This was something I whipped up for my friend when I was doing drabble prompts on Tumblr. I touched it up a little and threw it up here 'cause I liked it so much.
Yay, my first contribution! ...On this site!
"Wait — Virgil, wait."
The Mighty One had been largely silent during the now-somewhat-familiar walk through the Australian Outback toward the portal that would lead them to the relative safety of his hometown. He was, no doubt, feeling the crushing weight of guilt after single-handedly freeing Skullmaster from his hellish prison. Virgil had given him an impossible choice;
But at the portal that would lead to Max's home, just as Virgil was saying his goodbyes, the Mighty One grabbed him. He kneeled close, eyes wide and pleading. "That thing you said before, where you're supposed to die when Skullmaster does —"
"—that can't be the only way, can it?"
Virgil had never heard Maximus sound so… so distraught before. The man was a hardened warrior, fearless in the face of dragons, demons, and gods alike. Yet was Maximus' heart, his boundless capacity for love and empathy that was his greatest strength, even as it gave him pause at the thought of that upcoming final battle with Skullmaster.
Virgil felt a Maximus squeeze his shoulder and sighed. The Lemurian looked over the scrolls scattered across the grass once more, reaching up to place a gentle, reassuring brush of his wingtips to meet his friend's strong hand.
"It's the best way," Virgil murmured, pouring all the courage he could muster into his voice. "Every victory must come at great cost." He looked up into the wide, pleading eyes of his friend, his brother in all but blood, and smiled despite himself. "It is prophecized that either I or Mighty One must die with Skullmaster, and the world needs you far more."
Maximus said nothing in response, but his brow weighed heavy on his eyes, hardened that sad look into one of fierce determination. Virgil felt a swell of pride at the sight. He knew, long after he was gone, Maximus would still be here to protect the world they both loved so much.
"—that can't be the only way, can it?"
"It is."
Virgil's gaze darkened, keeping his eyes steady on the Mighty One. He reached up with a wing, covering the Mighty One's small, trembling hand with a gentle touch of feathertips. He let the feel of the Mighty One's grip ground him in the present — if he didn't, he was certain his cruel mind would take him back to the moment Maximus threw himself from the clff, taking Skullmaster with him. "Every victory must come at great cost, Mighty One. I absolutely must die with him. There is no other way."
The Mighty One's eyes - innocent eyes that had already seen far too much for one so young - were wide and frightened like never before. Yet even with the promise of freedom from his burden, the Mighty One's endless capacity for love and empathy proved his greatest weakness when love for his mentor stayed his hand at the critical moment in what should have been the final battle with Skullmaster.
Despite Virgil's best efforts, the Mighty One had come to love him, and in turn the boy had become his son in all but blood. This time would be different, Virgil had decided long ago. The Mighty One would survive. Virgil would give him no other options.
When that frightened, innocent gaze hardened into a look of fierce determination, Virgil felt his heart sink.