Rise of the Champions - Chapter Thirty-Two

Author: Milady Dragon


Phil fell into a deep sleep the moment he finished the meal Melinda had brought to him, with Crystal at his side, Lola on the other side, and Clint watching over his rest from the chair in the corner, the eyes that saw so much ready to keep a guard on his sleep.

The Void was awaiting him.

The darkness murmured to him comfortingly, welcoming him into itself. There were no words that he could understand, but he knew, deep within his very bones, that the Void would always be a part of himself, as close as him to a lover, a friend, a companion on the same level as Lola was. The Void had chosen him to represent it to the rest of the world, and Phil would always take that responsibility seriously.

It shared his fears, his concerns, understood his love for his family. It accepted him for the flawed human being he was, despite his past, and had seen something in him that made him desirable as its Champion.

The Void had believed in him even when Phil had had crippling doubts. When he hadn't believed himself worthy of any good things in his life, worthy of friendship, worthy of love. It had soothed him although he hadn't been aware of it. It had calmed the rages that he'd been prone to as a child, as a young man who'd only wanted the rest of the world to hurt as much as he did; the Void was most likely one of the few things that had held him from the worst excesses of the Dark One.

Phil would now always be grateful that he was Void. That the Void had seen something within him that would make it choose him to be one of its Wizards.

The Void welcomed him, was attempting to heal him.

However, the tainted part of itself that he'd taken from James and into his own soul was preventing the Void from doing as much as it could.

He would have to expel it before it could continue.

Phil's eyes snapped open at the realization.

It was dark, the sliver of moon barely lighting the bedroom. At some point, someone must have put Crystal to bed, because she and Lockjaw were no longer there. Clint was, however, curled up around him as if to protect him by imitating one of the octopuses that inhabited the deep ocean. He turned his head just enough to look at his lover; Clint's face looked at least a decade younger in sleep, peaceful in a way he wasn't when he was awake, and Phil loved him so much more than he could say.

He was going to have to check on the wrist bracer he'd had commissioned, so he could go ahead and enchant it the way he wanted to, so he could ask Clint to marry him. A ring wouldn't work; they'd learned that wearing one affected Clint's use of his bow, which was why Phil had taken to wearing the magical ring that would allow them to, someday, have a child together. However, an archer would never have enough wrist protection…

As he lay there, in the dark and quiet, he could feel the sick Void pulsing within, next to the source of his own magic, an intruder sat next to his very soul. Phil needed to get it out, and it needed to be now, before it could take hold within him and taint his own magic beyond healing.

He still felt so very tired, but he could not put it off.

Phil would trust the Void to see him through.

However, as he lay there and dreaded what he'd need to do now, it came to him, an idea that had been percolating just on the fringes of his mind.

Not wanting Clint to awaken and find him gone, Phil pressed a kiss to his lover's forehead, using a tiny bit of power to send him into an even deeper sleep, the sweet scent of lavender filling the air. Then, he carefully pulled himself away from Clint's warmth, tucking a pillow into hands that grasped for him even in sleep. Phil smiled as Clint pulled the pillow to his chest, snuffling into it happily, as he dropped even further into dream.

He wished Clint could go with him, but this was something he'd need to do on his own.

Phil silently got dressed, his legs wobbly and his knees weak. He would need to hurry; he wouldn't be able to linger at his task. He would have preferred to wait until he was a little stronger; however, he wouldn't be getting that strength back unless he rid himself of the tainted Void.

He wished he'd never had to take it into himself, but he hadn't had a choice. It had needed to be pulled out of James before he could be healed, and Phil had been the only one capable of doing it. And he couldn't just release it, there had been no telling what else it would have contaminated, and letting it free within Ianto's personal space would have only led to disaster.

Phil put on whatever came to hand, he didn't need to dress up for what he was about to do. He happened to tug on Clint's tunic, and he smiled as the scent of his lover wrapped around him. If he couldn't have Clint with him, this would be the next best thing.

He also dug out the full-length hooded cloak that he used mostly for winter. He didn't need anyone recognizing him, if he did happen to come across any late-night prowlers. The last thing he wanted was to have to answer any questions, because he didn't want to have to wipe anyone's memory of his presence. He really couldn't afford to use that sort of magic, not tonight.

Flinging the cloak about his shoulders, Phil stepped out of the bedroom. Both Lucky and Lola were curled up on the couch; Lucky stayed blissfully asleep, but Lola raised her head at his approach, trilling a question at him.

Silently, he asked her to stay put; she was striking in appearance, all red with that fancy black filigree along the edges of her scales, and anyone seeing her might realize just who was out and about at night.

