Late 12th Century Camelot

{Third Person POV}

A black cat-like dragon flies through the clouds towards a castle atop a hill.

He soars overhead as knights spar against one another in the arena, pausing to watch the dragon.

He soars over the town square until he finally reaches the castle, turning into a cat as he lands on the roof

Panning into the cattle we see a young man wearing leather work clothes. His black hair was tied in a man-bun and he was sweeping the floor of what looked to be a workshop of sorts.

Near him was a young woman who looked to be close in age to the man. She was wearing a dirty old dress similar in color to the man's clothes. She had H/c (Hair color) hair and striking E/c (eye color) eyes. She hummed softly as she swept across the floor.

These people were Hisirdoux and Yn

Better known as Douxie and Yn, the young apprentices of Merlin.

Douxie is sweeping when he runs into a suit of armor, knocking the helmet off its head.

He groans as he goes to pick it up

Yn casts him a glance and snickers quietly

He shoots her an amused glare and then gasps in surprise as the suit of armor angerly takes its head back.

"Sorry," Douxie says as the armor sizes him up

The armor stands back at attention and Douxie rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Careful Doux," Yn says playfully

"Oh shut it" Douxie replies back in a similar tone.

Begrudgingly, Douxie leans down to pick up the broom he had dropped, sighing as he looks at the mess he and Yn still had to clean.

The H/c haired girl walked over to stand next to Douxie

"This is going to take forever," She says with annoyance in her tone.

Douxie nods in agreement but then pauses as he gets an idea.

He looks over to Yn with a smirk and it doesn't take her long to realize what he was thinking.

She smirked back and both reached out their arms and scrolled through their wrist bands.

They both landed on a spell, holding out their brooms as a blue light outlined Douxie's broom and a F/C (favorite color) light outlined Yn's.

The enchanted brooms then started moving around the room on their own, sweeping up everything in the room. Douxie grabbed Yn's hand and led her over to the stairs with a yawn. He let her go as he picked up his lute and started to strum.

His strumming was interrupted when his broom swept under him, knocking him off his seat.

"Blast it" Douxie mutters as Merlin walks in through the door.

Yn started to giggle until she herself was knocked off her seat by her own broom.

"Hisirdoux! Yn! What have we talked about?" Merlin asks in a stern tone.

Douxie sighs as he stands up from the floor, reaching a helping hand to Yn.

"Magic isn't a permissible shortcut to hard work." Both apprentices reply in unison.

"Carry on and don't-" Merlin starts as he walks in the door

"But Master-" Douxie starts as he approaches Merlin

"...'but Master' me"

"I'm just- I know I'm capable- We're capable of more than just pushing a broom"

Yn nods in agreement as she summons both brooms to her hand and hands one back to Douxie.

The brooms, however, still being enchanted, started to attack both of them.

Douxie was knocked onto the table as Yn was knocked backward into a bookshelf.

"Teach us to become proper sorcerers" Douxie gasped out while fighting the broom

"Yeah, we are ready" Yn joined in while also fighting her broom.

Merlin uses his magic to mix ingredients into a bowl as he addressed the pair of apprentices

"If there is a universal truth in this world, it is that struggle is the flame which forged one's soul into steel. Magic cannot be a crutch."

"Haha" Douxie laughs out as he gains the upper hand against his broom and loses it almost immediately after.

"To take the easy way out, is to merely exist, Hisiridoux. Yn." Merlin says as he walks away from his cauldron and over to the two.

Merlin enchants the two brooms and frees the struggling apprentices

"So why are we learning spells if we're not supposed to use them?" Yn asks as she gets up and walks over to the table Douxie was still laying on "We want to be wizards, like you, with a staff and everything!"

This time it's Yn's turn to offer a hand as she helps Douxie off the table

"Staffs are for those with mastery over magic, and magic is mastery over life." Merlin places a hand on both Yn and Douxie's shoulders, "So, first, you must learn how to live. Master that lesson, and I vow your days of pushing brooms will be over"

Yn and Douxie turn to smile at each other excitedly

-Time Skip-

Nine Centuries Later

{YN POV}

I swept under one of the tables in the cafe

We were just closing and the place was a mess

I hear Douxie murmur a "blast it" and look over to him.

