A/N: Hey guys, thank you for coming to read my story. I'll try to keep this short and say more at the end if I need to so you can start reading quicker. I'm CrowofArcadiaOaks and this is my first fanfic, writing and publishing it, so I apologize in advance for any OOCs and/or other mistakes. If you notice any of this, feel free to review if you have time and let me know; I'm open to any constructive criticism, but flames are not appreciated. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar dialogue (occasionally taken directly from the show), characters, or settings and/or anything else that seems familiar in this story. All rights for that go to Guillermo Del Toro and DreamWorks.
Breaking the ice was the first and easiest part of the plan.
Now that he had freed Nari, Douxie thought about the next step; to get Nari to safety and keep her away from the Arcane Order for as long as they could. There was no doubt that the Arcane Order would have the Genesis Seals by now and the time trap wouldn't last much longer.
This was confirmed when Archie flew in, warning them. Not wanting to waste the precious time they had, Douxie and Nari ran, Archie following from the air. While they were running, Douxie couldn't help but reflect on Nari's words.
"Thank you, though the Order will surely rip your soul to pieces."
Even though he had promised Nari a lesson on pep talks, brushing the comment away, the damage had been done. He had enough doubts and fears about what would happen and he knew the risks. But there was no other way, no other plan and no time to come up with a new one. He knew what he was getting into, how this would end, yet he would do it anyway. He had to.
The doorway that would lead them to safety was in sight now, and Douxie pushed his exhausted body to its limits, urging on the small demigod in front of him. His faithful familiar flew above them, easily able to pull ahead and rush to safety, but holding back to stay with them.
They were so close, just a few more steps and they would be safe…
"Nari!" Bellroc's shout echoed, a mix of male and female voices, both equally intimidating.
Douxie and Nari froze, turning around slowly.
As he turned, Douxie made sure to shield Nari with his arm, pushing her behind him. Archie flew above the two, ready for a fight. Douxie could sense Archie's fear and he was sure Archie could sense his own.
Acting fast, Douxie used his magic to push Nari and Archie out the door, the two setting off as fast as they could to safety. Douxie followed, but was overtaken by Bellroc, who elbowed him in the ribs and pushed him to the ground.
Douxie's ribs hurt but that didn't stop him from casting a spell from the ground towards the doorway. Smiling, he reminisced of when he used the same spell just days ago against different people.
As Bellroc and Skrael continued to run, they ran right into the infinite hallway, the magic spitting them out on the other side of the room; now behind Douxie. Douxie's grin only widened when the two demigods ran back in a moment of confusion. Skrael commented on how 'amateur' the magic was, but Douxie didn't let the words affect him, especially when the 'amateur magic' proved effective, rebounding Bellroc's fireball back to hit them in the head.
"Ha, buttsnacks." This brief reprieve in the chaos of the past days had made Douxie bold enough to mock the hot-headed demigod.
"You will die for this!"
Bellroc's words sobered Douxie, reminding him of what he had to do. What all of this was for.
"That was kind of the plan." He replied, getting ready for the inevitable battle about to take place. "But it was worth it so my friends – and Nari – could get away." Saying this reminded himself of the people waiting for him to return safely. Unfortunately, they would be kept waiting. He knew he wouldn't survive this. But that didn't stop him from following through.
He lifted his staff behind him, mentally choosing a spell to do. Skrael made the choice for him.
Trying not to slip on the ice now covering the floor, Douxie made use of the few times he went skating with Zoe and ducked a shower of fire blasts. He spun around, dropping his weight, and shooting a spell at the demigods from below.
Standing up again smoothly, he couldn't help but think about Zoe and how she would have been proud of the move he just did. She would never admit it though, covering up her emotion with a good-natured insult. Her passions were varied, one of them being skating, so Douxie had made sure to improve his skating skills to make her happy. Too bad he would never be able to show her this move.
He was so distracted that he narrowly missed being fried, the quick shield spell protecting him but flinging him against the wall. He felt his bones rattle, his ribs still aching from before. As he slid down, the exhaustion hit him.
Throughout the whole time travel thing, and after, Douxie had rarely gotten any rest. He hadn't been able to sleep for more than a few hours at a time and every waking moment was spent either running errands for Merlin or trying to find a way back home without screwing up history. Both of those required time and energy which he realised he was out of.
He got up, trying to gather the will to by reminding himself of why he was doing this.
Running around the circular room and staying close to the walls, Douxie dodged an ice blast from Skrael by dropping to a roll. He tumbled behind the irregular shaped pillar and came up on the other side, compacting his staff into his vambrace, favouring runes to perform a shield charm.
Skrael and Bellroc simultaneously blasted Douxie at the same time he countered with a blast of his own magic. Neither side was willing to give up. Bellroc and Skrael were unforgiving, pushing Douxie to his limits. Douxie could feel himself straining, his magic draining.
