"-and he would inherit his dragon ring," finished Balthazar.

Dave ran his thumb over his ring. It was almost too much to take in, too much to understand. He was supposed to save the world? If Merlin had been so smart then he would have picked someone who could actually save the world. He wouldn't pick someone who looked like he belonged in the IT department of some big business building.

Sure he was good at magic, but Prime Merlinian? Oh yes, he knew he was powerful. Dave wasn't conceited; just smart enough to recognize it has a fact. Morgana, the most powerful evil sorcerer in all of history, had not been able to kill him right off the bat. He'd fought magical creatures from all around the world. He'd been trained by Balthazar Blake, who had apparently been trained by Merlin himself.

As soon as he thought this part of him wanted to hit himself. When he put it like that it was obvious that he was some sort of hero. Why else had all these extraordinary events happened to him? Why else would the Great Balthazar Blake run off with him the moment there was a whiff of danger? He wasn't a coward. He just hadn't been able to risk Dave's safety. So even for a sorcerer he'd had an unconventional rearing and childhood.

Which brought him to his next point; his childhood. Until he'd turned ten he'd just been another little boy in an orphanage. Sure he could see faeries and patterns in beads, but there was nothing that suggested he would be some sort of 'chosen one'. He was just different, different enough to be shunned and forgotten.

Then he'd been caught up in a struggle between sorcerers. When they'd come out victorious he'd been surprised by Balthazar's insistence that he get trained. Balthazar had seemed unsure about whether or not he himself was going to be doing the training. The minute the dragon statue turned into a ring he'd become certain though.

Something akin to betrayal welled up in him. He'd been following Balthazar blindly since he was ten. For half of his life he had looked up to him. He'd been more than just a master or a mentor to him. This man had taken care of him, raised him, and become the father he'd never known.

Dave had never articulated this and now he was glad that he hadn't. It would have just been embarrassing now.

"So for thirteen hundred years you've been looking for me so that I can 'save' humanity from Morgana," he said, his voice terse.

"That about sums it up," replied Balthazar.

He saw that Balthazar was tapping his fingers on the table they were seated at. Was he impatient? Dave's lip curled in disgust.

"First of all, it's not me," Dave said, "I'm pretty certain Merlin wouldn't have picked someone like me."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Balthazar, raising his eyebrow, "You never met him. You don't know what he would and wouldn't pick."

The familiar eyebrow raise infuriated him. He got up abruptly, scraping his chair across the floor. From his perch on the stairs Tank looked up and then flopped his head down on the ground. Balthazar looked taken aback by the sudden movement, but didn't get up. Dave began to pace back and forth furiously.

"Fine, you know what, I cede that," Dave said, "Because you know so much more than me apparently. Because you've actually met the guy. But if he did know that it was going to be me than he must have been an idiot."

"Because?"

"Because? To start with, look at me," Dave said, "You might not have noticed, in between all that other stuff you do, but I'm not exactly hero material."

"And what is hero material Dave?" asked Balthazar.

"Big, tall, strong, fairytale prince," he said.

"Dave," sighed Balthazar, "We have been over this in the past. It's not the biggest or the strongest in life who win. That's a Morganian belief. It's belief that makes someone strong. Heroes, great men and women, those are the people who know themselves-"

"I don't know myself," Dave said, "Apparently I don't even know who I am now, what I am."

He snorted.

"It's not a hero. A hero is the exact opposite of me," he snapped, "Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it is some weakling science geek."

"You're more than you seem, everyone is," Balthazar said.

"Is that a rule?" demanded Dave, "I'm so sick of rules. Rule number twenty, rule number thirty three. Here's a new one for you; a hero is not some stupid kid who's been lied to for half his life."

Something painful passed over Balthazar's face, but Dave barely registered it.

"I didn't lie to you," he said.

"No, but you sure as hell didn't tell me the truth! You kept things from me which is much worse!" Dave shouted, "All my life I'm this big important thing that's supposed to do earth-changing stuff, and you never even told me about it! Sure, when I was ten that's okay to not say anything but I'm twenty. Twenty!"

His hands clenched into fists.

"Tell me something Balthazar. If I wasn't the Prime Merlinian, would you have left me to rot in Ashridge?"

"Dave-"

"Would you?"

"I…I would have made sure you got training with another sorcerer," Balthazar said, "We don't like to waste potential."

Dave stared at him.

"Waste potential?" he said, "Waste potential? I was potential? I'm sorry, I was under the impression that I was a ten-year old child."

"That's not how I meant it," protested Balthazar.

"I think it's exactly how you meant it," snapped Dave, "The hell were you thinking, screwing with my life like that. What gave you the right?"

He looked around the subway turnaround where he'd spent years of his life training and preparing for a fate he'd been ignorant of. With a frustrated hiss he threw his hands into the air.

"Forget this," he said, "I'm out of here."

Without another word he turned on his heel and strode out of the turnaround.