okay?"

Sofia returned the smile, though it never quite reached her eyes. "Okay… But Jas, please... No matter what happens, don't die for my sake. I'm fine having you as a protector or a guardian, but you're also my friend. I don't want to lose you again… I can't…"

"I'll be fine. I promise." He decided to change the subject so she could take her mind off some of the more negative and darker things. "Muscles can watch Charlie for you guys while we go get Serena. I'm sure Cedric and Orion have already figured out how to get to her, and you'll be back in Enchancia in no time." Seeing the vacant expression on his friend's face, Butterford sighed softly and hugged her, smiling as she immediately clung to him, embracing him like her life depended on it. He whispered, "We'll get her back. No matter what happens, I'm going to stand with you. Just like always…"

The whispered encouragements continued as Sofia felt a heavy burden beginning to be lifted off her shoulders. Once again, she was reminded how fortunate she was to have Butterford in her life. Weird to think about, especially considering how they'd met on that voyage so many years ago now… He'd been her enemy then, even for a brief period of time. Now he was easily one of her best friends—if not the best friend she had, aside from her husband, of course. Strange how life worked…

Several minutes passed, and Cedric finally returned, Orion, Vega, and Chrysta in tow. He nodded his acknowledgement to Butterford, who returned the gesture, before he looked directly at Sofia. He smiled softly to ease her worries a bit. "We know where she is, and we know how to get to her."

"R-Really?" Seeing the others nod, Sofia frowned in determination. "Then let's get our daughter back, Cedric… And I'm not holding back. Greeneyes has no idea who she's messing with… If it's the last thing I do, I'll make her pay for all she's put us through. I promise."

To be continued…

Next Chapter: In the Shadows