Title: Protector Of The Weak
Author: Jmaria
Rating: PG-13 to R (for language and some mild naughtiness)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Joss owns all things BtVS, and somebody else owns K.A.
Spoilers: Season 7, and the movie King Arthur
Summary: The battle leads them ever home.
A/N: We're getting down to the final few chapters. There's going to be nine total. I'm glad you're all liking the story! I added two more images to the set.
Padawan: that pic is twenty times better than mine. Thanks for sharing, I adore it!
( http:img. )
As for other KA crossovers - I have at least two more in the works (an Illyria/Tristan one for Fic for All, and the continuation of Plight of the Hawk(which is Buffy/Tristan), and my Lancelot/Buffy (Old Souls) one may be continued as well.)
I got the idea for this story while I was writing OS and PotH. Originally, young Dawn was going to fall back in time and get saved by Dagonet, then pop back home. I'm really glad I didn't stick to that.
I found a song that fits perfectly in chapter six. Dido's My Lover's Gone.
Also - slight gore warning.
7. These Glorious Times
As the Saxon army crossed through the gates, they were met with the sight of their dead. Saxon bodies lay strewn across the land. Cerdic gritted his teeth as he ordered his troops to divide. He took the side of Arthur, ordering Cynric to the side of Guinevere and the other Woads.
He didn't know then how right his decision had been. He had offered up Dagonet's killer to the women who wished him dead.
The Saxon war chant could be heard. Dawn tightened her grip on the bow. She followed Guinevere's gaze up at Merlin. He gave a small signal, and from behind him emerged the numerous catapults, each being pulled by a half dozen Woads. Along the line of archers in the woods, plain arrows were being replaced with fire arrows. Dawn took a small breath, touching her thumb to the painted tattoo on her forehead. It was a small sword, representing Dagonet. She held her bow forward for them to light it.
Guinevere caught the gleam of Arthur's sword in the air. Raising her bow, the others quickly followed. They let them fly across the air, many finding purchase in the Saxons, while the others lit the river of tar that spread directly across the middle of the field. The Saxons were cut off from each other by a river of fire.
Guinevere let out a war cry, her axe raised high. The adrenalin was pumping through Dawn's veins as the Woads raced out to the battle. Her bow and slung over her shoulder, a hand axe similar to Guinevere's, a long dagger, her stiletto riding high on her thigh, and broadsword strapped to her hip, Dawn followed. The Saxons would not win.
Guinevere blocked the first Saxon, spinning her back to him as she drove her axe into his belly and her short sword across his throat. Beside her, Dawn had ducked the overhead swing of a Saxon sword, jabbing the long dagger into his chest. Behind her another Saxon was overwhelming a Woad. She kicked at the back of his knees, knocking him off balance. When the Saxon turned to face her, she kicked hard between his legs before cutting across his throat with the dagger. Shoved herself up off the ground just in time to see the six knights ride into battle.
Flaming balls of fire exploded at the feet of the Saxons, as Merlin let the catapults rip to life. Tristan fired off two arrows into the Saxons. Gawain's axe imbedded itself in the chest of a Saxon.
Dawn soon lost track of the Knights as well as Guinevere. Her training as a watcher had kicked in. There were three Saxons closet to her. Charging the first, she uppercut with the edge of the axe, while kicking out the knee of another. Blood splatter her face as she slammed the axe into the back of the fallen soldier. Another Saxon charged her. Bracing herself for the impact, she kicked up her foot at the last second, using his own weight to knock her to the ground and lift him up and over her head. The dagger was jammed deep into the chest. She hadn't missed the heart this time.
Not far ahead of her, a large Saxon was decimating every Woad who came to stand up against him. She saw Guinevere glance back at her, before she charged the Saxon. She made two deep gashes at his back before running off. Dawn grinned as she sliced her broadsword across his back, turning him once more. Taking this distraction, Guinevere pounced on his back, as she had seen Dawn do to the Roman guards. He threw her from him. The Saxon kicked her hard in the face, knocking her to her back. Just as he raised his axe to kill her, another female Woad raced through, embedding her sword deep into his side.
