A/N: This is a request fic that I'm writing for my good friend, Vulaan Kulaas, who asked for a Glover fanfic. Then again, that archive does need some more fanfics…
Title: I'll Never Abandon You
Category: Glover
Rating: T (for violence and torture, as well as darker themes)
Summary: The Crystal Castle and the realms beyond may be restored, but one thing Glover hopes to restore is his relationship with his brother, Patches, who has been increasingly distant. Believing that his brother doesn't want anything to do with him anymore, Glover wanders off, and quickly becomes a target for a power-hungry wizard named Geraldo. Viciously attacked and left to die, Glover is convinced that nobody will save him, let alone his brother. However, a single action changed all that. A Glover two-shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything this time around. I don't own Glover, which is created by Blitz Games, and I don't own this story plot, as Vulaan Kulaas gave it to me and asked me to write it.
I'll Never Abandon You
Crystal Castle
Glover yawned as he made his way down the hallway, heading straight for the kitchen. Already he could smell the delicious aroma of the pancakes that the wizard was making. "Wow, he's actually cooking without blowing up the kitchen? I guess miracles do happen," he remarked, and laughed softly at his own joke.
No sooner had he said that than he bumped into a familiar figure. He looked up to see his older brother, Patches, standing there, looking like the walking dead.
"Mornin', Glover," he mumbled.
"Wow, you look terrible," Glover said. "Are ya sure you're alright, Patches?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine, Glover. I'm perfectly fine," he said. He then started to walk towards the kitchen ahead of his brother. "I'm just really tired."
"That means everything's not fine," Glover said. He took a few quick strides to catch up to Patches. "You've never had problems sleeping, ever!"
"Yeah, well, last night was really rough," Patches replied. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Yeah, that's just what you said yesterday," Glover mumbled. "And the day before that, and the day before that." He then walked in front of his older brother, walking backwards the rest of the way. "What is it with you? You're barely saying anything to me at all!"
"Look, I just woke up and I don't feel like being bothered," Patches replied. He then walked around his brother to head to the table. "You want to ask questions? Go ask the wizard."
"Patches…" Glover started. His brother used his magic to lift himself onto the table, where his plate of pancakes sat. He didn't answer the glove's weak protest.
Fighting back the familiar sting of tears, he walked over to his spot on the table so he could eat. When he got to the top of the table, he looked over at his brother. Patches seemed to take a sudden interest in his food, as he didn't look at his brother once. Dejected, Glover cut into his pancakes and ate slowly.
He'd thought everything would go back to normal after restoring his brother and saving the kingdom. And it had—at least, he thought it had. Ever since he'd been purified, Patches had been distancing himself from his brother, often doing things such as magic practice and potion mixing. It wouldn't have been a big deal to anybody else, but for Glover it was—those things were what he and Patches did together. Patches taught him so many things about magic and potions, way more than the old wizard ever could. And most of his advice was pretty darn sound. Glover had used it many times during his various battles throughout the land.
He counted on his older brother for so many things. But nowadays, it seemed he could hardly count on him for anything anymore.
Glover pushed away his breakfast and got down from the chair. Only Lance looked up at this, surprised to see the younger glove leave the table so early. "Aren't you eating breakfast, Glover?" he asked.
"I'm not hungry, Lance…not now, anyway. Can you save my food for later?" Glover said. "I'll come back and eat it later."
Lance's eyebrows curled to his nose in concern. "Are you certain, Glover?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm very certain, Lance," Glover sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm just going to take a walk. I'll be back by this afternoon."
As he made his way around the table, he looked up at Patches, who was finishing his pancakes. The older glove looked at him, his expression betraying some of his concern. "You're just going for a walk, huh?"
"Yeah…" Glover wanted to mention how odd it was that Patches was suddenly caring about what happened to him, but he didn't want to risk getting the cold shoulder again. "You wanna meet up for magic practice later?"
"Hmm…" Patches considered it for a moment, rubbing his chin with his finger. Then he looked back at Glover. "Alright, I will. But I'll be doing some potion practice with Lance later, so I won't be practicing all day."
Glover sighed. "Alright, then. See ya this afternoon." He then turned and made his way outside, heading down the hallway.