She huffed disgustedly at him, crawling out from under Lucky's tail and mentally giving him what for, for daring to suggest she stay at home. With a flutter of her wings, Lola triggered her own, secondary dragon ability, and Phil found himself shaking his head as his companion grew until she was twice the size as she usually was.

"Fine," he capitulated so softly that the word was almost silent. She had a point, that people wouldn't put together the Grand Master's smaller dragon with the larger one that would be accompanying him now.

Her smugness flowed across their link, and the Wizard couldn't help but give her a skritch across her crest. He might very well need her, if what he was going to do became too much and he grew too weak to make his way out once more. With her temporary larger size, Lola could easily support him if he needed her to.

He had a feeling that he just might.

Together, they ghosted through the Keep, the soft boots that Phil had slipped on not making a sound on the stone. It was dark out on the stairs, but he knew this place, could navigate through it with his eyes closed, and so didn't need any light to see by. He knew exactly how many steps there were down to the lowermost level, how many strides it took to get to the casting chamber door. He passed his daughters' floor, and only the tiny glowglobe nightlight that was in Crystal's room was showing under her door; Daisy's door was also closed, which meant she'd come home from Gateway instead of staying in her dormitory room there once she'd delivered the letters. He was glad, since he worried now that Loki was loose, although the Wizard School was one of the safest places in the world. Even moreso, now that it had been proved that someone unauthorized could get in; see, Daisy's kidnapping by Grant Ward as the prime example. Now, only approved Teleport spells could be used, keyed to the school, and anything else would ping the Headmaster and the Steward if anyone suddenly appeared on campus without the proscribed clearance.

Phil might not have one of those particular Artifacts, he did have one that was keyed to the Quorum Hall.

Once he was in the stairwell down to the casting chamber, the glowglobes reacted to his presence, blooming into light, temporarily blinding him until he could blink his vision clear. Once he'd done that, he continued downward, Lola just behind him.

The casting chamber would hide the magical signature of his Teleporting away. Anywhere else in the Keep and Daisy could very well pick up on his leaving, even in her sleep. He didn't want that. He didn't want anyone to know he was going out. Phil didn't necessarily want to keep this a secret but the fewer people who knew what was going to do, the better.

Besides, he didn't want either Clint or Daisy lecturing him. He could do without that.

As soon as he got to the bottom of the steps and just into his casting chamber, Phil triggered the piece of natural quartz that was the Quorum's Teleport Artifact.

It brought him into his office in the Quorum Hall. As swiftly as he could, Phil and Lola made their way out of the deserted building, past the wards that recognized him as the Void Grand Master. With a single wave of his hand, Phil wiped his being there out of the wards, so no one would ever be able to trace him being there. It would usually be a simple thing to accomplish, but Phil was still drained somewhat from the magic he'd done earlier, so he felt the power leave him as he performed the spell. It was just a little drain, but he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again before getting to his destination.

Drawing the hood up over his face in order to disguise his features to anyone who might be out and about, Phil entered the city of Gateway, turning himself toward the Wizard School.

And the Wizard's Tower.

It was the chill hours before dawn, the dark sky broken up by the brightness of the stars overhead, unhindered by the absence of the moon. The Hunter was just above him, strong arm with bow extended, reminding him of Clint so much that he had to smile. The Hunter was chasing the Bear tonight, his Prey, and back before Phil had been poisoned by his parents, his father had told him the old tale of the Hunter, and how he'd always be after that Bear until, one day, he'd finally catch it.

He did have some good memories of his parents. They were just buried under so much horribleness.

Gateway was still slumbering under the stars. On his journey, Phil only saw two people: one was a woman, heading out toward the edge of the city, her finery telling the tale of what she'd been doing that would have her going home so late. The other, a man, was out delivering bottles of fresh milk, his cart rattling down the silent street yet not waking anyone. Neither one paid him any attention at all, his form obscured by the cloak as he passed through the shadows along the walkways, the larger Lola not drawing any second glances as this was Gateway, and there were more dragons living there than perhaps any other city or town in the world.

He was just another anonymous Wizard, which was fine with him.

Although the city was asleep, the Deep Ways were not.

Being in Gateway had never bothered Phil, although he'd heard stories that some Voids were sometimes irritated by so much of the Deep Ways that Gateway seemingly thrummed with power. Students were immediately taught to shield if it got too much; Phil hadn't needed it, back when he'd been a new student, emotionally raw and angry at the world. Looking back on it, it seemed as if the Deep Ways had never been the irritation that it had been for other Voids, and he has to wonder if that was what prepared him for raising Daisy.

