I had this Mandrake/Severus pairing idea but I'll save that for a different fic.

Enjoy!

Warning: there MAY be slash later on. I'm not sure how much slash or how hardcore it will be but a man/man couple might very well pop up.

(Linelinelinelinelinelineline)

"Grub! The pod! It's blooming in darkness!" Mub cried out to his companion, eyes arching forward even as his body wanted to learn. The pod's edges were beginning to turn black and curl in an unnatural wilting bloom that he never, ever wanted to witness. His heart pounded in his flexible chest while his brain desperately searched for something, anything to say that would wipe the feeling of utter despair from the very air but nothing came forth. They were going to lose, the forest would die and the Dark Prince would rule at the side of an evil, mean, ugly—

"Oof!" The sound of ten Leaf Men systematically being taken out quite effortlessly reached the ears of Mub, Grub, Nim Galuu.

"Ah this must be the delivery room," a taunting voice echoed throughout. Nim stepped forward as though to hide the sight of the very obvious pod and tried in vain to direct the tall man into a different direction but he was pushed to the side with a quick word. The excited expression that played along his features told the reason as to why he didn't immediately execute the scroll keeper and the annoying slug who were both attempting to pull him back by his long cloak. He reached forward, sharp nails oh so close to the wilting, blooming black petals that would produce his heir.

"My Dark Prince, come to daddy," Mandrake whispered, mentally urging his prince to be born. He narrowed his eyes, attempting to see a shape within the blooming pod that would tell him that, soon, he would have a child sitting in the waters, simply waiting for him to sweep up. Hurry child, hurry and be born! My people are strong and plenty but the Leaf Men have a determination that they do not so please, hurry—!

"I don't think it likes you," a very familiar voice interrupted his inner pleadings. And there he was, Ronin. The pathetic sack of leaves that should be dead even with most of the boggins throwing themselves into this battle. He felt a growl grow within his throat and despair in his heart even as he tried to convince himself that he would win—he had to win.

"…Seriously I lost count," Ronin smirked in a way that made Mandrake not only want to kill him but feast on his corpse. No, he wouldn't let this filth ruin his life for a second time—not while he had breath in his lungs.

(Linelinelinelinelinelineline)

What… what was happening? Eyes fluttered weakly behind pale lids, trying desperately to open and see what was causing the disturbance he felt in the pit of his soul. Finally a single eye snapped open as the disturbance moved from his soul to his body, yanking him roughly. Who was attempting to move him? He was no longer fit for this world, why couldn't he die already? For hours he laid there, in crippling pain and bleeding steadily out of the wound that should have killed him in a few seconds. Now, after hours of waiting and praying and pleading for death, it was so close and now it was being snatched away. His mostly numb body jerked across the grimy, blood soaked wood roughly as another sharp tug yanked at him.

He didn't deserve this! He deserved to die as peacefully as he could after having his throat half ripped out by a giant snake. What did Fate have against him? He had a terrible life with a disgusting father and an uncaring mother, bullies and a friend that didn't stay for the long run. He sold his soul to a demon and paid in sweat, blood and tears for the forgiveness from a twinkling angel. Now his penance was done and he wanted to die!

Had he any energy, had he seen just who was torturing him when he was so close to touching hands with Death itself, he would have lashed out and gave the person the worst tongue lashing in the world. As it were, he didn't have any energy and he couldn't see who was torturing him. He could only let out a weak gurgle and squirm even more weakly as another tug pulled him into the air… and kept him there. He was suspended in the air, back arched in the middle and the rest of his body limp as though trapped in the middle of an exorcism.

Now Severus was even more confused and the pain that was banishing itself to blissful numbness was back with a vengeance but it was quickly being pushed to the back of his mind as a terrible heat took over him. It was a scorching, blinding, throbbing heat that started at the point in his stomach and slowly spread across his body until he was sure that someone had lit him on fire. He didn't want to do this any longer, he didn't want to—

"My prince…" A desperate, accented voice pleaded from a place very far away.

Then he knew no more.

