Author note: the idea of Meg performing a roundhouse kick Walker-Texas-Ranger-style was given to me by LadyFromFaerun. Thank you so much for the suggestion my friend! ^ᴥ^
oxoxoxoxoxo
Once they learned that Meg was the one to kill their leader 'Esamon', aka the late and not at all missed Saemon Havarian, the smugglers were more than eager to hand over the key to the monastery, complete with instructions as to where they could find the hidden door. The party slipped inside the monastery without a hitch, walking through the corridors as silently as possible, until they reached a large room with what looked like a semi-luxurious armchair at the far end of it. On it sat Balthazar, a relatively short and stocky young man with a shaved head, tanned skin and tired brown eyes that immediately fixed on the intruders as he stood, his blue monk robes rustling softly.
He held his head high as the party moved to face him, "I see you found your way in my stronghold, sister. I am impressed", he said in a calm voice, "May I ask how you managed to do this?". "I asked the right question to the right person", Meg said, "Now let me ask you one question: how do you sleep at night, knowing that you're starving your people and causing innocents to suffer, even children?". "And you, Margaret Dawn? How many people suffered because of you and your actions? How many died by your hand?", he replied, a hint of smugness and challenge in his quiet tone. "Many", she admitted with a shrug, sounding like she didn't give a snap, though deep down the jab had hurt her badly, "Your point being?".
"My point is that, unlike you, I'm doing this for the greater good: once I'm the last Bhaalspawn standing, I will detonate the Taint and free the world from its evil once and for all". "Yeah, suuuure", Imoen rolled her eyes, "D'ya really expect us to believe that you would simply kill yourself after getting all that power?". Balthazar's eyes flashed with anger for an instant, but his impassive façade didn't waver, "You are free to not believe me, sister, but I'm saying the truth: I will perform a ritual suicide and the essence of our sire will die with me. My life is a meager price to pay for the safety of the world".
Edwin shot a look at the Ilmatari, "Much as I loathe saying this, it looks like you have something in common with this hairless simian, Meg (I wholeheartedly hope their self-sacrificing streak is not contagious)". She pouted at those words, "You're cruel", she whined and he smirked. "Why, thank you. I try my best", he replied, smoothing his robe with pride. She chuckled, the sobered and turned to Balthazar, "Look, I can understand your point of view and I can even appreciate your selflessness in being willing to die for the 'greater good', but your plan has one little flaw that I can't tolerate". The monk arched an eyebrow, curious, "Which is?".
"You want to commit seppuku? Be my guest. But you abused all the citizens of Amkethran like a tyrant, you forced them to give up their hard-earned money until they were incapable of buying food to survive and now, you're planning to detonate the essence of a dead God in the middle of the godsdamned city! Do you have any idea how many people will be hit by the blast? How many lives will be lost along with your own?". "Sacrifices are to be made…"."Then sacrifice your own broken ass, but don't drag anyone else in it!", Daniel yelled, incensed, "F**k, I hate self-righteous assholes like you, always thinking themselves so good and noble, when in truth you're just selfish bastards with no regard for anyone's wellbeing!".
The monk huffed, his calm mask crumbling to pieces as his anger shone through, "I see it's no use trying to reason with you. Let us finish this, so that I can move forward with my plan". "Why don't you join us instead?", the Ilmatari proposed, "We too want to destroy our sire's essence once and for all, we could work together. We don't have to fight to the death". "I'm afraid we do. I am grateful to you for saving brother Justin, but I must destroy you for the greater good", he said coldly, gesturing to his men, "Kill them all". "Fool", Sarevok commented, shaking his head and unsheathing his sword with a sigh.
Meg pressed her lips in a thin line, "Don't kill them, just stun them or knock them out cold", she ordered to her companions, keeping her voice low to avoid the monks hearing her, "Misguided as they are, they don't deserve to die". "Okay!", everyone nodded, getting ready to fight. The twenty monks by Balthazar's side charged forward, as did Meg's companions, while she and her half-brother faced each other. Thanks to his training, Balthazar was incredibly fast, so fast that the Painbearer found herself in straits quite soon, his kicks and punches hitting home a bit too often for her tastes as she couldn't keep up with him, each strike that got to her leaving behind a cracked bone.
