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).

Chapter 7: Standoff

As soon as Greeneyes raised her hands to send her first wave of negative energy, Sofia was a bit faster and mimicked her, powering up her Light Magic, and she thrust her hands forward. She watched as the hand magic directly hit Greeneyes, knocking her backwards into a pillar.

Greeneyes was a bit caught off guard at first, but then she began laughing lowly, seemingly amused. "It's a challenge you want, is it? Fine!" She sent her own negative powers toward Sofia, who dodged them. "Oh, it's a game! And just like last time, I'll win, little girl!"

Sofia cried out as part of the woman's magic grazed her arm, but as it was just a superficial cut, she continued fighting, sending more of her Light Magic toward the dark being before her. Every time she felt weak, she just looked at those disturbing green orbs glaring back at her, and she recalled all the damage she'd done to her and her family. The child she'd lost… The night terrors, the inability to cope for a while… All those things propelled her onward, and she could even feel the others around her starting to gather to help. "Guys, stay back!" she called out. "I-It's dangerous!"

While Greeneyes was trying to power up again, Cedric used his wand to knock her off her feet, distracting her once again as she screamed out in anger. He looked at Sofia, mumbling, "We know, my love. Let us help."

"Cedric—"

"You didn't help her the last time I took her!" Greeneyes snarled, quickly clambering to her feet. "You say you're in love with her, and you're soulmates, but you didn't even feel her absence when I stole her in the middle of the night, magic man!" She then tossed some negative magic his way, scowling as he dodged just in time. "Damn it, be still!"

Orion's booming voice was heard above the chaos as he demanded, "Give it up, Greeneyes. You're outnumbered six to one. Release Serena!"

Greeneyes noticed that Chrysta and Vega were both actively working to attempt to free the young girl, who was obviously scared, and she grinned dangerously. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

Vega was the first to yell out as she was zapped with dark magic, knocking her backwards onto the ground, and she appeared to pass out. Chrysta followed not long after, staring in alarm at a large bloody gash on her arm. She hadn't even realized how bad her injury was until she looked at it. It was so deep that she could be in danger of losing the arm if not treated…

Butterford turned and whispered something to Sofia before hurrying over to tend to the Protectors, starting with Chrysta. He knew he would be exerting a good bit of energy already, but he had to heal her. They needed all the help they could get…

"I'm picking up where I left off, or do you imbeciles not get that?" Greeneyes pointed one sharp finger at Serena, whose eyes were wide after witnessing everything around her. "She's the reason I was destroyed before. All because I misinterpreted my master's stupid mysterious prophecy!"

Cedric saw that Greeneyes was about to attack Sofia while she was distracted, and he quickly formed a shield over both of them, gathering her into his arms, just as the woman's attack bounced off the barrier. He looked down at Sofia, who appeared rather shaken. "Are you all right?"

"I—"

Butterford had just finished mostly healing Chrysta's arm, and he realized that Vega was alert, staring up at them while rubbing the back of her head. He checked that they were okay before heading back toward Sofia. He saw that Cedric's shield was weakening and both he and Sofia were somewhat distracted, and it was clear that Greeneyes noticed it too. Quickly, he held out his arms and blasted the wicked being backwards into her own large dark crystal, which she'd previously been using to gather Serena's energy, along with anyone else's in her vicinity (which probably explained why some of them were getting tired or easily attacked). He was relieved when the crystal fell to the ground and shattered, causing Greeneyes to scream angrily.

"You'll pay for that, damn you!" She scrambled to her feet, her hair violently shoved back from her face as she held one hand out toward Butterford. "I've heard about you, you meddling fool! You want to die again?! I'll gladly help you with that!" She blasted Butterford backwards into both Chrysta and Vega, who caught him and kept him from slamming his head against one of the marble pillars.