Guinevere ducked away, as more Woad women joined in on the attack. One chopped at his knees with her axe, while two others slashed at his arms. They wrestled him to his knees, their swords and daggers plunging into him. Guinevere jumped on his back once more, strangling him. When she looked up from this task, she saw the leader who had been at the ice battle. She caught Dawn's eye. She watched the girl go stiff as she recognized him. Dawn put on a burst of speed, hurtling over the falling body of the Saxon she had just finished off.
Something caught her eye across the battlefield. For one crystal clear second, Dawn could see each knight. She saw Gawain fight off three Saxons, saw Tristan parry with the Saxon leader, watched in horror was Bors took a spear to the back. Galahad didn't see the Saxon behind him until it was almost too late. She whipped up her bow and set an arrow flying straight into the throat of the Saxon. Bors rose to his feet, and she felt her breath return to her.
There was a sharp pain to her left arm. She whirled around, axe in hand, driving it deep into the belly of a Saxon. Screaming, she raced toward Cynric.
Guinevere attacked with her sword first, striking from above. When he blocked with his shield, she chopped at him with her axe. Spinning away from him, it almost seemed like a dance. Dawn remembered Spike saying that about sparring with Buffy, that it was a dance. Guinevere backed away, her yells egging him on to follow her. Dawn fought her way through the crowds of fighters. Her eye was pegged on Cynric. She was not the only one who watched, for across the fire, the battle had caught the eye of Lancelot.
Dawn jumped over bodies, making her way across the battlefield. She watched as Guinevere was sliced by Cynric's blade. Dawn raced as she saw Guinevere stumble. Using a Saxon shield as a spring board, Dawn propelled herself at Cynric's back. Clamping her body onto his tightly, she jammed her stiletto deep into his armor. He tried to throw her, but she dug her nails deep into the skin of his neck. She screamed loudly into his face, her anger and pain bursting through her as she yanked the thin dagger from his chest.
That was all the opportunity he needed. Cynric yanked hard on her arm, throwing her over his shoulder. Dawn hit the ground with a loud thud. She could see stars above her, and the upraised blade of the man who was directly responsible for Dagonet's death.
2005
Willow stood completely still as the form raced past her. It was definitely Dawn's shadow, but it looked more feral. It barely resembled the gental girl she knew. For one, she was in the skimpiest leather outfit that Willow had ever seen. She had a feeling even Vamp Willow would have been shocked to see that outfit.
She followed it, seeing other shadows mingling. All interconnected. Boosting her power, she focused on the ones interwoven with Dawn's shadow. There were four men and a woman. She watched in silence as the scene unfolded before her.
One of the men - a soldier by the looks of it - was in the middle of a completely baffling sword fight. The second one took a spear into the back. Willow flinched away from the shadow. She watched as he wrenched it from his back. She felt dizzy. The third man didn't see the enemy rise up to attack him. But someone did, because a ghostly arrow flew through the air. Willow jumped back, even though she knew it couldn't hurt her. She turned to see Dawn's shadow lower the bow. She turned her attention to the final man, who had the bodies of three other men at her feet.
Willow had gotten so wrapped up in watching the battle spill before her that she didn't notice Buffy come up beside her. When the slayer put a hand on her shoulder, Willow jumped nearly a foot in the air.
"Oh!"
"Will, what's wrong?"
"Sorry, got kinda wrapped up in the shadow play." Willow gasped.
"Shadow play? I thought you were looking for Dawn's shadow?"
"Yeah, and I totally found it." Willow chuckled nervously. "Did the Powers representative get here yet?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because Dawn's sort of trapped somewhere." Willow replied.
"Trapped? Trapped where?" Buffy demanded.
"In the middle of a war."
"A war?" Buffy yelled. "We have to get her out of there before she gets herself killed!"
Willow watched as the slayer raced over to where the car was pulling up. She turned back and caught a glimpse of what Dawn's shadow was up to. Willow's eyes widened in shock.
"I think we kinda have to worry more about her killing someone else." Willow muttered to herself.
The liaison to the Powers that Be was a very familiar face. He wore a fedora hat, a tacky Hawaiian shirt under a sports coat. Buffy felt her face go completely blank as she stared up into Whistler's face. He smiled at her, but his smile didn't last very long. Mainly due to the fact that his jaw felt like it had been hit with a two ton sledge hammer.
"What did they do with my sister?" Buffy demanded.
"Well that's a fine 'how-do-you-do"." Whistler groaned, rubbing his jaw.
