Jinx

by SaccharineSalt

Summary:

Taako spins bad luck.

Again.

This changes things.

Notes:

This is a fic I've had rolling around in my brain for a couple years. Have fun y'all.

Chapter 1: Vibe Check

Okay, listen.

 

It’s not like Taako doesn’t expect something to be whack with this place.

 

Sure, aesthetically it’s dope, and there’s something about the cool elf twins that really hits right, but like, the moment the three of them set foot in Wonderland he’s knocked back by these Vibes, y’know?

 

The “You’re Going To Die Here” Vibes.

 

And you might be thinking “Taako, it’s a Grand Relic, of course it’s gonna be dangerous” but no, that’s not what these Vibes mean. These aren’t “danger” these are death, total and complete, there won’t be a thimble left over to pass go with , give the $200 to your next of kin.

 

And sure, he can’t remember every single time he’s had them, and obviously he’s still alive so it can’t be that many, but he’d had them before Refuge and sure enough, super dead a whole bunch of times.

 

So that’s like, a hundo percent accuracy.

 

Then he spins up some bad luck and that sure as fuck doesn’t help!

He’s looking over his shoulder through their battle with the stupid bears and ooze and shit, which in hindsight, was the wrong fucking direction.

 

Cause it turns out to be death from above.

 

He looks up at the massive Cog coming to crush his beautiful face into paste and tries to dart forwards, but he fucking slips on the fallen bolt and faceplants.

 

It would be hilarious had the Cog not then smashed into his whole lower body.

 

Taako can’t even begin to describe the pain. It’s entirely possible that his metaphorical ability was shattered along with his ass, since that was where he pulled them out anyway.

 

He manages to crawl his way through the Ethereal Plane into a space that wasn’t occupied by Cog, and does a super dope finishing move, and then the shock wears off and his insides decide to have a party without him.

 

Definitely internal bleeding, yuck.

 

And still, the stupid Vibes are there!

 

Like, he’s got it, gods, Taako ain’t getting out of this one, can the spidey-senses stop tingling please?

He gets healed a bit in the bonus round, and oh, the worst is yet to come, is it?

 

What-the-fuck-ever, bring it on.

 

He spins bad luck again, and the assholes are thrilled. That’s probably a pretty bad sign.

 

Mags ‘n Merle practically beg him not to take it, say they’ll take the extra spins, but let no one ever say Taako doesn’t pull his own weight.

 

He accepts.

 

The Vibes hit max volume now, so high he can almost feel them. Or maybe that’s just the internal bleeding again.

 

Figures. He just had to be selfless.

 

Welp, too late for that.

 

He doesn’t bother being wary in the boss rush, cause the thing about the bad luck last time was that it didn’t come from a direction he’d expected, so might as well not waste the energy that could be spent on, fucking, breathing and standing, for the small amount of time he has left to do those things.

 

And to his surprise, he makes it through.

 

Okay, maybe this isn’t the end. Maybe the Vibes are wrong about this one, or it’s another temp-death like Refuge was.

 

Then there’s that stupid stage, surrounded by mannequins.

 

Well. There goes that optimism, huh?

He really doesn’t feel like doing any strutting, but if the idiots want one last encore from Taako, well, who’s he to deny them?

 

So they’re all standing up there and the lights are flashing and his head’s swimming and the assholes are back.

 

“Taako,” Lydia says, “You spun ‘skull’, didn’t you?” Oh boy, here it comes.

“Yep,” he says, and immediately regrets it. Is that going to be his last fucking word? “Yep”?

 

“Bad luck,” she says, a bell chimes,

 

And Taako gets fucking

 

Punched

 

In the chest by a cannonball that’s on fire and full of spikes.

 

Oh look, the metaphors are back.

 

He can’t breathe- everything is blinding-bright around him until his vision clears and he discovers that that’s because he has nothing to breathe with.

 

Those jackasses stole his fucking body.

 

Hey! That’s primo real-estate! They can’t just take that!

 

He tries to soul-swim over to them to give them a piece of his mind, but.

 

He’s not moving.

 

Oh wait, yes he is, but in the wrong fucking direction.

 

He’s slowly drifting backwards, towards-

 

Oh.

 

That’s the Astral Plane, isn’t it- the space beyond the rift are the same bright sapphire blue of his boyfriend’s eyes.

 

So this is it.

 

He tries to cast something, anything, but whoops, turns out he left his magic in his fucking body. He really is just going to float slowly to his death. He looks back down at the others- at least Magnus and Merle have realized by now that it wasn’t him down there. And, oh, the Red Robe was there too, crackling with lightning like he did when he got upset. Nice to know the guy cared.

 

This was really it.

 

This was…

 

This was fucking bullshit!