Daisy didn't seem to have any issue being around Voids, either. It was just one more thing that had the Wizard wondering if they'd always been meant to find one another, that destiny somehow played a role in their eventual becoming a family.

Passing into the grounds of the Wizard's School also proved easy. As Grand Master of Voids, nearly every ward in the city had been keyed to him, giving him unlimited access to anywhere he wanted to go. These wards he didn't bother to wipe; far too many people went to and fro from the school, and it would have been far too difficult to distinguish his magical signature from anyone else's, not without knowing what to look for, and using a much more in-depth scan of the wards than the majority of Wizards would have even considered doing. So, his presence at this time would be completely overlooked.

Which was what he wanted.

Phil did have to wipe his signature from the wards of the Wizard's Tower, but he'd been expecting that. The last thing he wanted was anyone to make even a cursory check of the wards, and see that he'd been there. Not for what he needed to do.

The alien Void was churning, as if sensing his plan. It didn't want to leave; he was another vessel, one that it could taint as surely as it had been tainted, and the last thing Phil wanted was to go back down that dark path that he'd walked for so very long. He needed it gone, and the saying, 'killing two birds with one arrow' immediately came to mind.

Then he huffed a laugh. He knew for a fact that Clint could do that very thing. It gave him hope that this was going to work.

The corridors of the Wizard's Tower were deserted. Anyone who would be awake and working now would be in the service areas of the Tower; the kitchens, stables, and other areas that would need to be attended at this early hour. He passed through the dimly lit corridors, toward his destination, a ghost of darkness and Void, Lola as silent as his own footsteps upon the stone of the floor. It wouldn't do for anyone to see him now, not when he was so close, but the Void was with him as he met with no one.

The passage down into the Archives was thick with gloom, a single glowglobe at the head of the steps and another at the bottom. As weak as his legs felt, Phil's steps were sure upon the stone, and he glided down and into reading room beyond, where a single Archivist sat, dozing at her desk, and yet another hand gesture had the young woman and her dragon both dropping deeper into sleep as he and Lola made their way farther into the Archives.

Deeper and deeper they went. Phil had only been this way the once, but he could recall the way vividly, as if guided toward his final destination.

The Secure Archives.

The longer he walked, the stronger the Deep Ways became. Phil easily remembered this same sensation on his first visit, as Ianto had led him and Stephen toward the Secure Archives room, and he wasn't able to brush it aside as easily as before, not having warded for it this time. Mostly, it did not bother him too much, but the tainted ball of Void was becoming more and more active, straining against the prison that Phil had confined it to, uncomfortable at being exposed to its opposite self. He laughed at it silently, understanding that it needed to escape, and yet would be unable to; the Deep Ways would repudiate it harshly, not wanting it within one of its most hallowed areas.

It was one of the reasons that Phil had chosen to come here, to this place, so that when he released the tainted Void it would have nowhere else to go but where he intended it to go. It would be repulsed by the Deep Ways, and would want to hide.

The door to the Secure Archive was practically a beacon in the wall of the darkened hallway. The spell work in it was so very intricate, Ianto's magical signature writ across the runes as if he'd signed his name to the magicks themselves.

He would need to remind him about that Revulsion spell. It was quite delicate for what it actually did.

Resting his hand upon the Recognition rune, Phil used his Archive key to open the door. When Ianto had said he was going to key Phil into the magic itself, so it would give him access, the Wizard hadn't been all that certain it was a good idea, but now he was glad that Ianto had insisted. Phil was quite certain that his friend hadn't considered this sort of action when he'd chosen to do it, but Phil was also fairly certain that Ianto would understand, once it got out what he'd done.

The door opened easily, the Warning glyph not activating as he stepped inside, past the Disintegration spell laid upon the first flagstone – a spell that gave him the shivers when he considered it – and into the Secure Archive. The glowglobes automatically came on, illuminating the space, and he couldn't help the slight shiver when he took in the Artifacts that Ianto had squirreled away within.

Each and every one of them shouldn't be allowed to ever see the light of day again.

The spear lay where they'd left it, on the desk at the far side of the room. All three of them had wasted so much power in trying to break it, and they'd all failed. But, Phil thought he could understand why they had; that thing didn't belong in this world, with so much power funneled into it, that there wasn't a way to physically affect it with simple magicks…even if they were a force of nature.

It wasn't the spear itself, though, that was so powerful.

It was the stone set into the hilt.