Then he remembered Merlin. How he sacrificed himself for Douxie without any hesitation. How he would have rather died than let his apprentice – his son – be killed.
Though the memory was painful, it gave Douxie a burst of energy and he channeled it into his magic. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the hot tears he could feel from leaking, and focussed on the fight. Even though his feet were slipping, he resisted.
The Arcane Order overpowered him and Douxie retreated to behind the pillar again.
His breath had abandoned him. No matter how many breaths he took, his lungs let it out.
"Foolish child, you have lost." Bellroc's voice pierced his brain. Why were they so loud?
He knew the demigods were closing in on him, but he was so tired.
"Thanks to you, we have the Genesis Seals. The summoning is nigh!" Are they still talking?
He's tired and everything hurts. He's sore, and his ribs still hurt, and his chest hurts because his fucking lungs won't work. He can barely feel his magic anymore. He feels more like a discharged phone with no charger than a Master Wizard.
Bellroc's words aren't helping his confidence. He knows it's all his fault that this whole thing happened. He should have just listened to Merlin.
Tears well up in his eyes thinking about Merlin. It's not even been a day since he… died, and with everything going on, Douxie hasn't even had a chance to properly cry or mourn. Even on the long flight from Hex Tech to Charlie's place, he was so focussed on defeating the Arcane Order and the next steps.
God, he missed Merlin.
Thinking about Merlin made him think of everyone else. Zoe, who's sarcastic remarks always made Douxie feel better because he knew they were her way of saying 'I love you'. All of his friends and makeshift family in Camelot; Galahad, even Lancelot. Morgana, who was like a sister to him. Jim, Claire, Toby, and all the others who looked up to Douxie, following his lead and accepting him into their family so quickly. Nari, who was depending on Douxie to protect her.
And of course, Archie, who had been there for him throughout everything. Even when they were on the run, monster hunting, on those days when Douxie was homesick or had nightmares. Through centuries of different people, different places and stupid ideas. Even this stupid idea which became this ridiculous plan.
Thinking of the others made Douxie's heart ache, but this only fuelled him. He took one last deep breath, evening out his breathing. He thought of each and every one of the faces that he had the pleasure of meeting and got ready.
Magic is emotion. And right now, he felt all of them.
Bringing his hands up in front of him, circles of blue magic runes covering them, he tensed up. Counting down in his head from 3.
2…
1…
He leapt out from his hiding place, landing on all fours. While getting up, he spun and made a circular rune on the ground with his feet.
"Tenebrius…"
The round rune on the ground is now in the air behind him. He brought his hands to his left side and finished the spell by pushing them forward.
"Excilium!"
Bellroc and Skrael blast him with their most powerful magic yet. Douxie's vision tinted blue as he puts every last drop of magic he has into the attack.
Rocks and pieces of the castle fall all around them. The whole castle was shaking under the power being used by the three wizards.
Douxie feels his life and power draining. He knows that there is no chance that a Master Wizard for a day can beat two, thousands of years old demigods, but he doesn't give up. He only says three words that will never reach the ears of those it's meant for before his world explodes.
"Goodbye, my friends."
The surge of magic is blue and reddish orange, the two colours clashing with each other. All that Douxie is aware of is intense heat; fire, and shattering glass.
There's pain, but he feels strangely distant from it, as if the pain is being experienced by someone else and he's a spectator. Then there's a feeling of weightlessness.
The weightlessness is disorienting and for a fleeting second, Douxie is scared. But then he realises that the fall is slow, or at least it feels that way. The relative silence is peaceful in a way, and he feels his burdens, fears, insecurities, all of it just drift away.
The exhaustion from before is still there but this time, Douxie gives in to it. There's no more worrying about when Archie and him will get food or where they'll sleep tonight like the early years of his life. There's no worrying about getting captured and hanged for being who he is like most of his life. There's no worrying about Merlin and all of the jobs he'll need Douxie to do like in Camelot. There's no worrying about early shifts at his various jobs anymore like the more recent years of his life. There's no more worrying about the Arcane Order breathing down his neck like the past few days.
There's just Douxie, and his thoughts. And one of those thoughts, a memory, described Douxie's mindset perfectly.
Galahad's words are clear in the haze that his mind has become.
"Today's as good as any to die."
A/N: Okay, so that's the end of my first fanfic. I hope you enjoyed the story, and if you didn't, that's okay. If you did enjoy this oneshot, I am happy to announce that this is only part one. I'm working on a part two and there's a part three on the horizon if you're interested. Keep your eyes peeled or visit my profile for more info for when you can expect the next part! Stay safe and see you soon!
- CrowofArcdiaOaks