Ashton jumped in his seat as the door burst open, a white blur passing by to slam the next door open, and the next, and the one after it. In all his years working in the Order, Ashton had never seen Director Hayes so agitated.

“There are constructs wreaking havoc all over the city and Phantom has been spotted by the cathedral. Get moving!” the usually soft voice bellowed.

Ashton chewed on his lip nervously as Phoenix reached for his armor. Ashton thought briefly he should help him, but somehow he stayed, frozen in place, until Director Hayes entered their office.

“Not you,” the Director said to Phoenix as he closed the door to the office. “I want you to stay here, make sure everyone is safe. I also don’t want you anywhere near the Phantom when you’re in such a state.”

Phoenix bristled, but the dark circles under his eyes spoke for themselves. Those last few weeks haden’t been kind to him – not with the weirdly painful magical outbursts, not with a disaster looming over them, not with Obscura being off in Helvellin mountains digging up Phoenix’s legacy. The more Ashton looked at him, the more worry kept gnawing at him.

Director Hayes took the keys off his neck and handed them to Ashton. “We will be back soon,” he put a reassuring hand on Ashton’s shoulder, then patted Phoenix on the head. “Hold the fort for us.”

Ashton put the keys on his neck numbly. The foreboding feeling intensified, and despite knowing better, he blurted out, “Please, be careful, Director!”

The man smiled sadly at him. “Don’t worry about me. Get ready to settle that elusive bastard in.”

And then the Director was gone. Ashton noted that he was wearing the Evensong’s sword on his hip.

It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

The next minutes were spent in tense silence, both men listening to the Director’s voice shouting commands, their colleagues getting ready and eventually leaving. Dillon went with them, and Ashton felt awfully lonely all of a sudden.

“Never really gets easier – to wait,” he chuckled awkwardly. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. And then the Obscura will be here with the necklace, and that friend of Kat’s. And maybe once it’s all over we could go out to eat something? All together. Or, you know. Just you and me, if that’s what you”d prefer.”

Was Ashton rambling? Sure. But Phoenix was being even more silent than usual, and Ashton tried desperately to fill the silence. He usually didn’t need to – he’d long since grown accustomed to the fact that Phoenix, like a cat, desired someone else’s presence far more that conversation – but today the silence felt uncomfortable, empty. He turned in his seat to look if Phoenix was even listening, and almost bumped his head into Phoenix’s stomach.

“Whoa, okay, a warning would have been nice,” he forced a laugh, but couldn’t deny there was something eerie about Phoenix’s ability to move without making a single sound. He was usually deliberately a little clumsy around friends, making sure he could be heard. “What, do you want a hug or something?” Ashton looked up, trying to see if the joke landed.

Phoenix was frowning, an intense expression on his face. It didn’t look like he’d heard Ashton at all. “Phoenix?” Ashton carefully reached out to his friend, but then Phoenix pushed him away and doubled over, grabbing his head.

“Get out!” Phoenix gritted out. Katherine’s pained, inhuman scream filled the room and then nothing was left save for Phoenix’s labored breathing.

“Phoenix?” Ashton asked again, unsure of what was happening and definitely not willing to leave when his friend was in pain. Was it another of the events? But he didn’t hear the shattering, didn’t feel anything…

He had a split second to see Phoenix’s alien, cold eyes, before there were hands on his throat.

His back hit one of the cabinets, something clattering to the ground. Ashton struggled, grabbing at the hands squeezing the breath out of him. Phoenix’s strength was in his agility and magic, but he still overpowered Ashton with frightening ease.

Ashton tried to scream, to plead, but the only sound that left his mouth was a pathetic whine that only made not-Phoenix squeeze tighter. Everything was getting darker, colored in purplish hue, and Ashton only barely felt not-Phoenix letting go and tearing the chain with the keys from his neck. Then he felt like he was falling, but the impact never came, lost in the void of unconsciousness.

Ashton woke up to his throat burning, his temple throbbing with pain, and to barely-there realization that something was very, very wrong.

He sat up, unsure of how much time had passed as memories started seeping in through the mindfog. Standing up was an ordeal, but he managed to keep himself upright with the help of a desk. He had to find Phoenix, he had to get the keys back, and he had to figure out how someone managed to affect Phoenix without being anywhere near him.

Because Phoenix was fine in the morning, right? Surely Ashton, of all people, would have noticed if Phoenix was possessed, or controlled?

But that could wait, everything could wait. The keys – what did Phoenix need them for? There were the copies of the keys to the cells, the key to the Director’s office…

And the keys to the vault.

Ashton was moving before his brain caught up – priceless ancient texts, powerful relics… even he didn’t know the full extent of what was kept there. The Evensong’s sword was with Director Hayes, but what else could not-Phoenix be after?

He couldn’t run even if he wanted to, but when Ashton made it to the door of the vault, Phoenix was still inside, rummaging through the shelves behind a curtain.

At that point Ashton realized he hadn’t thought this through. He probably should have called for help, but there was no time, and even the thought of shouting made his throat burn.

Could he overpower Phoenix in some way? He couldn’t lock him in without the key, but maybe he could put him to sleep? That would be enough, just a few minutes would be enough to tie him up, get help, something…

And then Phoenix was in his space, again, before Ashton could properly form the intention of the spell. There was a dagger in Phoenix’s hand, a curved blade that looked like…

The indentation in the box under Phoenix’s bed. Hadn’t Phoenix said the knife had been long lost? Did the Director come across it at some point?

Except… No, Phoenix never actually said that. It was just the conclusion he and the Obscura came to after they saw the magic had faded from the box. But they didn’t actually know if it had been a hundred years or a decade.

Had Phoenix known all along?.. Or was it yet another of the Director’s secrets?

Ashton shoved his hurt feelings aside, trying to concentrate on the spell without provoking Phoenix. He tried to summon the calm of sleep, the image of Phoenix falling to the ground unconscious, but all that filled his mind was Phoenix’s face, his eyes foreign, looking at Ashton with cold curiosity. Ashton tried again, panicking, feeling his magical reserves depleting and his consciousness teetering on the edge – and then there was a knife at his throat, and…

And Phoenix’s eyes were clearing up. Ashton was ready to sob with relief when Phoenix dropped the dagger and recoiled from him, clearly horrified. “You’re back! What was that?”

Phoenix shook his head furiously, “Take it and leave,” it looked like he wanted to say something else, but then his eyes started glassing over once more. The medallion Ashton had once made for him exploded in blue fire and then faded, magic dissipating from it as Phoenix fought away mind control.

“Just run!” Phoenix barked out, pushing Ashton away, and this time Ashton finally listened, picking up the dagger and rushing out of the treasury with as much haste as he could muster. He’ll barricade himself in his office, wait for Director Hayes to come back – surely he’ll be able to do something…

In the end, he wasn’t fast enough.

He distantly felt another blade pinning his hand to the door as he was fumbling to close it. Whatever strength he had left was gone, darkness quickly overcoming him once more to take the pain away.

When he came to next time, it was to Dillon’s worried, kind face. The dagger was gone.

And so was Phoenix.

————

More Ashton and Phoenix and the consequences of this incident see in Cursed and Worth the Wait, Worth the Trouble