Rise of the Champions - Chapter Twenty-Eight
Author: Milady Dragon
Ianto was deeply disturbed by what Phil had just done.
Oh, not that he'd been able to it, because he'd known he could…but that he'd had to do it at all.
He should have expected it, knowing about Pierce and the Void Point he'd managed to corrupt. Ianto had known he wasn't as conversant with the Void as he perhaps should have been, only dealing with it when it came to breaking curses, and he'd also known that the Void permeated the curses than had been laid upon Sir James, but he hadn't taken into consideration that the corrupted Void would act any differently from the pure Void he was somewhat used to.
When the Void had begun fighting him, Ianto had done his best, but he'd been glad when Phil had interrupted him. He'd understood at once what was happening, and had been happy to step back and let his Void friend handle it.
Ianto just hadn't realized it would be so bad.
Phil was Void Champion. That meant that the Void would always come when he called. When this version had begun fighting against Phil as well, Ianto had known they were in trouble.
Phil, however, hadn't been about to give up.
When twin screams had rung out, one of agony and the other of defiance, it had been all Ianto could do to stay where he was and witness. Stephen had actually taken two steps forward, almost stumbling to a halt when he realized he wasn't going to be able to help. He'd had to physically stop Daisy from darting forward and grabbing her father, her terror at watching him crash to the floor too much for her.
Clint, however, stayed where he was and watched.
Ianto would admit that the Elf's gaze had frightened him.
It was Steve, though, that truly surprised him.
Steve stood where he's taken up watch, not moving a muscle, as his best friend was writhing in agony within the Containment pod. Ianto couldn't really see him all that clearly; there was just a smudge of Void in the corner the Knight standing in, and that signature did not shift at all. What sort of strength did it take to not rush to James' aid at once?
It was most likely the same core of strength that kept Clint in his own spot, when his lover was on the floor, in obvious pain.
Ianto watched in horror, unable to help his friend as Phil pulled the majority of the tainted Void out of James Barnes and drew it into himself.
He'd thought Phil would simply release the Void once it was out of James, but he realized that couldn't be possible, not with it being so damaged. But, to take it into himself…the Wizard knew his friend would have to release it eventually, likely into the Void itself. Ianto was worried that Phil wouldn't have the strength, not with what he was going through. How long would he have to hold that piece of Void within himself, until he'd regained the strength needed to open a Void Point and send it back home? That sent a chill through him. How would carrying around that tainted Void affect his friend?
There were questions and Ianto simply didn't know enough to answer them.
For the longest time, he had been considered the strongest Wizard in the world. That was until Phil Coulson had proved to be his equal and, in many ways, his superior. Yes, Ianto could do things that Phil could not, but Phil could also perform tasks that Ianto simply was unable to. They weren't equal, not really. They may have been just as powerful, but not in the same ways.
Ianto had to wonder if this act would be the one that would prove to be Phil's undoing.
He was watching Phil closely, monitoring the battle as much as he could, when he noticed that his Void Wizard counterpart seemed to gain strength from somewhere.
He blinked, letting his magical sight take over. In it, he could see a thin band of magic leading from Phil…to Clint, who had finally taken a step forward, his bow held loosely in his hand, eyes focused on the shivering body of his lover.
Ianto had seen the connection between these two. It was much like the magical connection between himself and Jack, and at first had believed it was simply that band that linked lovers who were as close to soulmates as could be found. It had been a pale thing, not at all like what he and Jack shared, but the Wizard had thought it would only be a matter of time before it grew.
But, seeing it now…it pulsed with magic, the pure form of Void, which should have been impossible as Clint wasn't a Wizard and, as far as anyone knew, didn't have a magical bone in his body save with the senses that a full-blood Elf would have been born with. He would be able to see some forms of magic, although not clearly, and to sense if an item was magical but not what sort of magic it had been enchanted with. Toshiko herself had had a fairly thorough education in magical theory, but that had come from her time within Nippon Enclave. Clint hadn't had that sort of schooling and had only picked up what he did know from his time with the Dark One.