"Leave them alone!" Butterford yelled as he quickly moved away from the Protectors, hurrying up toward Cedric and Sofia as he could see that Greeneyes was about to try to attack them again. He cried out when she turned her attack on him once more, some of the dark magic cutting through his white pants, a deep gash forming on his right upper thigh as he fell to the ground, grimacing at the searing discomfort he felt. "Ahh!" Tears pooled in his eyes as he tried to ignore the pain, but he literally couldn't move. He was already a bit weaker since he'd healed Chrysta, and the adrenaline he felt rushing through his body was pumping his blood faster, which he knew wasn't good… She'd hit a main artery, and he was in danger of bleeding out. "Damn it," he whispered, attempting to slow the blood by applying pressure to the injury, realizing he was in trouble. He couldn't die again… Not when he'd promised…

"Jas!" Sofia quickly slid in front of her friend, just as Greeneyes threw another dark magic blast his way. She braced herself as everyone screamed her name, and she closed her eyes, preparing to take the blast herself. However, that wasn't what happened…

Sofia's amulet reacted, reflecting the blast back at Greeneyes, stunning her as she appeared to be frozen in place. Everything sort of went to a standstill, and many were afraid to move. What if it was just a brief pause, after all? What sort of damage could she do if…?

Cedric turned from his position, seeing his daughter staring at the frozen woman. "Serena, love, are you all right?" He quickly made his way toward her, smiling warmly at her as she began sniffling.

"Papa, please…" Her eyes were that stormy blue shade, reflecting her fear. "Help me!"

"I know, my darling. Hang on just a moment." He began trying to work on undoing Greeneyes's spell, but he was having some difficulty with it.

Meanwhile, Sofia dropped to her knees and turned to Butterford, gasping as she realized how badly he was injured. She tried her best not to look at the blood and instead focused on her friend. "Jas…" She looked up at him, seeing the exhaustion written on his face. "Can you…?"

"I… I'll need some help," he admitted, though he certainly hated to ask. He flinched a bit when she lowered her hands toward his leg, and he was able to place one of his hands over both of hers, both of their powers blending together to work on healing his wound. Interestingly, some of the "residue" magic healed her own injury from earlier, as it was nowhere near as bad as his. The whole thing was a strange experience, with her hand magic and even a bit of her amulet's magic, along with his healing powers, combining to manage the injury. Her magic was so much warmer compared to his…

Because Greeneyes was incapacitated and the effects of her spell had likely considerably lessened, Cedric was finally able to utter the right spell to free his daughter, and he gathered her into his arms, hugging her tightly. He let her cry as he quietly whispered some words of encouragement, his eyes meeting with Sofia's as she finished helping Butterford heal. He tossed his wife an encouraging smile, a fond feeling flooding him as she returned it.

As Orion helped both Vega and Chrysta to their feet, checking on them, Sofia looked at Butterford with a hopeful expression.

"I'm okay," he told her gently as she took his hand, her own still a little sticky from the blood, and he winced. "I'm sorry, Sofia…"

"Sorry? You saved me, Jas. Again." She leaned forward, kissing his cheek, causing him to smile and even blush modestly. "Thank you…"

Cedric walked over to them and lowered Serena to the ground, and he knelt next to the other two. "Need some help?" he asked, gesturing to the bloody stains. Seeing them nod, he withdrew his wand and used a cleaning spell to help them out.

Serena took a moment to look around, seeing Vega holding onto Orion and Chrysta leaning up against the pillar next to them. Her parents helping out Butterford with his injury and the bloody mess… It was a lot to take in at once, but for some reason, she wasn't afraid or disgusted as she assumed she would be, although her tearful reaction earlier was due to stress and concern for the others. She was glad, however, that Charlie wasn't there to see everything, because he certainly would have been alarmed and upset. Turning, she saw Greeneyes in her frozen state, and she couldn't stop herself from staring. She also felt herself drawn to the woman, leading to her walking slowly toward her, glaring up at her. She was obviously angry knowing what she knew, but there wasn't anything she could do about it at this point. What mattered was her family and friends were safe, and she wanted this to be over… She just—

Without warning, Greeneyes shrieked as she broke free from the spell that had left her frozen in her place, and she immediately set her sights on Serena. With nary a word, she thrust her hands toward the young girl, blasting her and knocking her backwards and unconscious. She used her remaining powers to pool the girl's energy and magic, as she'd previously intended.

"Serena!" Sofia cried out, scrambling to her feet, and trying to hurry over to her daughter, only to fall as she realized how weak she was from helping heal Butterford.

Shifting his stance while still holding onto Vega, Orion thought quickly and used his free hand to magically freeze Greeneyes again, at least for now, but the damage was already done.

Desperately, the princess briskly crawled over to the young girl, panic setting in as she lowered her ear to her chest, and then pressed her fingers to her pulse. She sobbed heavily when she realized Serena was not breathing.

She was gone.

To be continued…

Next chapter: Selfless