"Buffy -" Giles said cautiously.
"She's trapped in the middle of a war! She could be killed! She's not a warrior." Buffy snapped. "She's a watcher. Her job is to watch, not fight. She's not a champion for the Powers!"
"Yeah, well we're running kinda low on that variety right now." Whistler retorted. "Last one we got ended up working for the bad guys, remember?"
"She's an innocent."
"No, she's the Key." Whistler said. "There's a difference."
"What -" Buffy started to say, only to be cut off by Willow's yell.
"Buffy, Dawn's in trouble! The bad guy, he's gonna kill her!"
"Get her back, now, Whistler!" Buffy yelled.
"I don't have that kind of power!" Whistler snapped.
"Then do your job - tell them to bring her back!"
"Are all you slayers so bossy?" Whistler demanded, concentrating hard on reaching the Powers before she decided to hit him again.
467
Out of nowhere, a blur of blue streaked in front of Dawn. Guinevere swung her axe at him with all her strength. He blocked it with his shield. She thrust at him again, but Cynric caught a hold of her blade, pinning her. He backhanded her with his shield, catching her across the face. Guinevere fell hard, landing on her back. Cynric raised his sword to slice down on her, but was once again blocked by another sword.
Lancelot kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him away from the fallen Guinevere. She raced to Dawn's side. She urged the other girl to her feet, ducking away from another Saxon blade. Guinevere let go of Dawn's arm, turning to fight off her attacker.
Dawn's attention was drawn across the flames once more. She'd blocked the sounds of death and fighting out, hearing Dagonet's calming voice resonate through her, telling her about his home, his brothers.
She watched as Tristan fell again, her heart beating faster, tearing herself away from Guinevere. No, another knight couldn't die. She wouldn't let it happen. Dawn drew her bow. Someone had to cover him, like he'd helped cover her when she'd been out on the ice trying to save Dagonet. She set an arrow in the bow, taking her aim. Before she could even fire, she watched in absolute horror as the Saxon drove his sword into Tristan's ribs. She let out a pained cry and aimed for the Saxon's head.
Her shot never flew. Dawn felt something land hard on her. She groaned, kicking and scratching at the dying man atop of her. When she finally got to her feet, she watched as Tristan's lifeless body fell at the feet of Cerdic. Dawn turned away, watching as Arthur battled his way over to the Saxon. He would settle this grudge. She had her own to settle.
Dawn spun around, looking for Cynric once more. He was no longer fighting with Lancelot, because he was busy fighting another Saxon. Dawn searched frantically, hoping to catch sight of him. She dodged through the fighters, slashing at the enemies who stood in her way. Finally, she spotted him, a Saxon crossbow in her hands. He was aiming it across the field at someone. The one phrase, uttered from Tristan's lips two days ago beat it's way through her head.
"Armor-piercing." She murmured. She turned to Lancelot, trying to yell. "LANCELOT! LOOK OUT!"
His whole body moved with the impact of the arrow. He began to fall back a little. Lancelot drew back his arm and threw his blade. Dawn stared in confusion for a minutes, until she heard the bone crunch thwack of the blade imbedding itself into Cynric's chest. She watched Lancelot stumble across the battlefield as Cynric dropped to his knees. He wasn't dead! The bastard wasn't dead yet.
Dawn felt her heart stop. No, not - Lancelot, not when they'd already lost Tristan. She watched as Guinevere raced towards Lancelot. There was a Saxon, hot on her heels. Dawn cocked the bow, pulling back on the string. The arrow hit it's target dead on.
2005
Willow felt her heart clench as she watched Dawn fire the bow again. When had little Dawnie learned how to do that? She looked over her shoulder at Buffy. They were running out of time. They needed to get Dawn out of there. Willow turned back, seeing the warrior raise the sword high above Dawn. There was no one to stop it from falling this time.
"Buffy!" Willow cried. "Buffy, she's out of time!"
"Whistler!"
"It's done!" Whistler snapped.
467
Lancelot saw the arrow whiz past him as he stumbled across the bloodied field to reach the Saxon. He needed to watch this man die, needed to make sure he was dead. Lancelot latched onto his sword handle, feeling his blood bubble into his mouth. He yanked it from the Saxon's chest, raising it high. Before it could pierce the Saxon, Cynric grabbed his wrist, trying to stop his death.