"… but in the end, every leaf dies on its own!" Mandrake had won the battle, of course he did. While Ronin had the determination not to have the forest and his home decay around him, he had the determination to not let Mandrake win but Mandrake had something better. He had desperation—pure desperation for a little prince. Before his staff could land the deadly blow, he noticed a figure and immediately stopped. The figure wasn't a Leaf Man or that annoying stomper turned forest dweller but instead it was a small child, hovering over the rotting pod. The child was blurry to his eyes, not completely done but he was there. He was there, curled in on himself and so perfect.

"My prince…" he breathed, reaching for the child that was so close to being there. He kicked Ronin absentmindedly in the temple, effectively knocking him unconscious and strode quickly to the small child. He was an absolute beauty, precious and—

"NO!" He roared as the child suddenly jerked as though in pain and began to disappear as moonlight rain down on his delicate little body. No, no, no! He would not lose another son so early into having him. Mandrake thrust out his hand in a frantic attempt to grab the child before he disappeared and, to his shock, he actually caught onto flesh. Heart pounding in his chest, Mandrake yanked as hard as he could even as the now pink pod attempted to push him away. No, he would not give up—not so close what he wanted! With every bit of his strength and personal magic, he freed the child from the magical binds and immediately wrapped him in the folds of his bat cloak. Just as he did so, Leaf Men dropped from the sky and the cool steel of a sword was pressed into his neck.

"No one is ever alone… not even him," the youngest of the Leaf Men growled, brown eyes snapping with anger. He knew this one to be the soldier to break into his lair and steal away the blood and he definitely knew the father of this one. A Boggan had disconnected his head from his spine; it was quite the bloody show.

Pity that he had a son.

"You're late!" Ronin rasped from somewhere behind them. Dammit, would that old nuisance just die already!? Mandrake would have tossed his head backwards and glared at the still breathing warrior but he couldn't for the sharp point still threatening to end his life. A second later the pod burst with pure power and light and Mandrake made a half attempt to grab for it as though he didn't have what he wanted. He allowed himself to be thrown far away although he let out a cry of surprise when he back slammed in the back of an open tree he had wounded earlier. He threw out his hand and struggled greatly to get the child in a more comfortable position so as to not be crushed by either the wood or his muscled body.

They were soon devoured by absolute darkness but it was okay. Mandrake brushed his fingers gently across the face of his little prince that he could not see.

"My son," he whispered for only himself and the tree to hear. A sigh soft and low was his only answer but it was the only one he needed as he curled up in a vain attempt to sleep.

(Linelinelinelinelinelineline)

It was all over. The Boggans, or at least what was left of them, had disappeared and a queen had been chosen in the form of a young Flower Jinn named Honey. Although the burn of Tara's death still scorched the back of Ronin's mind, the forest was going back to the way it was meant to be and he had seen Tara one last time before she disappeared into the air with that beautiful smile still etched onto her face.

All was mostly well. Ronin took off his damaged armor, throwing the painfully heavy material weakly into the corner. When he awakened, he would definitely be horrified by his actions but he was so very tired. It felt like he had been beaten over and over… oh wait, he had been. Ronin let out a cynical chuckle and threw away his underclothes, just barely stopping himself from falling as his pants had a disagreement with his footwear.

Peace allowed him a clumsy moment so he didn't bother to feel embarrassed in the least when he did fall on his bottom attempting to break up the disagreement between items.

Hell even though M.K. had turned back into a stomper, Nod still talked about her and not in the way that suggested he would leave her alone and let her go back to her stomper ways but in the way that he wanted to continue speaking with her. M.K. and Nod… now that was an odd couple if Ronin ever seen one what with the whole size difference but hey, love is love is love.

The white haired man let out a small laugh and fell down on his sinfully soft bed of spider silk and flower petals. He was still in great pain after the battle that happened just the other night and he was ready to sleep off his stabs, cuts, bruises, and sprains. He pulled a soft leaf up to his shoulders and drifted off without a moment's hesitation.

Peace was good.

"Okay Ronin, don't panic."