I saw him hold out his broom as if preparing to enchant it.

"Magic isn't a permissible shortcut to hard work" I remind him, mimicking the old man's voice from back when he used to lecture us with the same line

Douxie lets out a laugh before sighing and looking over at me

"Yeah I know, I know."

I smile sadly at him. "Don't worry. We'll be done soon"

He nods and turns back to his work as I do the same. Wishing I could just use a bit of magic to help along the way.

A car passes by outside as our coworker walks out the door

"Night, Douxie, Yn! Thanks for cleaning up" he calls out

"Or course" Doux replies.

I turn around and smile as he leaves.

Douxie then walks over to the window and changes the light on the open sign so it now reads "nope" signally that we were finally closed for the day.

I let out a yawn as I finish cleaning with Doux

We both leave the shop as Doux turns around to lock the door.

He turns to Archie and me with a smile

"Right. Time for real work. You ready?"

Archie meows and I grin in response

Douxie and I then head off towards the alley as a shadow follows behind.

{Third Person POV}

Archie walked between trash bins, sniffing the ground as he went.

He hops from bin to bin looking around as the shadow dives down beside him.

Archie pauses at the end of the ally and sits down.

The shadow emerges showing a dark creature with glowing yellow eyes and mouth.

The creature leaps at Archie, but Archie moves away as Douxie takes his place, laughing as he holds his hand out and sends blue magic at the creature.

The creature struggles as it is caught in a blue bubble

Yn comes out from around the corner laughing in excitement

"Tis my cleanest capture yet!" Douxie says excitedly

{Yn Pov}

I smile as I look at Douxie's happy smiling face.

He was awfully cute when he got excited.

I couldn't help but stare at him. His hazel eyes. His black and blue hair. His bright smile. His adorable laugh. All of it.

I hadn't realized how long I was staring until Douxie waved his hand in front of my face.

I snap outta my trance

"I'm sorry, what?"

Douxie laughs

"I was just talking with Archie on what the creature we caught was. I say an umber imp. Archie says 'es a shadow mephit. I asked what you think?"

I look over at the creature struggling in its bubble

"Hmmmmmm. I think I'm gonna have to agree with Archie on this. Sorry, Doux. Umber imps don't fade like shadow mephits."

Douxie nods in understanding

"Alright, I guess that's true. Either way, let's take a sec to recognize that we've done some very good magic tonight!"

I smiled at him and then noticed that behind us, the shadow mephit had started to break through his magic prison.

"Uh douxie. Old pal" Archie tried to tell Douxie about the mephit, but Douxie disregards him

"No, no, no, revel in the victory. We're unappreciated, Arch, silent sentinels keeping the world safe from specters and demons and-."

A pop indicated the mephit had finally freed himself.

"It's out of the trap, isn't it?" Douxie says, freezing with his arms out

Both Archie and I nod as we keep our eyes on the mephit.

Douxie faces the mephit and pushes me slightly behind him

The mephit roars and jumps towards Douxie.

Doux yells as I push us both out of the way and onto the ground.

The mephit attempts to bite us, but Douxie blocks it with his rune bracelet.

Said bracelet starts to glow blue as Douxie blasts and creature off of him.

I stand up and then reach down to help Douxie up.

The shadow mephit regains its senses and starts running down the alley with Douxie, Archie, and I in pursuit.

"Your capture technique is still weak, and you could use a couple more centuries of practice." Archie lectures Douxie as he runs into garbage cans and bins while chasing the mephit

"I will not be lectured by someone who licks their own butt!"

I snicker into my hand at that.

An idea then suddenly hits me as I split off from the two and head to cut the shadow mephit off.

I hear Douxie yelling and thinks banging around as I presume he is dragged throughout the street by the mephit. Both him and Archie discussing hunts from the past.

I turn one last corner to see Douxie slam into a truck

I wince but then focus on finding the fire rune on my bracelet.

"Uh... I've-- I've got it! I've got it! I've..." Douxie says as he searches through his spells as the mephit heads towards him

I beat him to it though and blast the mephit away from him with a fireball

Douxie looks over at me in surprise

"Unlike umber imps, mephits are vulnerable to fire," I say with a smile

Archie nods his head in agreement as he flies down from the roof he was just on.

