.xxxix.
"Hawke!" Fenris shrieks, dodging the last of the fire to reach her as the barrier Anders-Justice had created falls, along with him. He sprints past Anders, who also isn't moving, but appears to be alive. Maybe.
Hawke's face is smeared with ash and she doesn't move or respond when he scoops her off the floor into his arms, searching with his fingers on her neck for any ghost of a pulse.
"Maker, no," Sebastian utters. Anders coughs, sitting up, apparently back in control of himself. "I didn't- she isn't- is-"
"She's alive," Merrill answers breathlessly, brushing Hawke's hair back and checking her for injuries. "And mostly unharmed."
"She's tough," Carver almost laughs, looking relieved. "Anders, what in the Void was that? We didn't come all this way for you to let your passenger kill her!"
"I- I don't know. Something about this place, Justice just went mad. I couldn't control him." Carvers' grip on his sword flexes warningly. "I'm in control now!" Anders claims with a hint of irritation, "as you can plainly see. It won't happen again."
"But why?" Merrill shakes her head, "Why would he attack her? Has she truly been..." the elven girl can't even finish the sentence, paling at the thought alone.
"No." They look surprised at Fenris' definitive answer. Gingerly, he lifts her left arm, swallowing the desire to yell, or throw something, hit something. "We weren't fast enough. It's possible she doesn't even remember who we are."
Primus kneels to investigate her brands, at least they are only partial, covering her skin in evenly spaced curving lines along her forearm. "And even if she does, Danarius has toyed with her mind so much that she might think this is all an illusion. That explains much." He casts a glance at Fenris. "I am sorry."
"Is this... irreversible?" asks Anders, stepping a little closer to look. No one bothers to answer the inane quest but Varania, who gives a solemn nod.
"Anders, are you hurt?" Merrill asks, rising from Hawke's limp form and moving over to the mage, who looks mostly dazed. He shakes his head. "No, I'm fine, just, I think Justice depleted my magic." He summons wisps of spirit energy only for them to sputter out of existence in a matter of moments.
Aveline helps him up. "You're lucky he didn't do more than that."
He hangs his head. "I know."
"We really still need to get out of here," Varric reiterates, and as if to punctuate his statement, footsteps and shouts sound just down the hallway.
"Anders, take Hawke. Isabela, Varric, stay back and guard them, while giving us as much support as you can. The rest of you, with me," Aveline instructs, retrieving her sword. Fenris wants to argue, what if the spirit comes back to finish the job? It would be more than easy to crush her in his arms without a second thought, even without magic. But he trusts the Varric and Isabela won't let anything happen to her, and whoever is coming for them is coming fast. With one hand he garbs his great sword and sets it on his back, then hoists Hawke up into his arm, delicately placing her in the Anders' arms with a quick warning glance. She moans faintly, eyelashes fluttering.
Aveline readies her shield. "Here they come!"
"Typical Tuesday night," Isabela laughs at they burst into the fray.
Household guards fall on them in waves, and they have to fight through these enemies to get through the twisting corridor, however they make their push out the door. He and Aveline fight side by side, and the others provide support from behind. Every time it seems like they've gotten most of them, more appear, allowing the architecture to funnel them into waiting blades.
"This way!" Varania shouts, as an eruption of flames breaks out between them and the latest parcel of guards. She directs them down an alternate passage, which constricts upon them until they travel single file. Fenris notices Anders is careful not to let Hawke bang against the wall. She doesn't even seem to notice on the few occasions he slips up. Worrisome.
Popping out of the end one at a time into the ballroom of the estate, they find it mostly empty, only a few elven slaves occupy the room, cleaning up discarded glasses and half filled plates of hors 'douerves, starting at the heavily armed group.
"Why does this place have so many secret tunnels?" Sebastian asks, bow raised, arrow at the ready. "Not that I'm complaining about it, at the moment."
"Many reasons. Danarius enjoyed being able to sneak up on his residents, and spying on slaves. At the very least, the threat of it keeps them in line," Primus explains.
"Your master is dead," address Fenris to the slaves that stare at their procession in wide eyed wonder. "You are free. Flee while you can."
"Ava!" One of the women exclaims, dropping the plates in her hands. She hurries over to them, despite all of their weapons being trained on her. "Fenris?"
He recognizes her. She had been here when he was still a slave. The years have not been kind to her. She looks gaunt and harried. She gazes in wonder at the blood on his armor.
"You killed Master?" the others murmur in wonder, disbelief. "I'm so sorry," she says, looking at Hawke. "I didn't mean to tell him. Please. Make sure she knows I am sorry."
"Tell who what?" Carver asks, but she shakes her head. "It is too much to explain now. We must all leave. Please," she entreats him. "Please tell her I am sorry."