And yet…
The Queen of Air and Fire had gifted Clint with a dragon, which should have been impossible.
Was Clint really a Wizard, one that hadn't been discovered and Tested? No, that couldn't have happened, not even with him being an orphan in the traveling show. Besides, he would have shown magical ability at some point, and the archer never had done. Clint himself had even commented about his lack of magic, so that let that out of the realm of possibility.
No, this most likely had something to do with Phil, and his love for Clint Barton.
But that didn't mean that Clint should have been able to share his strength like what he was obviously doing, let alone giving off the stream of Void Ianto was seeing.
Ianto watched as Clint, as if pulled forward by that cord of connection, dropped to his knees beside Phil and pulled his lover's head into his lap. Both Lucky and Lola, who had been startled out of their dragon pile with Skye, Myfanwy and Agamotto, were by their sides in an instant, Lola looking pale and frightened as she curled up next to her Wizard, affected by whatever it was Phil was dealing with. Lucky settled right next to his own companion, lending Clint his own support.
The Void coursed between them all, strong and sure.
Ianto could tell when the battle between both forms of Void was almost over when the cord connecting the lovers began to fade back into what Ianto was used to seeing: a slim, glowing thread that bound the pair together. However, Ianto thought he could see miniscule flecks of Void in Clint's eyes, and that should have been impossible as well.
The flecks faded out as Phil came back to himself.
Claiming to be alright to continue, Stephen helped him up, and they got him into a chair. Ianto wasn't so sure his friend was up to it; it was obvious he was in pain, the fine lines around his eyes deeper than usual. However, Phil was strong, and he felt as strongly about not letting James get back into that damned Cabinet as Ianto did. James had even given the Wizard an out, which Phil refused to take.
And so, Ianto got back to work.
Now that Pierce's tainted Void was gone, the curses unraveled fairly easily. The Berserker was first, and it seemed to fade away with just a few of its strings pulled, hardly fighting back at all. The geas, however, was nasty, and it took a lot out of both Ianto and James to undo it.
It was an insidious web of magic, wrapped about James' very soul, entrenched within him even without the Void empowering it as it had. There was still Void there, but it wasn't the tainted sort that Pierce had used to reinforce it, and he did have to rely on Phil to help him with it. They'd known that the geas would be worse of all the curses, but this was even worse than what they'd imagined. Just as Ianto would get one part of the geas undone, it would pulse and spread out, as if it knew somehow that it was in danger of being pulled apart and was attempting to defend itself.
He wasn't about to let it win.
Time ceased to have any meaning when Ianto was so deep within his magic like this, caught in the battle for an innocent man's life. He was aware that James didn't consider himself innocent, not after everything he'd been forced to do by his Hydra masters, but in the end he hadn't been in control of his actions. If Ianto had had any doubt of that – and he hadn't – then fighting these curses would have disabused him of that notion. James Barnes had been a puppet, and Ianto was determined to sever the strings that had been binding him for so long.
When he eventually had both of the geas removed, Ianto had to take a step back and breathe. That had been the most difficult thing he'd ever done, yet it had been worth it. His knees felt like rubber and his pulse was beating in his head, but at least that part was done. He could accomplish the rest somewhat easier, now that the biggest pair of curses were gone.
He was going to have to wait a little while, though, for James to recover. He was seated in his chair, slumped over against the Containment field, shivering as the worst of the withdrawal surged within his body. "Stephen," he called, "can you fetch one of the healing potions, please?"
Without a word, Stephen did as Ianto asked, being just as worried about James as Ianto was. "Here." He passed the sealed bottle over.
Thanking him, Ianto stepped past the Containment field. Impulsively, the Wizard reached out with his free hand, stroking the suffering man's lank hair and not minding that it seriously needed a wash, wanting to soothe James in some way and knowing it wouldn't succeed. "Here," he urged, offering the bottle. "This may help a little."
James looked up, his pupils blown with pain. "Thanks. But give one to the Grand Master, too. He needs it as much as I do."