With one final burst of strength, Lancelot drove the sword through Cynric's throat. He shoved the Saxon's body to the ground, leaving his sword behind. He could feel the end coming close. Slumping to his side on the ground, he looked out across the battlefield. There, standing in a haze of bright green light, was Dawn. Her bow was lowered to her side, as she stared open mouthed at him.
Behind her, a Saxon raised his sword, readying to bury it into her. But the green light grew brighter, stronger. Lancelot was nearly blinded by the light, as it absorbed Dawn. The Saxon's blow fell on empty air. Lancelot watched as the world went black.
2005
A bright green glare burst across the open field. Willow, Buffy, Whistler, Xander, and Giles were all blown back by the force of the green light. A lone figure stood in that field. It did not stand for very long. Her skin was blue, and dark blue painted tattoos cover her exposed flesh. Blood was splattered across her face, and there were several shallow cuts marring her once unblemished skin. Two bright white scars stood out vividly on her abdomen. She was marked by battle, and still wore the instruments of war.
Dawn Summers stared, unbelieving at the sight before her. Her friends and family lay on the grass that, only moments ago, had held the bodies of the dead. Dawn blinked back the tears in her eyes. The black engulfed her as she collapsed to the ground.
She was home.
Buffy raced to Dawn's side. What the hell had happened to her little sister? She looked frantically at her friends. Xander and Willow knelt beside her, concern cloudling their faces. Giles was talking quickly into his cell phone, ordering a helicopter to come take Dawn to the Council's medical center.
"What happened to her?" She yelled, staring fixedly on Whistler.
"I only knew that they sent her back. I don't have any of the info on what happened. That's not my job."
"Not your job? My sister -"
"I'm a balance demon, slayer. I don't get info on the big projects."
"Big projects?" Buffy demanded.
"The helicopter will be here momentarily." Giles said quietly, interrupting their conversation, looking down at the young woman.
"God." Xander said quietly, "She must have been through hell."
"It must have. For her pain to leave such a strong shadow. . ." Willow trailed off.
"She probably just wanted to get home." Buffy whispered, taking Dawn's hand in hers.
Within moments, they had loaded the younger woman in to the helicopter. She slept for three days straight. She was given a full physical, her wounds were bandaged, and the clothing and weapons hidden. They had no intention of telling her that she'd been sent back in time, hoping that she would think it was all just a really bad dream. But that was before the results of the physical came back.
Bright, golden sunlight poured through the blinds. She blinked her eyes open, trying to blot out the sunlight. Dawn slowly pushed herself up, leaning back on the firm mattress. Unshed tears clogged in her throat as she remembered all that had happened in the last five days. Now she was home, safe at home. Everything would be -
Dawn sighed. It felt a thousand times worse. She felt more disconnected from it than she had when she was back there. She had had a purpose. Now it just felt like it had been a dream.
She let the tears slip over her cheeks. Not only was Dagonet dead, Tristan and Lancelot had died as well. Who even knew what happened to the rest of them? Bors had been injured, and Gawain and Galahad, what of them? They'd been nearest to the wall. And Guinevere - had she survived? Would Arthur make it through?
There was a soft knocking on the door, but it still made her jump. Giles stood in the doorway, a tray in his hands. She smiled sadly at him.
"Dawn, I thought you might like some tea and something to eat?" He asked, nodding to the tray. Cookies, crackers, and two steaming tea cups were set on it.
"Tea?" She rasped. Did her voice sound that bad? "Please."
Giles came further into the room, shutting the door behind her. Dawn leaned back against the pillows as he set the tray down. She watched as he put three sugar cubes into her cup. She smiled as Giles handed her the steaming cup. While she sipped at it, he contemplated the best way to ask this question. He was like a father to the girl, he wasn't sure if she'd be comfortable talking about it with him.
"Dawn, we need to ask you some very important questions." Giles started, as gently as he could.
"I - I don't think I can talk about it just yet." Dawn stared into the depths of the cup.
"Dawn, I know this is painful for you -"
"Painful? It's - it's a thousand times worse than that." Dawn sniffled. She didn't want to talk about it.
"There are several choices you need to make." Giles tried again, more gently. "There's not much time to act before those choices are no longer an option. We're all here for you, you know you can ask or tell us anything."