The Leaf Man winced in the sudden light and looked around with curiosity obviously on his face. There, sitting next to him next to him on a large rock was Tara. She no longer wore her extravagant gown of green and train of white, instead she sat in a simple dress of bright yellow that was pulled under her knees to avoid the bubbling creek that was just under her small feet.

"Tara," he breathed then he frowned as he noted the words that she had said. Any time someone told him to not panic, it usually meant that they were going to tell him something that he would definitely panic about. He observed the woman sitting next to him with a certain smile on her face. There were a lot of smiles that Tara had for she was normally always smiling no matter what, even in her dying moments. The smile on her face read guilt and slight worry although he wasn't sure if he was worried for him or what he would do seeing as they were both very different things.

"Before I tell you, I want you to know that I didn't think he would do it—I did not even know that it could be done and for that I am very sorry Ronin," she apologized quickly. Ronin narrowed his eyes at his best friend and crush, trying to figure out just what she was going to tell him while also attempting to not turn into a wreck of energy and panic. Finally he took a deep breath and grabbed onto her hand.

"Just tell me what it is and I'll try to fix it," Ronin assured her. This had happened many times although it mostly happened around the first decade when Tara had been queen. She wasn't born perfect with absolute control, she had to learn it and sometimes she made mistakes as people were prone to do. He remembered the time when she had accidentally made the forest grow beyond its limits and it had taken a lot of bargaining and groveling before he could get help from a very… unsavory source.

"Okay, now remember to not panic… but the crowning ritual didn't work," Tara stated with a nervous giggle. Ronin blinked at her for a very long time and he realized that it was only because panicking would be counterproductive that he didn't immediately start doing just that. Perhaps he hadn't heard her correctly, no, he obviously hadn't heard her correctly.

"What do you mean that the crowning ritual didn't work!?" Ronin demanded a little louder than he had meant to. Tara didn't flinch as most would have done, instead she stood up and began to walk leisurely with a thoughtful expression on her face, long yellow dress pooling by her feet. Ronin stood up also but he didn't want to walk, he wanted to pace or even run.

"This is going to sound bad but it's not if you look at it the right way—," Tara stopped talking as Ronin gave her a very dark look although it was definitely softened around the edges seeing as she was still his very best friend even in death. She sighed and ran hands through her brown hair, "Okay, geez Ronin, you have to learn how to see the bright side of things. The Dark Prince was born last night and he's with Mandrake."

Ronin gaped at her and tried to speak several times but came up with nothing. How in the FOREST was that not as bad as it sounded!? He had to wake up, he had to gather up his soldiers and start a forest sweep for this Dark Prince so he could be monitored and dealt with if he turned out to be too evil and powerful to live. He was born evil already but Mandrake would make him so very worse and dammit, this was possibly the worse situation in the world!

"Ronin, you're panicking, just relax," Tara quipped quite helpfully. Ronin whirled on her as he realized that he was pacing the stone so hard and quickly that he was actually causing wear on it. This was not a time to relax! While Ronin wasn't one to start panicking in the tradition way of running about without a clue as to what to do, he certainly wasn't one to simply sit still either.

"Tara, I don't understand. The queen was crowned, the forest restored and most of the Boggans are either dead or so few that they won't be a problem for centuries!" Ronin articulated. The brown skinned woman shook her head sadly and idly began to twist the front of her hair into her normal crown before she dropped the locks and gave a small shrug.

"I didn't know that it was possible… the pod had bloomed in darkness and the prince was formed but a second later, it was fixed and the moon was meant to replace his darkness with light. Mandrake managed to take the child before the Moon could destroy him. As a result the child is alive but greatly weakened. He might not survive the week if Mandrake is not very, very careful but… I don't think that Mandrake will cause any trouble," Tara confided in him with a small smile. He wasn't sure that he would ever understand the technicalities of the rituals as they were really mysterious as Nim had said however he did understand the last part and he didn't agree with it one damn bit!