He'd been right when he'd said it didn't belong in this world. It had been mounted into the spear by a very powerful Wizard, back in the far past, but the stone itself hadn't been an original part of the spear itself . It, and the gemstone within what Ianto had called the Pendant of Souls, were both otherworldly, and Phil had been willing to bet they'd come from the same place, and put within their settings by the same Wizard.

They both shouldn't be there.

However, Phil had only come for the spear.

It was the Artifact that held his attention, and his ire, and his total and complete fear. Oh, it wasn't because it had killed him – although that didn't hurt – it was because what it had done to Clint. His lover still had nightmares about the actions he'd perpetrated when under Loki's thrall, and Phil was determined that it would never happen to anyone, ever again.

Lola chirped at him worriedly, and he glanced down at her; she'd regained her true size once they were in the Secure Archive, and her blue eyes were dark with concern. He rubbed her head and then along her jaw. "I'll be fine," he assured her, his voice whisper-soft although there was no reason for it. "I think it's time we do what we came here for."

Lola agreed fiercely, her wings mantling as she reared back and away from the area where he would be doing his work.

Phil took a deep breath, centering himself. He'd done this before, with Alexander Pierce, and it had tired him out. He'd been at the height of his power then; now, he was exhausted and not at full strength, so he had no idea if this would even work. Which was one of the reason he'd chosen to come here, to the Secure Archive; if something did occur, then the tainted Void would be trapped within the Archive and away from anyone it could corrupt.

Lifting his hands and praying to the three Gods and to the Void that was his life's blood, Phil tore a hole into the Veil Between, creating a Void Point.

Before, it had needed to be large enough to swallow Pierce. Now, though, that size wasn't required. It only needed to be able to take on the tainted Void…

And Loki's spear.

Phil had honestly thought about tossing the other Artifacts into the Void as well, but then decided not to. For one thing, they were fairly safe where they were; and secondly, if the room was empty that could conceivably be noticed quicker. With just the spear gone, it would perhaps fly too low for anyone to see it missing too quickly.

However, the Void within him needed to go first.

Reaching into that place where he'd chained up the tainted Void, Phil pulled the fiercely struggling substance up and out of himself, keeping it from fleeing with his own powerful grasp that he had of the Void itself. The tear within the Veil was singing, the healthy Void calling to the damaged part of itself, wanting it to come home so it could rejoin itself and be healed. Phil wished he, himself, could answer that siren song, to step into the Void and simply exist within it.

He couldn't do that, but it didn't stop him from longing for it.

The Void he'd taken from James suddenly stilled in its struggles. While Phil could never pretend to fully understand the Void and its thoughts, this he could tell…it was making a choice, between being smothered within the Deep Ways that saturated Gateway, and the place where it could exist with the rest of itself, where it would be safe and whole once more.

The choice was a simple one really.

With an inaudible sigh, the tainted Void allowed itself to be drawn back into the main body of the Void, giving up its fight to stay outside of its own self, leaving the purpose that Hydra had given it and taking up its home once more.

Once it was gone, Phil reached toward the spear. The metal was cold in his hand, achingly cold, but he ignored that, and the memories of that freezing blade piercing his body from the back and protruding from his chest, in order to thrust it, point first, into the tiny crack he'd created in the Veil, shoving it into the Void, which accepted it simply because he was asking it to.

The Void knew what that weapon had done, what it was capable of. It knew that it had been responsible for its Champion's first death, the one that had brought Phil into the Void, to be chosen to be Void Champion, and to live for eternity as its representative in the world. The Void, in the end, did not wish pain upon its favored and, while that spear had set into motion the events that had brought Phil to this point, the Void understood why it needed to be hidden away forever.

Once the spear had vanished within the Void, Phil grasped the edges of the tear he'd made, and wove them back together, taking his time to make certain there were no leaks.

By the time he was done, Phil could barely stay on his feet. Lola grew larger, in order to support him, and her worry made his head hurt. He would never tell her to stop; it wasn't her doing that he was in pain, and too exhausted to move.

However, he felt better. The ill Void was gone and out of him, which meant he could now heal completely. It had needed to be done, and this had been the best way to do it.

Phil draped his arm around Lola, mindful of her wings. "Let's go home," he murmured, not wanting to head back up yet needing to get out of the Archives so he could Teleport home. At least he wouldn't need to go all the way to the Guild Hall in order to do that; he could simply leave once he was completely out of the Archives.

And so, letting Lola help him along, Phil limped out of the Secure Archive room, stumbling a little as he made his way up and out of the warren of tunnels under the Wizard's Tower, once again passing like the very shadow of the Void, no one noticing him as he left for home.