Dawn looked up from the cup. What was he talking about? She had a choice on how long she grieved? She must have given him a funny look, because Giles continued on saying that if she wasn't comfortable with this, then they could look into something else.
"Wait a minute!" Dawn cried, holding up her hands. "Giles, what are you talking about?"
"Your - mishap." He said cautiously.
"My trip back in time?"
"And -erm, the things that happened when you were-"
"Are you trying to talk to me about the battle?" Were they all afraid she was going to go evil on them and start killing people because Dagonet had died, like Willow had when Tara had died?
"No, about -" Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning them.
"Then what -"
"It's about your rape."
"My what?" Dawn screeched.
Dawn thought she was going to hyperventilate. Or just keel over dead. Either one of those seemed pretty likely to happen right now. Giles had finally left the room, which was something she was extremely grateful for. On the downside, she was stuck in the same room with her very angry sister and Willow.
"You slept with some random guy after knowing him for two days?" Buffy demanded, pacing back and forth. "You didn't know if he had a disease or anything, Dawn!"
"It wasn't -"
"And you didn't use protection!"
"'Protection' hadn't been invented yet." Dawn snorted.
"That's not the point! What have I always told you about sex?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy, I'm not -" Willow started to say, looking between the angry and upset faces of the two sisters.
"That if I had it, you'd use the guy as garden fodder." Dawn retorted. "Good luck in finding his body."
Dawn crossed her arms over her chest. How in the world was she going to get through this? It was bad enough trying to explain to them what he'd meant to her. It wasn't like she was this mystical virgin who got deflowered violently by some cave man. It wasn't like Dagonet had been a demon, Buffy's first had been Angel and he was a vampire! Buffy stared at her sister, her mouth clamped tightly together.
"Dawnie?" Willow asked softly.
"What?" She asked harshly.
"Did you - was he a nice guy?" Willow babbled.
"A nice guy? That's all you could come up with?" Buffy demanded.
"I panicked!" Willow cried.
"He was." Dawn said softly. "He was kind and gentle. He didn't force me." Dawn smiled, looking up at them. "If anyone did the forcing, it was me. I begged him to let me sleep with him."
"Dawn -"
"He had a name, you know. It's the most unusual name I've ever heard. Dagonet. He was a Sarmatian knight. He -" Her voice caught as she let out a shaky breath. "He was protective, and didn't like to talk very much. He would have done anything to keep people safe if he could. He'd even die for them."
"He died." Willow said quietly, seeing the pained look in the younger woman's eyes.
"He died a hero. Took out half an army to make sure innocent people would live."
Buffy sat down, staring at her sister with a completely dumbfounded expression. She was so sad. Had Dawnie, her baby sister, actually fallen in love? She was too young to fall that hard, that fast for some guy who was years older than her. But there was a nagging little voice in the back of her mind. She'd fallen in love with Angel when she was sixteen and he was hundreds of years older than her. Why couldn't Dawn?
"Did you love him?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah. I did."
Buffy rose to her feet. This wasn't her decision to make, no matter how much she wished it were. She sat next to Dawn, taking her hand. She still remembered when Mom and Dad had brought her home from the hospital. It was still important, even if it was just a fake memory.
"What do you want to do?" Buffy asked.
"I -" Dawn paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. There wasn't even a choice. "I want to have the baby."
"Then we'll be there for you." Buffy smiled. "This baby is gonna be so spoiled."
467
Arthur fell to his knees as the blade sliced across his back. He let out a pained groan. He could not die, he must avenge his knights and his people. He must not let the Saxons win and destroy everything he and his knights had fought for and died to protect. He heard the footsteps of the Saxon behind him. Arthur opened his eyes, and saw a small green flash of light from across the fire. He blinked, and heard the strained grunt behind him. Clutching Excalibur tightly in his hand, he thrust the sword up, impaling the Saxon once. Twice.
Pulling it free, he rose to his feet. Whirling around, he slashed at his chest, Excalibur slicing deep into the flesh. Cerdic fell heavily to his knees. He stared down at the blood oozing from the wound in disbelief. He rolled his head up, facing the man who would end his life. Arthur strode over to him, grasping Cerdic's head by his own hair.
"Arthur." He rasped, as Arthur plunged Excalibur through the man one final time.
