Author's Note:
Thanks for the support!
Chapter Twenty-two
The team pulled apart and watched as Morgan Lefay dueled Garner. Garner seem to have no interest in Lefay but he could not ignore his attacks.
"You are nothing Lefay!" he shouted and smashed the man to the wall. "You have no place in this battle!"
Lefay got up and spit out a tooth. "I'll be the judge of that!" he ran and sliced a piece of Garner's shoulder off.
Despite still being wounded, the team joined the fight. The walls and the ground may have been shaking but Garner needed to be incapacitated.
He fought hard but it was not enough. He beat down Lefay first but the Morgan and Rossi charged and he barely escaped the blows. He was then attacked by Garcia and J.J. The team sustained minimal further injuries as Garner was overwhelmingly outnumbered. When he finally fell to ground after a blow from Hotch he fell on his back laughing.
"You can't defeat me!" he said. "I am darkness incarnate!"
Hotch remained steady. "I can and I will. I am King Arthur and you are under arrest."
Rose pulled out a pair of glowing handcuffs and was about to hand them to when Garner let out a loud guttural sound. He was starting to bleed from the mouth.
"You did your part well King, but you cannot live. I have committed my life to breaking the lines of the mythical world. Let the darkness rise from my blood!"
Suddenly he morphed into a pool of blood that shook the room further. It began to rise and the team put their shields up.
"What's happening?" J.J. shouted as she shook violently.
The rest of the team shook except Rose and Reid as the air filled with red mist that covered every breaking surface.
Lefay managed to get to his feet. "Garner sacrificed himself to shatter reality with the remnants of Mordred's magic. This hotel is coming down first."
A chunk of the ceiling barely missed Morgan. "We have to get out of here!"
Reid agreed. "Hotch give me the Excalibur and the ring. I think I can stop it using my magic."
Hotch watched his expression carefully. "You sure?"
"I think I'm the only one who can."
Hotch was shaking more violently. He handed Reid Excalibur and the ring with some hesitation.
Reid saw it and smiled. "I promise I'll be fine."
Rose turned to Lefay. "Get them out of here. I'll stay with Reid."
Lefay exchanged a meaningful look with Rose. "I'll make sure they're safe. I get to create a new legend."
Rose gave him genuine smile. "You definitely have."
Morgan sensed something was off but before he could say anything Lefay teleported them out of the chamber.
Rose turned to Reid. "I can't let you do this," she said and reached for the sword.
"I'm sorry," he said and raised a hand. She rolled across the room as more of the ground broke.
Reid placed the ring in the center of the room and stabbed with the tip of Excalibur. He then held on tight to the sword and gold energy spun into the ground from his body.
Rose slowly got up. "We can do this together Reid."
"No, this is mine and my inherited magic I need to use it alone to stop it."
Rose burst into tears. "What about your team? Your family?"
"None of it will matter if I don't stop this Rose!" he said through as tears fell down. "All this death and devastation will be made worse unless I give myself to the land."
"There has got to be another way."
"You know there isn't."
Rose rushed to hug him as he held the sword. "Let me help you."
"Don't be foolish Rose," he said and angrily, "someone needs to reform the magical community once Garner's dark magic is removed."
He let out a deep breath and Rose fell to the ground again.
"Please go," he said in a weak voice.
Rose knew further argument was hopelessly pointless.
"Goodbye Spencer," she said.
"Goodbye Clara," he said in response as more glowing magic was produced from his body.
Rose teleported out of the room before she could second-guess herself again.
…
"Where's Reid?" J.J. demanded.
They were in a conference room in the hotel where Lefay was using his magic to tend to wounds. The Excalibur Hotel had sustained some damage and many were suspecting an earthquake as other buildings felt the shock.
Rose didn't look any of them in the eye. "Reid sacrificed himself to prevent Garner's dark magical sacrifice from rupturing reality."
"And you let him do that?" J.J. screamed and then turned to Lefay.
"You knew it too didn't you?" she said accusingly. "That is why you whisked us away so quickly."
Lefay nodded his head remorsefully. "It was the only way Miss."
J.J. smacked him and Prentis held her back while looking venomously at Rose.
Garcia burst into tears and Morgan hugged her. Rossi and Hotch looked lost in thought.
Rose kept her head down. "I need to file a report where you were pursuing suspected team of UNSUBS inspired by Garner into the hotel and Reid didn't make it out when the earthquake hit."
Hotch understood more than anyone but couldn't look at her.
"Do what you need to do."