Now that he was farther away from his older brother and Lance, he let out a low sigh, and his features turned into a sad, disappointed frown. He'd hoped his brother would come around, but yet again, he was using a loop around so he wouldn't talk to him. Granted, the fact that he'd even agreed at all was a first step. Even if they didn't spend as much time together as Glover hoped, at least he could use it to get some answers out of his brother.
Glover pushed open the doors of the castle, and made his way outside. There's no need to worry, Glover. Everything's gonna go back to normal after this.
Hidden in the shadows of the bushes, two glowing yellow eyes watched the young glove walk along the trail that led to the portal of Atlantis. He recognized Glover as one of the gloves that Lance had. He scoffed. What could the old fool possibly gain from creating two sentient gloves? He started to turn around and disappear, ready to make his way to the castle and possibly check up on his old rival…but that was when he felt a small current of energy. It wasn't much, but it was strong enough to make him do a double take.
Turning in the direction of where he'd felt that power, he watched Glover continue to walk down the path, occasionally leaping over some rocks in his way. "So…this little one has the pure magic I'm searching for," the figure said. Sneering, he turned and started to creep his way through the bushes.
Glover wouldn't see him. Nobody would see him, as he could remain invisible and appear when he wanted to. With the amount of foliage around, he could easily sneak up on his prey without much suspicion, catching them off guard when he pounced.
He continued to creep through the bushes, keeping an eye out for Glover's movements. Only five more yards to go, and then he'd have him…
Glover continued on his way through the forest, his worries about his brother's state starting to fade away. He was probably getting worried over nothing; there was probably nothing to worry about.
Nothing to worry about at all...
No sooner he made his way to a wide clearing than he felt the familiar pinprick of dark magic. He whirled around, looking high and low for the source. Nothing abnormal caught his eye, and after a few tense seconds, he turned back around to face the front, pausing only to take one last glance.
As he was leaving, a voice he didn't recognize entered the fray. "Lance has taught you well."
Glover turned around so fast, he thought he heard something pop. "Who's there?"
A dark chuckle answered his question. "Look over here, boy."
Glover looked up at the third tree to his left. There was a man sitting on the tree's lowest bough, one leg crossed over the other, and smirking, his amber eyes alight with mischief. Facial-wise, he seemed to be the same age as Lance, but one look at his body told Glover that this guy didn't spend his days lounging around like the old wizard did. His long, forked beard had a grey streak straight down the middle of it.
"Greetings," he said, nodding towards Glover.
Glover braced himself. People who looked like this guy didn't send out friendly greetings. "Who are you?"
"Hmm? I'm surprised you don't remember me. I used to be good friends with Lance...until he surpassed me," the man said. He all but spat out the word 'surpassed'. "Ah, but no matter. It makes sense that you don't remember me, since Lance hadn't created you yet."
"Alright, enough with the runaround questions!" Glover said. "I'm only asking this one more time: who are you, and why are you following me?"
The man stood up from his perch, still wearing that smirk. "You have something that I want," he said.
With that, he shot into the air, sending birds flying out of the tree with the force. He dove for Glover, his right hand enveloped in flames. Glover watched, horrified, as the flames ran up the length of the man's arm and completely covered his body. He slammed into the ground with a thunderous explosion, one that sent Glover flying into the cave. A great smoke cloud covered the clearing, and flaming rocks rained from the sky moments later.
Glover coughed out the smoke from his mouth, and he sat up, dazed and rubbing the back of his head. "W-What the..."
There was a great burst of wind, and Glover watched as the smoke cloud was cleared away. The man stood there, dressed in black and red armor that seemed to glow with heat. His right hand was armored with a large gauntlet that resembled the claws of a dragon, in shape and color. His amber eyes were now a smoldering red.
With a mocking bow, he said, "If you must know, my name is Geraldo. And I'm here for your power." He raised his head, and the smile he sent towards Glover sent shivers racing up his spine. "And you're going to give it to me, whether you like it or not."
Swallowing, Glover braced himself. He wasn't about to let this man know that he was scared of him. "Like heck you will!" he challenged. Calling forth his own magic, Glover flew out of the cave and raced towards Geraldo, sparks bursting from his arm. "I'm not giving my power over to anyone!"