They don't get the chance to ask any more questions before the woman flees, the others with her.
"Can't wait to find out what that was all about," Isabela murmurs. "But we should really get moving. I think I hear our friends coming for a second try. Hah. Sods."
They keep moving, quickly and quietly across the polished marble floor, but Primus shoots the pirate a look. "You have an odd definition of 'friend'." Isabela casts Varania a look. "He's not big on sarcasm, is he?"
Varania chuckles.
As expected, more aggressors meet them in the greeting hall. However, the guards seem to have expected them from a different entrance. The mistake costs them their lives as the group descends upon with ferocity. Those guards were the only thing between them and the outside, and they burst forth into the night.
The streets are dark and good for cover, as soon as they get far away enough from the estate, which Fenris wouldn't have minded burning to the ground, had time permitted. He consistently checks over his shoulder, an eye on Hawke. She still hasn't woken up, and her head lolls back and forth with the sway of Anders' quick gait.
"We're almost there!" Merrill encourages, just as several shadowy figures step into their path.
"That is as far as you get."
"Ugh, why is it that everyone we fight seems to have unlimited allies?" sighs Varric, readying Bianca. "Please be quick with the monologue, we've got places to be."
"Gaius? What are you doing here?" Varania asks, stepping forward and holding her staff high.
Primus looks from her to them. "You know them?"
"My associates," she answers, but her tone of voice makes it clear she is skeptical of their intent. Fenris moves forward to his sister's side. These men are ready for a confrontation. "But not here to aid us, it would seem."
"Magister Danarius had suspicions about your allegiance to him, and rightly so. He hired us to ensure you were not allowed to carry out the treachery you were planning."
"Your master is dead, and you have failed your mission," Primus announces. "Step aside and let us through."
"That doesn't matter," Gaius speaks gravely, drawing his daggers. "My apologies Varania. We've been ordered to apprehend you and the slaves." He gestures to Fenris, and then to Hawke. "The rest are expendable."
They barely have time to react before the enemy praesumptor attack, daggers and swords flashing in the bright moonlight. Fenris tears into them with no restraint, ending their lives before they can so much as scream in terror. They are so close he has to protect Varania. Has to protect Hawke. The last of his family, and he will not see them fall into enemy hands, nor his friends.
Varric and Aveline take on Gauis, but his interest is not in them but Hawke. Varric attempts to herd him into Aveline's warpath, but he deftly undulates away from the oncoming bolts and through their defense, straight to Anders and Hawke. The others attempt to fend him off while Anders runs, but he doesn't engage, just keeps moving through them while his associates work to cover his advance. At the rate he's going, if he isn't stopped, he will reach the two defenseless mages.
Fenris peels off from the heart of the fight, leaving his three combatants in the loving care of Isabela (who happily announces she will be liberating them of their belongings once they are dead), and wheels around, shooting after Gaius.
"Make this easy, Varania," he calls over his shoulder, scanning the fray for her and momentarily fumbling at the sight of Fenris hot on his heels. "I don't want to turn you in. Just let us have the two lyrium warriors and-"
She appears in front of him from a shroud of blackness and heaves the weighted end of her staff into his sternum, knocking him back, as Anders sprints away from him, cradling Hawke.
Gauis rolls with the blow, landing on his feet and continuing to sprint through the fighting, attempting to relocate his target. "Or you can keep fighting. But you know which is the better of your choices." As he finishes speaking he drops a shining vial of opalescent liquid to the ground and it shatters, engulfing them in a pearly miasma.
"Poison!" Sebastian warns, immediately being overtaken by the gas with hoarse coughing. The praesumptor are protected by their masks, but everyone else is subject to its effects. Fenris tries to fight through the watering eyes and the burning in his throat and lungs, but it's too much, this is unlike anything he's ever experienced before.
"You're friends are down, Varania. Just take my offer. Hand these two over."
"It seems everyone in Minrathous is attempting to bargain their way out inevitability this evening," Fenris can hear her respond over the sound of his lungs attempting to leave his body via his mouth, as well as the chorus of coughing from all the others. "The answer is no. I'm sorry, Gaius. I counted you among my friends."
"I am too-" he starts, but stops mid sentence. Without another word, he and his associates plummet to the ground like dominoes, not so much as twitching. The smoke still burns, but it was apparently only potent for a short period of time, and already the effects have started to fade.
Varania, with a huff of approval, turns and helps him to his feet.
"Nasty stuff," Varric comments, voice breaking around the words. Isabela chuckles, which sends her coughing again.
"I know what you're thinking, Bela," Aveline comments in a gravelly voice, "and the answer is no, you cannot have some for yourself." Isabela just grins, muttering a "Says you."