"What the hells?", she grumbled, trying to strike him with her mace, only for him to dodge like a snake and land a punch that broke two of her ribs. His monk training allows him to move faster than a normal human, the Slayer informed her, You have grown stronger and faster thanks to your own training, that is true, but you're no match for him. Not on your own, at least. "Give up Margaret Dawn", the man said, throwing another punch that she dodged at the last second, "You have no hope to defeat me". "I wouldn't be so sure about it", she smirked, "Slayer!". On it!
As she and the Slayer merged, she felt the familiar rush of power wash over her and her eyes glowed a solid gold as she moved at the speed of light: thanks to the astounding amount of Taint she had absorbed from Yaga-Shura, Sendai and especially Abazigail, the creature inside her had grown exponentially stronger, to the point that she was now only a step away from being a true Goddess. Balthazar's eyes widened in shock as the tables turned and he realized she was matching him with no trouble, "What…You're a monster!". "Says you", she shot back, parrying his kick before performing a flawless roundhouse kick that sent him flying across the room to crush into the wall.
He heard the sound of his skull and his left shoulder cracking at the impact and he slowly slid down, leaving a trail of blood on the bricks and coughing up some more blood, but he still forced himself to stand and squared his shoulders despite the nausea and dizziness that made him wobbly on his feet, "I will not allow you to bring back our sire". She sighed, "You're such an idiot! I have no intentions of bringing him back, nor to take his place: I want to destroy him as much as you do! This is your last chance, Balthazar: stop fighting and join us. I don't want to be forced to kill you", she said, holding out her hand for him to take.
Don't waste your breath on this fool, little Goddess, he's not worth it, the Slayer snorted spitefully. Fool or not, I have to try. There has been enough death and pain as it is, she said, "Come on, Balthazar. We can be brother and sister, we can be a family and face the last challenge together. Amelyssan the Black-hearted is attempting to resurrect our sire, but if we fight her together, we will be able to defeat her. Please, brother, let us put an end to all this death", she pleaded. Balthazar stood there, shocked by her sudden change of heart and his resolve wavered a little: sure, he wanted to destroy the essence of his father, but he also liked being alive, "How can I trust you? You're using his essence right now", he noted.
"Fair point. Slayer, enough", she ordered and the creature grudgingly complied, the glow in her eyes vanishing as she and the Slayer separated, "I had to use it, you were beating me like a drum after all. But I don't want to kill you, nor to be killed by you. We are a family and we should stand as allies on the battlefield, not as enemies". He hesitated, looking at his brothers and his other sister who fought together in harmony, "I…Is it really possible? Can we really stand together, we, who were created to fight each other to the death until only one is left?". "It is possible, if you want it. Take my hand and join us". There was a moment of silence, but when he saw Sarevok about to hit one of his monks, he shouted, "Stop, brother!".
The warrior froze mid-swing, looking over at Balthazar and noticing the pleading, desperate look in his brother's eyes, so he sighed, lowered his sword and yelled, "Everyone, stop fighting!". The rest of the party and the other monks paused as his deep voice resounded in the room, puzzled and yet curious to see what would happen next. "Maggie?", Sarevok called, knowing that she was the one who would decide how it would end, "What now?". The Painbearer turned to Balthazar, "The offer still stands. You just need to take my hand". "And…You will let my men live?", the head monk asked, hope dawning on his features. "Of course. I did it for your monk who had been captured by Abazigail, I will spare them too".
"Then…Then I accept", he nodded, taking her hand and shaking it and she smiled with relief. "Thank you. Okay, guys, the fight is over. Our brother joined us, there's no need for violence anymore". At those words, everyone relaxed and Aerie, Jaheira, Merlinious, Anomen and Daniel moved to heal the wounded monks, while Meg healed her brother. "Sorry for that kick", she apologized, "But I promise you'll be as good as new in a moment". Balthazar smiled, "It's fine. I'm sorry for breaking your bones as well". "It's okay, I've had worse. There, you're fine". "Thank you", he sighed and dusted his robe, "So, if you're that powerful, I take it that Abazigail and Sendai have already fallen by your hand".
"They have. And yet, something tells me that our work is not finished, is it?", she asked and he shook his head. "No, now you need to destroy the essence of our sire". "She's not going to kill herself!", Anomen intervened sternly, his eyes hard as he stared at the monk, "I suggest you find another way to do that, or we'll have a problem". Balthazar nodded, "I understand. But unfortunately, I don't know…", he was cut off as everything shifted around them and in a flash of light, they disappeared.