Geraldo laughed and held out his fist to block Glover's incoming fist. Even as he closed his talons around it to block out Glover's magic, he could feel a tingle of energy coursing through it. He was prepared to sink the claws into Glover's arm when the glove brought his other fist crashing into his face. With the force of that hit, his head was sent upwards, and his grip on Glover's arm was loosened.
That was the opening Glover needed. Yanking his arm free, he jumped to the ground, then launched forwards, both of his arms leaking bronze energy. He slammed one fist into Geraldo's stomach, followed by a second punch. The bearded man was sent crashing into a tree, smoke and pines raining everywhere.
Glover panted heavily. His chest felt like it was full of acid;at once, he knew it was backlash from using a lot of magic. He didn't think he'd poured that much power into his blows, but he knew that he had to be more careful if he was going to make it out of this fight alive.
No sooner had he thought that than a wave of fire raced down the road. Glover dove for the corner, and the heat radiated off of his back. He rolled on the ground, bringing himself to a stop before he collided into a tree. He opened his eyes to see Geraldo charging towards him, his smile twisted and his gauntlet leaking fire. Glover tried to duck, but Geraldo seized him with his glove-free hand. His grip was like a vise, and it was all Glover had in him to breathe.
"How about I rough you up a little bit so I can take your powers easier?" Geraldo sneered.
Summoning all his defiance, Glover glared at him. He opened his mouth and then bit down on Geraldo's hand hard. Much to his amusement, the other man let out a high-pitch shriek of pain, and the next thing Glover knew, he was being hurled which way and that as Geraldo tried to get him off of his hand.
Glover smirked. He thinks this is bad? He hasn't seen nothing yet!
Calling upon his magic, Glover directed the magic to flow through his mouth, resulting in a supercharged bite that sent a current of electricity coursing through Geraldo. The man's screams were deafened by the hum of electricity that raced through his body. He sank to his knees, his body convulsing.
Glover released Geraldo then, jumping backwards onto the ground. He spit out a bit of the man's blood onto the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Okay...I-I may've overdone it..." he wheezed. His chest felt like it was on fire now, and he knew that he'd need some help if he had any hope of defeating this maniac.
Right before he make his move, Geraldo's gauntlet arm shot out and seized him. Searing heat filled Glover's body, and he screamed in pain. Geraldo got to his feet, sparks of lightning dancing up his arms and legs. The hand that Glover had bitten was dripping blood from the knuckles, but that didn't matter to Geraldo. His eyes had gone near red with anger as he glared at the squirming glove in front of him.
"I'm done playing games with you, kid," he announced. "But this time, since you've spent yourself, getting your power won't be much of a problem."
His gauntlet arm went red with power, and heat the likes Glover never felt before coursed through him. A scream of agony tore from Glover's throat, and he twitched against the other man's grip, but couldn't get free. Geraldo laughed evilly as he watched his captive squirm.
Glover's body went a light bronze, and the light seeped into Geraldo's gauntlet, running up his arms. Geraldo's grin only grew wider as he felt the glove's pure magic start to flow through his body. "Finally...finally, I have the pure magic I've been searching for!" he shouted.
Glover started to flicker in and out like a dying light bulb, and Geraldo grinned. "Thank you for giving me your powers, little glove. But you have served your purpose." He squeezed Glover's body, and as more of his magic started to pour into his arms, more of Glover started to fade away.
Geraldo let out another evil laugh, one that echoed throughout the entire forest.
Lance was gathering his spellbooks when Patches ran into his room. "Lance!" he shouted, nearly breathless.
"For heaven's sake, Patches, do compose yourself," Lance chided. He turned around to face the other glove, noticing right away how worried he was. "Why, whatever is the matter?"
"Glover's been gone for far too long, that's what's the matter!" Patches snapped. "I went to find him at the castle grounds, and he's not there."
"He could be playing in the forest," Lance said, walking past Patches to head outside. He knew how Patches could be overprotective at times, but he didn't see any reason to worry. "We'll check on him again in a little while."
"I don't think we should wait for that long, Lance," Patches said. "I have this odd feeling that something's off."
Lance rolled his eyes. "There's nothing 'off' about Glover wandering around on his own. He's gone exploring before," he said. "And Glover would let us know if something was wrong." He opened the door, only for the strong smell of smoke to hit his nostrils. He covered his nose and coughed. "Ugh...who could be burning something at this time of day?"