"Mandrake? You don't think that Mandrake will cause trouble?" Ronin wasn't sure if death had addled her brain or if she was just seeing the best in every person that she met. It was an equal possibility for both but he wouldn't exactly voice this particular opinion lest she proved to him just how powerful she truly was even in a dream.

"We are still talking about the same Boggan King that nearly destroyed the entire forest in a single day and attempted to raise a great evil—and apparently succeeded on that last part. Let's not forget that he killed you," Ronin reminded the woman as though she actually needed to be reminded. Tara waited patiently, the smile never shifting off of her face and her leisure walk about never losing a single step despite the fact that Ronin was constantly pausing to pace or let out a decisive snort whenever she simply hummed.

"Yes we are talking of the Boggan King. We are still talking about the man that helped us save the forest from growing so large that it died. It is the same man that would have normally accepted defeat and retreated but saw as his son was killed and he could do nothing to stop it," Tara stated in a soft voice that held no mirth and made Ronin wince. While he wasn't sorry for killing a man attacking his Queen and the future of his home, he felt some guilt for killing someone that was basically a child in front of his own father.

"Are you trying to say that Mandrake did all of that because he loved his son? That's impossible Tara," Ronin scoffed at the very idea that Mandrake could love anything other than himself. It was silly to think that his son's death caused him any turmoil except that he needed to find a new general at such a short moment. Ronin told himself that it wasn't possible but he sometimes Mandrake's horrified screech echoed in his head far louder than Tara's dying words.

"Mandrake loved his son and he went insane without him. We both know the importance of rot as much as Mandrake knows the importance of the forest no matter how much he denies it. So yes, I am very sure that he only wanted the 'Dark Prince' as a son and not to take over the forest," Tara concluded her insanity.

"I…" Ronin didn't have a remark to those words because it all sounded crazy. It sounded like some sappy excuse that a mother would say about her child when he hurt other children but the utter agony in Mandrake's voice… the way he stopped coming after them to catch the boy's corpse…

"He nearly destroyed himself pulling the Dark Prince out of the pod. He used a lot of his life force," Tara suddenly added as though she just remembered. Her smile was wistful and a bit impressed as though she were witnessing the deed at that very moment. Ronin thought of Mandrake just as the moon hit the pod that had technically bloomed in darkness. The Boggan had reached out for something, had grabbed it but he had thought the blow to his head had caused him to see things and when Mandrake was thrown back, he hardly fought back and only made a short protest before willingly going within the tree.

"I am worried for them both," Tara whispered and Ronin could see that her smile wasn't nearly as bright and not half as sure. There were only a handful of times that he had ever seen the Queen without either a smile and even less times he heard her admit to being worried. "Mandrake is in just as much danger of slipping into death as the child. He is in danger of leaving that poor child to grow up alone and afraid in a world that will never accept him."

"No," Ronin immediately stated as he caught the look within the brown eyes. It had been a long time since she used the puppy look on him but he would stand strong this time! He would not let himself be tricked into helping that murderous monster. He refused to have anything to do with the Boggan or his dark prince unless it was making sure the boy never caused any trouble.

He would stand strong!

(Linelinelinelinelinelineline)

An undetermined amount of time later, Ronin opened his eyes and stared in disbelief up at the ceiling. Normally his dreams were very vague and mysterious or they were cloudy and he never remembered them however, Tara's call to him and their discussion during that call was crisp in his mind as though it happened in the real world. And he clearly remembered that somehow, someway that the tricky woman had actually gotten him to agree to her very foolish, insane plan. This plan was even worse than when Tara insisted that she had to personally go out and get the pod herself and yet he was still going along with it.

"So much for standing strong," Ronin grumbled then rolled onto his side to get a few more hours of sleep. Even though he didn't want to admit it, something that Tara had said worried him for it did not simply involve a child growing up without his supposed father thus becoming a great evil or of a man that was made mad by the death of one son and could possibly become much, much worse should he lose another. No, his worry involved the little flower that was now the queen and could very well be holding a terrible darkness within her.

(Linelinelinelinelinelineline)

To Be Continued

I don't own anything. This is all for entertainment.

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