As the body dropped, Arthur looked over to the other body. Tristan, his most trusted guide, lie there. His arms were spread apart, and blood ran from his wounds. Arthur stood there, his body sagging in both relief that the battle was done and grief at the loss of another dear friend.
The fighting had long since ended. Bodies were strewn across the field. Arthur looked up then. Across the flames, he could see Guinevere drop to her knees. Arthur ran, fear fueling him onward. As he neared her, he saw the prone body of his dearest friend. He fell to his knees beside Lancelot's body, stabbing Excalibur into the ground beside him. Taking Lancelot's head in his hands, he felt the raw grief flow through him.
"It was my life to be taken!" He yelled up to the heavens, yelling at the God who had failed him in this one request. "Not this! Never this!"
Guinevere watched him closely. Confusion crossed her face, but she never took her eyes off of him. Three figures crossed over to them. Galahad, Bors bearing Tristan's body, and Gawain came to stand beside them. Bors, weakened from the spear in his back, stumbled under Tristan's weight. Galahad and Gawain grabbed it as Bors fell to his knees. Rising, he stared down at the body of Lancelot. His eyes read only one expression - disbelief. Arthur looked up at his remaining knights, all of them bleeding, bruised, and grieving.
"My brave knights, I have failed you." Arthur said, his voice wrought with emotion. "I neither took you off this island, nor shared your fate."
Words spoken in the Woad language hit their ears. They all turned to stare at Merlin. He strode across the field to them, coming to pause just behind Guinevere. Bors backed away from him. Merlin looked into the faces of the men who had survived this battle. They would be forever changed. He knew this. Looking down at Arthur, and placing a hand on his face, Merlin spoke.
"No fate is shared." He said quietly. Turning to the other knights, he spoke it again, this time louder than the last. "No fate is shared.
Bors looked down, absorbing what Merlin had said. They'd been cut in half. First Dagonet -. Bors stopped. He looked around him frantically. Where was she? He'd made an oath on Dagonet's grave that he would look out for the woman. He couldn't not keep this oath. Dagonet had been his best friend.
"Where is she?" He snapped at Guinevere. "Where's the girl?"
"Dawn?" Guinevere asked. She looked around her. The girl was no where to be seen. "I - I do not know. She was -"
"She is gone." Merlin paused, turning back to them. "Her fate is no longer part of ours."
Bors dropped heavily to the ground. He'd failed to protect her. He'd failed Dagonet. Beside him, tears came to Guinevere's eyes. She owed her life to three people: Arthur for pulling her from the cage, Lancelot for stopping the Saxon, and Dawn. Guinevere closed her eyes. She hoped, that wherever her sister in arms was, that she was happy and safely in the arms of Dagonet once more.
2005
Three weeks had passed, and Dawn felt the pain beginning to dull. She'd gone back to work, manning one of the many desks the Council had to offer. Buffy had agreed with her that she should go back to work, but that she was off active patrol. After the battle, Dawn was less than eager to get back into the regular swing of things. It still hurt. She absently rubbed at her still flat stomach. She still had a part of him inside her. She'd always have him with her, in one way or another.
Dawn sighed, staring at the computer screen. She'd done thousands of searches, looking to see if she could find anything in history archives that had his name. She tapped her pencil against the desk in frustration. All she'd found about him in the Arthurian legends were references to Sir Dagonet the court jester. If only they'd seen the man. The one thing they had managed to get right was his big heart. Dawn felt the pencil slip from her fingers. Sighing, she bent down below her desk to get it.
Buffy and Xander had been walking into the office, not seeing her. They were talking about how she was handling things.
"Have you told her yet?"
"No." Buffy sighed. "She's finally moving on. She's been so worried about the baby that she hasn't even asked how she got there. I don't want to get her hopes up."
"Buffy, we have to tell her. Sooner or later she's gonna start asking about how she got there."
"I can't tell her that the Powers screwed her over." Buffy sighed. "She might ask them to bring this guy back to life or pull him from his heaven. She might even ask them to send her back so she'll have more time with him or something. I don't want her to get hurt again."
"It's a little late for that." Dawn said, pulling herself up from behind the desk.
A/N: Okay, there is a legend about Dagonet blush. He's just portrayed very badly.
And can I say just how smart my readers are? cough baby cough