From his chair, Phil chuckled hoarsely. "What's wrong with me won't be fixed by one of those, Sir James."
"After all that shit, you should probably call me James."
"Then, it's Phil." There was a tiny thread of sheer excitement in Phil's tired voice. Ianto recalled that his friend had been a fan of Sir Steven's, back when the man been the Paladin of the Western Lands, and that had apparently leaked onto the Paladin's best friend as well.
James accepted the potion, his hand shaking almost too badly to raise it to his lips. The magical arm didn't move, a sign that what they were doing was truly working. "May I?" Ianto inquired softly.
"Yeah."
With that permission, Ianto held the bottle to James' lips, and he drank the entire thing down. Licking his lips, he snorted. "Cherry flavored?"
Daisy was laughing. "It was my favorite when I was a kid. Dad would always use it to flavor whatever medications I would need to take when I was sick."
James gave a weak smile. "Does that mean I'm being adopted, too?"
"Hey, I have a new sister. Why not a brother, too?"
It was Phil's turn to laugh. "How about an uncle instead? I'm a little too young to have a son James' age."
"Uncle James." Daisy tried it on for size. "I think I like that."
James' shivering was lessening, so the healing potion appeared to be working. "I can't even remember if I had a family before."
"I'm sure you did." Ianto stroked his fingers through James' hair once more. James leaned into the touch, which wasn't a surprise; he was bound to be touch-starved after so long. "And I'm sure they missed you terribly," he added, thinking of Steve in his corner.
Steve must have been eaten alive with worry and the need to help his best friend, and yet he was staying put. This had to have been the hardest thing he'd ever done, to stand back and let people take care of the man he loved when all he wanted to do was to help. Ianto knew how he'd feel if it was Jack, and resolved to get Steve his friend back at all costs.
"So," James spoke, his voice already stronger, "what's next?"
"We're going to get that arm off." Already, the removal of the geas had rendered the arm just a useless lump of metal on his shoulder, which was a good thing. "Once we do that, we can take a break and finish this up tomorrow, once everyone's had a good nights' rest."
"Let's do it, then." James was resolved and relieved at the same time. The Wizard could not even imagine what he must have been feeling, at the very notion of being rid of that arm.
When they'd been planning this, Ianto had originally wanted to save the Contamination for last. However, it had become apparent that they simply couldn't leave the arm on, and to take it off they would need to at least diminish the Contamination that was keeping the arm in place. If he weakened that, then they could take the Artifact away without harming James.
"Stephen," Ianto said, "would you mind bringing the case I've prepared to hold the arm?"
"I will." Using his magic, Stephen floated the large steel box over to set it just outside the Containment pod's influence.
When he'd taken over the Archives at Torchwood Castle, there had been such boxes used for the most powerful Artifacts, in order to make certain that any danger was contained. He'd adapted them to the Archives here; now that Artifacts seemed to be popping up all over with the rediscovery of magic, more had been needed to contain what was being found all over the world. The arm would be safe within it, and then Ianto would make certain it was stored away. He was hoping that, by removing some of the worst of the curses, he could put it to good use. Oh, not as a replacement limb; it had been made for a specific person, out of love, and it would never be implemented for that purpose again.
No, Ianto was hoping to utilize the arm as a teaching tool, for those students and Novices who were healers, for them to learn exactly what was possible with magic, and the power of love. To let them study the arm minus the curses, and perhaps to encourage a few to create better sorts of prosthesis for amputees all over the world.
He was determined that something good would come out of so much pain.
Ianto stepped back out of the Containment field. "We'll need to rid you of the magical Contamination, then we'll be able to remove the arm forever. After that…I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving. Dinner will be on me." He'd already planned the meal out, having prepared everything ahead of time. Using such magic always made him famished, and he knew Phil would feel the same…if he managed to stay on his feet that long.
"Let us begin."
With that, Ianto called his magic back to him, the Deep Ways thrumming through his very soul. His agile fingers traced through the air, seeing the lines of Contamination easily, and working his way along them until they began to fray.
Smiling, Ianto kept at it.