Patches appeared moments later, looking up at the sky. A towering cloud of black smoke filled the air, and the treetops were covered in flames. Patches' eyes widened in horror.
Lance followed his line of vision, and his face took on a similar expression. "My word..."
Patches was off and running before he even had a chance to stop him. Sighing, the old man gave chase, hoping beyond hope that nothing serious was going on.
Glover was barely aware of the fact that he'd been dropped down on the ground until searing pain filled his head moments later. Hovering above him with a look of cruel pride on his face, Geraldo laughed as he flexed his fingers, his eyes filled with awe as he looked at the power dancing off of his fingers.
"Let's see how this new power goes, shall we?" he said, looking down at the powerless glove. With no prompting from Glover, he pointed in the direction of a tree, and a large bolt of light shot from his fingers. A flash of light filled Glover's vision, and a thunderous explosion rocked the area. Geraldo laughed again, his mouth turning upwards into a delighted smile. "As I thought...this pure magic is more powerful than any magic I've ever encountered." He smiled thinly at Glover. "Too bad it came at such a price."
Glover couldn't speak even if he wanted to. Due to having nearly all of his magic pulled out of him, his body was starting to rapidly fade away, and with it, his functions. It was enough trying to keep his eyes open, let alone try to move. He could feel his strength leaving him rapidly, leaving him weaker than ever.
So, this is how it ends? he thought. This is how I go out? Helpless, battered and beaten? Tears started to burn his eyes, and despite his best efforts to contain them, some of them fell down his face. Memories of Lance and Patches filled his mind as he realized that he'd never see them again. He'd never even talke d to his brother about what had been bothering him...
"Aw, you're going to cry now?" Geraldo sneered. "I can't believe that the pure magic was hidden in a crybaby like you. But no matter. Getting what I wanted was easier than I expected anyhow."
He started to walk away from the scene, and Glover allowed the last few tears in his eyes to fall from his face as he felt more of his magic disappear. It wouldn't matter if he held them in anymore; he'd be good as gone in a few moments.
Lance...Patches...I'm sorry, he thought, closing his eyes.
The last thing he ever expected filled his ears then: a scream of pain, and then something crashing through a tree. He opened his eyes, his vision blurring over, to see what was going on. He wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but he could've sworn that he saw Lance and Patches, whose green aura was surrounding him like an inferno. This definitely surprised Glover. Patches hadn't wanted anything to do with him that morning. Why was he here, coming to his rescue?
Lance's eyes shifted over to him, and they widened in horror. He shouted his name and ran over to him, only for a wave of fire to come flying out of the bushes and almost hit him head on. Glover wished he could call out to the wizard, to tell him and his brother that he was alright.
He closed his eyes again, doing his best to numb out the sensation of his body disappearing.
Geraldo sat up, dazed, charred and irritated. "What in the name of the worlds was-"
His question was answered before it was finished. Another blast of magic came flying at him, this one hitting him head on in the face. Stars filled the wizard's vision as he was once again lifted off the ground and hurled through another line of trees. Dust, wood and rocks flew into the air in a large cloud.
Geraldo coughed out the dirt that had come up in his throat, and tried to make himself stand up. Every part of his body ached from the collision, and his skin felt like it was on fire. He sat up, shaking his head to reduce the blurriness in his eyes.
Two people walked through the large smoke cloud. The first he recognized immediately, but the second made him do a double take. "Glover? What are-I drained you of your magic! You shouldn't be able to even use it, much less stand!" he yelled.
"I'm not Glover," the left glove responded. "The name's Patches. Glover's my brother."
Geraldo's mouth turned upwards into a smirk. "Aw, how cute. The big brother comes to the rescue," he said. He pulled himself up from the ground, sneering at Lance. "So, what brings you out here, old man? They finally kicked you to the curb?"
Lance's eyes were set into a steely glare, and he pointed at Geraldo. "Enough with the jokes, Geraldo. I'm done with your games," he said. "You hurt someone I call a son. And now you're going to pay."
