Chapter 21 - Attack of the Bears
The rabbits weren’t so bad when you got past the constant stares.
Giu was taking his last sip of Elly’s cuisine as the sun beamed brightly outside their window. The occasional hostility aside, he’d miss the taste of fresh herbs and spices he’d been forced to endure. Going back to regular steaks and burgers would be an adjustment. Especially after he’d eaten the best cuisine on the planet.
“You should be safe, relatively speaking,” Tea said. “If anyone comes knocking, feel free to send them our way. We’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry. Any intruder has to get past Fledge.”
The green entity stood across the table, growling at Giu as usual. Even after spending three days straight working around it, he had no clue what the creature was supposed to be. Or why it didn’t like him. Tea claimed otherwise, but he could see past the ruse. It was in its eyes. Those squishy, slightly misshapen eyes.
“For the record, the invitation stands, canine,” Elly said. “Should you experience withdrawal, I have more dishes ready for experimentation.”
He slurped the rest of the soup, wiping his mouth.
“Probably gonna take you up on that eventually,” he said. “But first, we got a fox to catch.”
She gave a silent nod, one that wasn’t entirely approving or disapproving.
The memories weren’t going anywhere. He and Tea both knew that. And as more of his former life with Immy returned, so too did his concerns over what exactly happened to her after their final goodbye. Whether she was still out there being chased. Or...
Tea slung an arm over his neck.
“C’mon, Gi,” they said. “We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I wanna get done sometime this week.”
He rolled his eyes at that. The pixie gave Elly one final wave before they were pulling him towards the door, the small orange extortionist as eager as ever to keep moving forward. It was something he’d gotten used to with them. Appreciated even, though he’d never admit it to their face.
“Really think the Croc Bros are gonna leave her alone?” he asked as they headed out.
“Probably. I’d like to think I leave a big enough trail to follow without getting caught. Keeps my clients safe and the dummies occupied.”
The long climb down the apartment steps eventually passed, Giu bidding farewell to the worst part of his Syndicate routine. With any luck, there would be some sort of flight option installed when they had to come back for business. Even a simple rope with a guy at the top would have worked.
Tea flew on ahead, Giu taking in the lobby of angry stares with one final smile.
“Hey, pint size!”
If fell the minute he stepped outside.
The early morning sun was blazing bright. The rabbits were all going about their business. And yet, directly in front of Elly’s apartment, there stood a concession of bears waiting. All of whom zeroed in on the two partners, the shortest smiling wide.
“Did you miss me, pixie?”
Tea groaned, a paw hanging over their hip.
“Redge. Great. You’re here too.”
The bear chuckled. “What, didn’t the canine tell you?”
Giu flinched. It was only then that he remembered. The meeting. Chief Huck's office. In all the chaos of his memory return, he'd completely forgotten to warn Tea about Redge. The pixie shot him a look, Giu shrinking. It wasn’t the dumbest mistake he’d made, but he doubted they’d let him live it down.
“I see,” Tea said. "So then, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
“Don’t play coy, pixie. You and me got a score to settle. And don’t think I’m letting you get off easy this time around.”
He motioned to one of his men, a gray bear slimmer than the others though he still towered over both Giu and Tea. 
“Canine,” Redge said. “I’d like to introduce you to my new friend here. He's good at dealing with Phys. Looger, if you would.”
The slim bear crossed his arms, a white glow enveloping his body. It spread to the ground, wrapping around the four other bears at his side. Giu’s curious stare magnified. The four bears. They had suddenly become eight!
“Last time we fought,” Redge went on, “I told you I’d bring more men. A lot more, in fact.”
The eight had become sixteen. Thirty-two. Sixty-four! Both Tea and Giu started to back away.
“Oh.”
“Crap.”
The numbers kept growing, rising in the hundreds. Tea pulled out a bottle of alcohol, shattering it and lighting it ablaze.
“Run, Gi!”
“Way ahead of you!”
They both took off as the army roared. And then, with a single command from Redge, the bears came flooding their way.
Claws and swords fell from the sky, the doppelgangers all moving in unison. Giu turned the corned, smashing through a tree to try and slow them down. It froze long before crashing, Redge clones shattering it to pieces with their massive claws and spikes. Crap! He sped up, falling beside Tea who was frantically flinging out Tsuyulavins to no avail. Bears went up in flames, but there were always more to replace them. So much more.
“Dangit, Gi! This is all your fault!”
“Hey, don’t blame me for this?” Giu snapped back. “You’re the brains here! Start thinking!”
“I’m trying dum-“
A wave of black shot down from above, trapping several of the bears. The two partners stopped arguing, their attention moving to the figure running along the rooftops. A red-furred canine. And one who was wildly flinging out magic at the doppelgangers.
“Hey, G! Need some help?”
Giu relaxed. Eli. Tea gave him a nudge.
“Someone you know?”
“More or less. Met ‘em while I was out shopping.”
Eli clapped his hands, tendrils of darkness rising from the ground. They snaked around several ice bear clones.
“Retundi-”
A pillar of light smashed into his face, Eli crumpling to the ground. 
Giu winced, both due to having seen the attack coming and having noticed the casters flying above the bear army. One was covered in a glowing orb of light. The other was riding spears. But both glared down at Giu exclusively.
“Canine!” Olive and Lucille hissed in unison.
The sisters both had bandages around their heads, Lucille's face practically mummified, though that did little to slow her or her sister down. Orbs rained from above, pillars jutting out below. Giu dodged and smashed his way forward, turning to see four Redge clones narrowly miss his back. Tea grabbed him.
“Dangit!”
They soared skyward, spears and ice following after. The pixie weaved and arced, picking up speed while Giu braced against them.
“For the record, Gi, this is all your fault!”
“Shut up and fly!”
The attacks continued to soar, but they started to grow further and further away. Redge's voice began to fade, the buildings of Haywire disappearing in favor of the murky green waters. Giu sighed, watching as the Syndicate became a spec and then was completely out of sight. They'd made it out alive. Barely.
“Hey, Gi.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re really heavy, y’know.”
He groaned. Despite the pixie’s words, they kept on flying.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Hey, I was just joking, Gi. Geez.”
He groaned louder.
With the escape behind them, Giu's attention fell ahead, where he could see the Sword of Gustav rising over the distant buildings. He took a nervous breath, remembering the task they had before them. To find the fox he'd separated from a little over a month ago.
“Paladin territory, coming in hot,” Tea said.
Giu smiled. 
Somewhere out there, they’d find Immy. Alive or dead, they’d find her. But with the annoying pixie at his side, Giu was sure things would turn out fine either way.