Douxie smirks and then turns back to the mephit. He uses his magic and casts a spell to capture the mephit once again

"Saucy midge. Your pet-munching days are over! Say "Hi" to everyone in limbo for me."

The mephit tries to climb out of the magic hole but is sucked in. The hole closes leaving the mephit trapped inside.

Douxie smiles when his magic dies down and announces to the empty street,

"You're welcome Arcadia"

I laugh as I walk over to him.

"If only people knew how many creatures we keep off the streets," I say

Doux looks down at me

"Yeah, but at the end of the day, I'm just glad to use some of my magic. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," I say

Archie then directs our attention back towards the mephit we just captured.

"Strange. A lone shadow mephit snacking on pets. Where there's one, there's usually more."

"You're right..." I say, but then shrug "I guess it was a lone patrol today."

Archie hums, not totally agreeing with me.

The lights and stoplights along the road suddenly overload and burst

"Hisirdoux..."

A voice echos through the wind

Douxie jumps off the truck and lands right next to me

"Merlin? Merlin?! Yes! Finally Arch, yn. Our moment has arrived!" He looks over at me and pumps his fist in the air with a huge smile across his face

I grin and repeat the action right back at him in excitement.

Merlin is here which means we may finally be able to show him all the magic we have been working on all these years.

We see a green mist as a hologram version of Merlin raises from the ground.

Doux and I kneel

"Master Merlin," we say in unison.

"Hisirdoux, Yn, my faithful apprentices, I need-"

"You're darn right we've been faithful! We have been mopping for a millennium!" Douxie says as he stands up angrily

"Yeah, Why didn't you send a raven or a text? There's texting now, you know." I add on, standing up as well.

"I was busy, as you know" Merlin responds with annoyance

This seems to tick Douxie off even more.

Not that I blame him though. He and I have been working at that cafe for so long. We deserved to at least be kept up to date.

Not that I mind Douxie's company though. It was nice spending time with him.

I snap out of my thoughts when Douxie responds

"Yeah? Well, Yn and I have been quite busy too, protecting the material plane while you weren't around."

"Hisirdoux, I need you and Yn-"

Douxie interrupts once again

I sigh out

"About time. I've been practicing my incantations and my spells with Yn-" Douxie says as he gestures to me

I nod in agreement

"Enough!" Merlin shouts, "Matters are most dire! I need you to bring me the guardians of Arcadia, with haste!"

What does he need them for?

I wonder what's so dire that Merlin needs them all.

I look over to see Douxie with annoyance on his face as Merlin disappears.

"Oh, it's our moment all right, as errand runners." Archie states

Douxie sighs in disappointment as I put a hand on his shoulder

He looks over at me and meets my eyes.

Time seems to stop for a second as we just look at each other.

I smile at him and see him smile back

My heart skips a beat.

He puts his hand on top of mine as we just get lost in each other's gaze.

"So I guess I shall go retrieve these guardians. I will bring them to the bookstore "Archie says, ruining the moment.

Douxie and I nod in understanding as Archie flies off

We then turn our attention back to one another.

"So I guess we should start heading that way huh," I say

Douxie nods with a small smile

I smile back and then start walking towards the shop.

{Third Person POV}

As Yn walks away Douxie stands for a moment and just watches her with a lovesick smile on his face.

He knew of his feelings for her. He's had them for centuries now.

He just wasn't sure if she felt the same towards him

"One day," He says to himself as his eyes stay on the H/c haired girl, "one day I'll tell you how I really feel."

With that, he follows her towards the store so they can meet up with the guardians

-Time Skip to After Archie meets with Toby, Steve, and Arrrgh-

{Yn Pov}

I hear Toby talking as Archie leads him, Steve, and Arrgh towards Douxie and I

"Sorry, this is a lot to process! Pets can talk? The world is ending? Again?"

"Not the best timing, I know," I say to them

"But we need your help all the same," Douxie finishes for me

"Douxie? Yn?" Toby says, surprised to see us

"Wai- wha- hold up! I thought you two worked at the cafe, or were, like, models or something" Steve says just as surprised as Toby

Douxie and I chuckle at Steves's comment.