 

What the fuck? Where was the dramatic death he deserved, some heroic sacrifice after a sick one-liner and defeating the final boss, collapsing tragically into Magnus’s arms while the boys cried over him.

 

This? This was nothing! This was stupid! This was… all Taako was getting. His last word was “yep!”

 

Boy, that voicemail he’d left Kravitz was coming back to haunt him. How embarrassing.

 

As he finally reached the rift, he looked one last time at the stage, at his friends- no, his family.

 

They better fucking avenge him.

 

And those were Taako’s last thoughts as a living elf.

Chapter 2: l'appel du vide

Summary:

bad time for a chat

You Have: ONE New Voice Message

From: Taako

 

*beep*

 

“Uh, hey, babe! Just wanted to let you know, Madame ‘D’ is sending us on that big ol’ mish’ today, like, right now. Usually these’ll take a day or two- or longer, I guess, you never know, so I probably won’t be making it to dinner tonight. I’ll see you in a bit, then, unless I totally beef it, in which case I’ll be seeing you sooner!

 

Get it?

 

Cause you’re death?

 

Haha, it’ll be fine.

 

I lo- I’ll, uh, see you soon, ‘kay?”

 

*beep*

 

As one can imagine. That was not the most reassuring message for Kravitz to start the day with.

 

It’s not that he didn’t have complete faith in his boyfriend, no, Taako was incredibly strong and could take care of himself and his friends.

 

It’s just…

 

This was the first time that Taako’s had to go on a mission, a capital ‘r’ Relic Mission, since they’d started dating, and they’d met because of the relics in the first place.

 

One had the power to turn a laboratory into pure crystal.

 

Another had resurrected a town thousands of times over almost a decade.

 

These things were crazy powerful.

 

This one was especially so, If Kravitz thought back to all the intense training Taako had been doing.

 

Tonight was supposed to be a night to relax from their work, as well, although he supposed Taako’d have a long break after this anyway. If he remembered correctly, there was one more relic to find. Then he wouldn’t have to go on such dangerous missions anymore, and they could spend more time together.

 

Hm, it looked like the Raven Queen hadn’t given Kravitz any bounties today, how unfortunate. He would prefer having something to distract himself with, but he supposed he could roam around over the sea until either his Queen or boyfriend provided an update.

 

Strange, it was looking a little dim today…

---

 

Taako watches the rift close, fighting for one last glance at life.

 

He doesn’t know if he feels “dead”, but there’s a strange numbness to his form that he never had in life.

 

He looks down at himself.

 

He’s translucent except for a gleaming core - his soul - and in the same outfit he’s been in.There’s no blood, but there’s rips and tears from his battles in Wonderland.

 

Alright, ghost chic. He can work with it.

 

He pulls his hat down firmer on his head - can something that’s part of his soul even blow away?- and turns to go search out his boyfriend — may as well go commiserate — and-

 

Oh fuck.

Oh fucking shit.

 

No, no, no , this cannot be happening.

 

He doesn’t know what’s happening, only that it one hundo percent should not be.

It wasn’t supposed to happen, gods -

 

He stares down at the writhing black-opal mass that used to be a sea.

 

He spots incongruous movement- someone is down there.

 

Someone is down there that isn’t being vored.

 

Taako dives down towards the figure and oh, nightmare of all nightmares, it’s Kravitz.

 

Kravitz looks up at him with shock and incomprehension — like, same — and reaches towards him.

Taako grabs his hand-

 

And they’re both pulled into the ooze.

 

-

 

Taako doesn’t let go, he refuses to let go, and he manages to break the surface and drag himself and Kravitz safely to shore.

 

They run to the Stockade and Kravitz barricades the door behind them.

 

“What— what the hell was that,” he coughs, holding Taako close as they collapse to their knees together

 

“That’s-,” Taako says, “I know that stuff, it’s on the tip of my tongue.”

 

And it is, is the weird thing. He knows he should know this, even though he’s-

 

But he has seen it before.

 

He’s seen it ninety-nine times before, give or take.

 

The information rushes into his metaphorical brain like a dam had barely held it back before and is now completely fucking shattered into a gazillion pieces.

 

100 damn years… Magnus, Merle, the Director, Davenport, even Barry Goddamn Bluejeans, and-

 

Shit.

 

Okay, he is so kicking Lucretia’s ass, but that’s a problem for later. Everything right now besides the two of them right now is a problem for future-Taako.

 

“Taako, why are you here?” Kravitz asks.

 

Shit. That’s right.

 

“Uh, saving your ass from the goop, natch?” And sure he could explain what the “goop” was, but that required time they did not currently have with it breathing down their necks.