"What did you do to them?" Merrill asks, prodding an unconcious praesumptor. "I've never seen a spell like that before."
"It wasn't a spell." More than that, Varania will not say. "We should not linger-"
One of the praesumptor reaches out and grasps her leg, knocking her off balance. He moves sluggishly, but he is able to lift a dagger high in the air over her.
Time slows. Fenris watches as the glimmering sliver of metal begins its descent, arching through the air. He's not close enough to stop the blow's intertia, but he moves anyway, dives for her, thrusting himself between her and her assailant. The blade connects, cuts through his leather armor with ease, sliding in between his ribs. He gasps at the feeling, but it doesn't stop him from taking hold of the attackers hand, tearing the blade out of his side, and plunging it into the black mask of the praesumptor. The body falls to the cobblestones with a limp thud.
He sways on his feet as Varania hisses "You idiot!", and presses her habd to his wound and attempting to stop the bleeding. "I could have handled that! And why would you take the blade out?! You'll bleed to death before we make it to your ship!"
"You're welcome," he huffs, attempting to push her away, but for some reason his hands don't seem to be function the way he wants them to. Shock. What timing.
"We'll have time for insults when we're clear of here," Aveline grits out, sheathing her sword and reaching out to help him stand. He staggers, but she helpfully throws the arm on his unwounded side over her shoulder.
Thankfully, they reach the docks quickly with no more interferences. He is not so optimistic to hope he has eradicated everyone that had anything to do with his former, late master, but most of them seems like an accurate estimate. Varania frets over him, bemoaning her poor knowledge of healing spells. Mostly though, she berates him.
"You always were a selfless fool," she shakes her head, using the last of their healing potions on him, but the wound is deep, and while they help to close it a little, they cannot replace the massive amount of blood he has lost. "Always worried about protecting us even when..." she doesn't finish the sentence, and he doesn't press the issue, focusing mainly on putting one foot in front of the other, and not falling off of Aveline. He doesn't say so, but he can remember, a little bit, but enough. "Well,it's good to see some things never change."
"I am to assume, then, that you've always nagged like this?"
She looks ready to smack him, but mercifully resists. "Yes, I did, since you tired out mother so early on with your wild schemes."
"My ship!" Isabela sighs lovingly, hop skipping to reach it. "Boys! Prepare to sail! We're leaving this town on the horizon." Immediately her crew sets to work, hoisting sails and securing cargo.
"I thank you all," Primus says, stopping short of the gangplank. "Were it not for you, I'm sure I would have died enacting my plan of vengeance. I hope this puts my love at peace."
"You're... not coming with us?" Carver asks, his tone belying his incredulity. "You'll be left to deal with the fallout of this."
Merrill nods affirmatively. "They'll kill you if you stay. You're welcome to come with us-"
"I know." Primus dips his head. "But I have reasons to stay. Again, I thank you for your aid. I bid you safe travels."
Varania is suspiciously silent. Fenris looks at her pleadingly. "You're staying too, aren't you?" Her expression betrays her.
"I am. This is my place, Leto. Not Kirkwall."
"Not with me?" he counters, pushing away from Aveline and attempting to stand on his own. "You don't have to stay here. You can come with us. We can-" he knows before he speaks the words how foolish they are, but they tumble forth from his lips anyway, "we can be a family again."
She smiles, gingerly taking his hand and squeezing it. "We will always be a family. No matter where or how far apart we are. But I must stay."
He tries to force down the throat constricting sorrow he feels at her words. Just when he thought he had gained something lost...
"This will not be the last time we see each other, I promise you, Brother." With her final words, she presses something into his palm and wraps his fingers around it. "Take care."
He takes one final look at her, trying to remember his sister in the event that he doesn't see her again, out of the paranoia that has formed in his life of lost memories, but something, some gut feeling tells him he doesn't need to worry.
"I will hold you to that promise," he assures her. She just smiles.
"Goodbye."
Taking Primus with her, his sister fades away.
"Will you be alright?" Carver mumbles, gesturing vaguely in the direction Varania had disappeared. Fenris nods, refusing to commit to a verbal answer because he's really not sure. Apparently, it's enough. "Finally leaving this blighted place then," Carver sighs, flicking some gore off of his face. "Good. Let's never come back."
Everyone unanimously agrees.
Author's Note: I am so, so sorry this update took so long! It was not my intent, but life got in the way! And responsibilities, ugh. But here it is! With more to come! As per the wonderful suggestions I received to make alternate endings, I've been rewriting what I initially had planned in order to accommodate a choice for you guys, the readers, to make! Please be patient with me while I work out the kinks and ensure you guys get the best I have to offer!
Soon to come: How will Hawke handle waking up? Are these truly her friends, or something else, something sinister? Is she lost to her friends completely? Stay tuned!