Douxie chooses a spell from his bracelet as he addresses Steve

"There's a lot about us you don't know," He says as he holds a small ball of his blue magic in his hand.

"Whoa," Toby says, eyes wide with excitement

"What?" Steve says with a similar face to Toby

I giggle at their reactions

Douxie smirks as he turns to the door places his hand on it and releases the lock with his magic.

"Come on then," He says to the others

"The answers to all your questions are within," This time I finish for him.

Toby, Steve, and Arrrgh walk in first with Douxie and I following

They gasp at all the floating objects in the store

I give an amused look to Douxie at their reactions and he lets out a slight laugh in return.

A trunk floats through the air as objects like books, maps, and tools float into it.

"Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh." Toby says, "So cool, so cool, so cool."

A glass ball with a ship inside it floats in front of Toby, catching his attention.

Meanwhile, in the background, Douxie and I watch with amusement.

"Ooh, what's that?" Toby asks as he grabs the glass ball"

"Put that down" We hear someone say from the upper floor.
I look up to see Merlin using his magic to gather together all of his things.

"Thank the ether you're here!" He says as he looks over the railing, "We haven't a moment to waste."

Toby laughs in excitement

"Woah! crusty, creepy dude!" Steve says as he looks through a magnifying glass that was floating in front of his face

"Though I had hoped for more, Hisirdoux, Yn," Merlin says to us

"We tried," Douxie says "We couldn't find the changing or the aliens"

"I'm pretty sure most of them left the planet," I added, looking up at Merlin

"Merlin, it's me, Toby Domzalski! You know, War Hammer, Guardian of Arcadia, Geology Club President." Toby says while doing poses for each name

"No one could forget you, chatty," Merlin says to him as he throws books behind him into his trunk

"And Steve Plachuck, Creepslayer!" Steve adds on

"I have no idea who you are," Merlin says nonchalantly as he walks by and his trunk hits Steve in the head, "But, we're desperate."

I look over to see arrgh sniffing Archie

Archie scrambles to get away as he is pulled towards Arrgh

"Yum" arrgh says

Archie slaps his nose in reply "I'm not anybody's lunch. Got it?"

I look towards Arrgh sympathetically as he cries out in pain. He nods in reply to Archie.

"Wait, where's Jimbo and Claire?" Toby asks Merlin, "I thought they were with you."

"Answeres forthcoming. Make preparations. We've a journey ahead." Merlin replies, walking past everyone with his Trunk still in tow

I catch Douxie looking towards the ship in the glass ball

"And don't-"

Douxie cuts Merlin off with a "But master-"

"...'but master' me."

Merlin turns and continues to pack as Doxie follows him.

I stay where I am, choosing to observe for now.

"But... are you sure you want to count on these- children? They're clearly not ready for this."

Steve scoffs at this, grabbing both Merlin and Douxie's attention.

"Excuse me, college dude, these children fought off a 50-foot extraterrestrial!"

Steve bumps into the suit of armor behind him, knocking off his head

I stifle a laugh as the armor grabs Steve's head, resulting in steve screaming.

Toby tries to get the head out of Steves's arms as he shouts at him to let it go.

Merlin groans and Douxie watches them with a look of disbelief and judgment.

Merlin resumes his packing and Douxie follows him, still trying to convince him to let us help.

I decided to help out Toby, Steve, and the poor suit of armor.

"I'll take that," I say as I use a small spell to bring the helmet into my hands

I then walk to the suit of armor and hand it to him with a slight bow

"I apologize for my companion here, it was an accident. I assure you he meant no harm."

The armor seems to accept my apology and releases Steve

The armor takes the helmet from my hands and places it back on its head. It then returns to attention.

"Yea you buttsnack, you better watch out for the Palchuk," Steve says walking towards the armor

I send Steve a look and Toby pulls him back. Steve turns to Toby and the two start arguing

I roll my eyes but a noise grabs my attention away from the bickering teens.

I look around to try and find the source but I couldn't see anything.

I thought no one else heard it until I hear Merlin speak up

"Silence!" He says

I hear Douxie sigh, thinking Merlin was talking about him, and I look over at them

Merlin gives a look of regret as he clarifies "I mean, silence, all of you. Can you not hear that?"

Everyone goes quiet as they listen for the sound I heard