 

“Taako, I thought you were a hallucination at first, but…”

“But what?”

 

“Are you dead? Did you die on your mission?”

 

“Hey, Krav, babe, what if we just like, pretended that I really am just here to save you, and then I continue saving you?”

 

“Taako…”

 

“Fine, alright, fine! I beefed it! I kicked the bucket! I fucked up and now I’m in ol’ Deathville, population us and a big ocean of vore tendrils! Can we please go back to the very important topic of escaping that bullshit going on outside?”

 

“How did it happen, at least?”

 

“What? Why?”

“Well, I need to know for my inevitable revenge plot. They can’t just kill you and live, y’know”

And damn if that isn’t one of the sweetest things any boyfriend has ever said to him. But…

 

Taako crosses his arms.

“It’s embarrassing…”

 

Kravitz smiles gently and takes his hands.

 

“Darling, I’m sure I’ve encountered deaths far more embarrassing than yours. Unless you were like, taking a dump. That would be embarrassing and gross.”

 

Taako laughed. At least it wasn’t that bad.

 

“Ugh… I didn’t even make it to the final battle. They used the Relic to fucking bodyjack me. I had to watch the idiots realize it wasn’t me in there, and it sucked.”

 

“That sounds awful, Taako, and I’m sorry. I bet they just wanted the strongest opponent out of the way.”

 

“Yeah, stupid fucking liches knew I was too strong for them, had to get rid of me.”

 

“Wait,” Kravitz says, sitting back. “Liches? Lich es ? As in plural?”

 

“Yeah? Two of them. Had this tacky torture dungeon thing.”

“Was it called Wonderland, by any chance?”

“Yeah, you know the place?”

“Taako, Wonderland has been one of my Queen’s biggest bounties for- for centuries. No Reaper has ever been able to penetrate it. I wish you’d called me.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like we knew , okay? We got diddly for info besides it being hella dangerous and that they had a Relic. And once we got in there our stones quit working.”

“Right, of course they did.” Kravitz stands and pulls out his scythe. “Well, this makes the revenge thing a lot easier.”

 

“Hell yeah, why didn’t we do this earlier? If we get there now we can probably still help the boys out!”

 

Kravitz pauses.

 

“Taako, darling… I don’t know if I should let you come with me.”

 

Wait.

 

What?!

 

“What do you mean ‘let me’ go with you? I’m going. I’m gonna kick their asses, and subsequently my own ass, and I’m going to get my body back.”

 

“Well, that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? If I let you come with me, that’s technically an act of necromancy.”

 

“Oh, what, is that all? That’s like, nothing! It’s baby necromancy, for babies!”

 

“It’s not nothing, Taako. You should be safe here in the Stockade, it’s the most fortified building in the plane. Nothing will get through those doors.”

“No, you are not leaving me here.”

 

“Taako, I can’t- what happens- it’s a crime, Taako!”

“What, worried you’ll get in trouble?”

“No, I’m worried you will!”

Huh?

 

“If you leave the Astral Plane, especially when you get your body back, it may count as a crime, and they’ll put you in the Stockade. I don’t want that for you.”

That was… really sweet. Too bad he kinda needed to get out of here no matter what.

 

“Look, Kravitz, I know you think it’s safe in here, but you don’t know that stuff out there. I do. That stuff is literally the end of the World and a pair of doors isn’t going to hold it for long. If you leave me here, it’s going to vore me, and Taako ain’t into that shit. Please let me go with you, I-I promise I’ll come right back when everything’s over, no arguments, all right? I won’t try to become alive again.”

 

“I-,” Kravitz looks indecisive, like he’s looking at two awful possibilities and neither’s getting better with scrutiny.

 

“I-fine, you can come,” He says, slicing open a portal before he can think better of it.

 

It’s weirdly small, barely tall enough to step through while ducking. The edges are fuzzy. It’s growing smaller by the millisecond.

They’re out of time.

 

Taako launches himself at Kravitz, pushing them both through the portal.

 

Back into Wonderland.

Notes:

I looked back at my Outline for this fic that I wrote like 2 years ago, it still hits the beats pretty well, besides stuff I deliberately changed. It's cool.

Chapter 3: Full of It

Summary:

Magnus is having a not great time

There’s something wrong with Taako.

 

Well, that’s pretty obvious with how he’s like, attacking them, and all.

Magnus keeps trying the whole I-know-you’re-in-there speech but it keeps not working, and he’s pretty sure that this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.

 

It was really, really scary when the elves did something to Taako earlier. They just rang a bell — probably the Relic — and a light flashed and then Taako just- just collapsed like a wooden puppet with its strings cut. Magnus legit thought he’d died . Then he just got up and started monologuing about how they should stay in Wonderland- accepting some kind of job offer- and he and Merle knew it wasn’t Taako in charge anymore but it’s so damn hard fighting his best friend like this.