Geraldo's chest rumbled with laughter. "You must be joking! You call those...those failures of magical creations your sons? Spare me the theatrics, Lance," he said, laughing. "Neither of them are anything special. In fact, I'll finish off your other one like I finished Glover."
Lance's hand began to glow with power. "You dare laugh?!" he roared, and swung his hand out. A broad shaped arc of lightning flew towards Geraldo, carving through the remaining trees like they were paper.
Geraldo raised his armored hand and conjured up a shield. It briefly buckled when the attack slammed into it, but there was hardly a dent in it. "Nice to know you haven't slacked off over the years, Lance," he commented. "But I've grown stronger since we last fought! And this time, I won't hold back!"
"Like you had anything to hold back in the first place!" Lance shot back.
Fire flared in Geraldo's eyes. With an enraged scream, he unleashed volleys of fire upon both Lance and Patches; the latter put up a shield to block the incoming attacks, which bounced off and crashed into the ground. Explosions rang out along the battlefield as one fireball after another slammed into the ground.
A pained cry came from Lance's left and he turned to face Glover, who was barely visible in the midst of the firefight. "Glover!"
Patches ran over to his brother, his aura disappearing. "Lance! You take care of Geraldo!" he shouted. "I'll get Glover to safety!" He scooped up his brother, and took off, heading for the bushes.
Geraldo turned towards the fleeing older glove with a look of crazed glee. "I don't think so!" he shouted, and flung another fireball in their direction. A thunderous explosion was heard as the bushes and the surrounding trees went up in flames.
Horror crossed Lance's face. "NO!" he shouted.
Geraldo laughed. "Well, that ought to take care of both of them," he said. His hand began to glow with more fire. "Now, all that's left is you."
Lance turned towards him then, his eyes hidden by the brim of his large hat. His hands were balled into fists. "You...you killed both of them," he said. "You killed my sons and laughed about it." Those balled fists were now starting to crackle with electricity. "Geraldo... you shouldn't have done that."
"Aw, why? Because you have nothing to lose anymore?" Geraldo sneered.
The electricity in Lance's hands went from blue to gold. He looked up at Geraldo then, the gold light appearing as fire in his light blue eyes. "No. Because now, I have nothing to fear."
He thrust both hands towards Geraldo and a massive volley of lightning surged through the ground at rapid speeds. He had the smallest satisfaction of seeing Geraldo's eyes widen in shock before the attack crashed straight into him, blowing him back several hundred miles. The explosion that followed rocked the ground and sent various trees toppling over.
Lance lowered his arms, which were smoking from the extent of using such power, and walked over to the burning fire. Using such power would have repercussions he knew, but that wasn't his main concern. With a flicker of his hand, he caused the fire to disappear, fearing the worst-
His eyes widened in shock when he saw Patches standing there in the midst of a small force field. Slung over his shoulder was Glover, who was thankfully still visible, but the flickering of his form told him that he wouldn't last for long.
Patches disengaged the field and looked up at Lance. "Did you beat him?" he asked.
"Well, with the amount of power I used, there's no way he should be still alive," Lance replied. "For now, let's take Glover back to the castle. We need to find a way to restore his magic before he permanently disappears."
Patches nodded, steely resolve in his eyes. Together, the three left the scene, leaving flaming carnage in their wake.
End of Part 1
Finally, I got part one of this two-shot done! I was actually supposed to have this out way earlier, but that summer was my "writer's block" summer, so that didn't exactly follow through.
Regarding the wizard's name, I borrowed it from Vulaan Kulaas, who also named the wizard in her Glover fic, "Pure Hero, Tainted Villain". As for Geraldo, I kind of based him after two people: Dr. Ver from Senki Zesshou Symphogear, and my Super Why OC, the Evil Reader, although there are more traces of the latter than the former. Geraldo is, like the Evil Reader, a former apprentice who later turned evil. His reason for doing so is because of his thirst for power and his impatience. And even though he's gotten more powerful since Lance last saw him, he still got utterly destroyed by his former master at the end for what he did to Glover. Guess that proves that you don't mess with Lance :D
The second part will be longer than this, since it's going to feature Patches searching for a cure for his brother. While this chapter didn't feature Geraldo vs. Patches, you'll definitely get to see it in the next chapter :D
Reviews are great, but constructive criticism is even better!
God bless, iheartgod175