 

Plus, Taako’s actually the strongest of the three of them in terms of straight-up power, so it’s really hard.

 

It’s only thanks to the Red Robe that he and Merle have been holding on against Taako and Edward and the mannequins. Well, the Red Robe and that Taako can’t use the umbrastaff. It had blasted him with a fireball about a minute into his new attitude.

 

Magnus’s current theory is that the other lich, Lydia, is controlling Taako like a mannequin and that’s why she’s missing. Probably doesn’t wanna risk her concentration, or whatever.

 

Coward. If he can just get a good swing in…

 

“C’mon, bud,” Magnus starts up again, “You can beat her! You’re stronger than her, fight it off already!”

 

Maybe this is the climactic moment where Taako finally won his wisdom saving throw-

 

The elves burst out laughing, both of them.

 

Nope.

 

“Oh dear, Lydia, they still don’t get it,” says Edward, “Maybe we should let them in on the joke?”

 

Taako titters. “Oh darlings, I’d hoped you’d understand by now,” he says, and his voice is overlaid with Lydia’s. “Taako isn’t here anymore!”

 

“Nope! I call bullshit,” says Magnus.

 

“No, really, it’s true! His soul should’ve entered the Astral Plane about, oh, 5 minutes ago? It really is just me in here!”

 

And, shit, that would explain why he couldn’t find Lydia’s form, even with true sight still active, but-

 

But that would mean-

 

No. The liches were full of shit. Taako’s just- he’s been unlucky with his rolls, that’s all. Even though every hit Magnus did should’ve given him yet another chance…

 

Fuck. But if it wasn’t a taunt, if Taako was… gone, wouldn’t that give him less reason to hold back?

 

He hopes it’s the Red Robe using all the black smoke he was generating and not the assholes.

 

The assholes who wouldn’t stop laughing.

 

Magnus bats away mannequin after mannequin with Railsplitter, but the battle seems endless.

 

Until it’s not.

 

A rift opens in the middle of the room, and out stumbles a familiar looking man with a scythe and a ball of light.

 

The man gets his composure back and then Magnus places him- Kravitz, the reaper from Candlenights.

Oh-kay?

 

Kravitz looks around the battlefield before landing on the liches. Well, Edward and Lydia/Taako, he seems to be ignoring the Red Robe for now.

 

His grip tightens on his scythe and he pulls out a large, blue-leather book, the same one he’d had as the crystal construct.

“Ahem,” he starts in his Cockney accent.

 

“Edward and Lydia, the liches of Wonderland. You two, now, you two have been wanted for a long, long time. Lichdom, 584 counts of keeping souls long past when they should’ve entered the Astral Plane, 379 counts of body theft, etcetera. And that’s all just the professional reasons why I’ll be reaping you today.”

 

Kravitz glares hard at Lydia in Taako’s body.

 

“Today, now, today you’ve gone and done it. Today, I’m afraid you’ve gone and made it personal.”

 

Kravitz swings out with his scythe, letting the book dissipate.

 

“Today, you murdered my boyfriend. And that is something that cannot go unpunished.”

 

And before Magnus has a chance to process that, a mannequin climbs out of the pit with the others. It’s wearing a decently fashionable outfit with a wide brimmed hat.

Magnus readies Railsplitter, but there’s no need.

“Yeah, fuckers, you’re going to be giving me my fucking body back!”

Notes:

I was tempted to end on Kravitz's declaration of vengeance but then Taako wasn't about to let anyone else get the dramatic last word

Chapter 4: Oh. Well. Hm.

Summary:

A lot happens.

Okay, so, when he told Kravitz he wouldn’t try to get his body back, that was kinda-sorta-not-entirely the truth.

 

He had kinda-sorta said basically anything to get the both of them the heck out of the Astral Plane before it was blocked off and/or eaten by the Hunger and they were trapped forever.

 

Kinda-sorta.

 

And come on, his body was right there . Getting all dirty from some rando lich on a joyride.

 

Plus, if he could get it back, that would be way more firepower on their side for both here and in the very near future.

 

He’s not even sure he can use magic as a mannequin and it sure as hell won’t be as strong if he can.

 

He did mean what he said about going back once everything was over, he was just purposefully vague about what “everything” was.

 

He’d have time to explain later.

 

God, he’s glad he got back when he did. Magnus looks rough. He’s all singed and shit, and bloody, and basically looks like one big bruise. He has the Umbrastaff holstered to his side.

 

Merle is more or less unconscious.

 

Fuck, is he glad to see Barry, though. If there’s anyone who can fight off a couple of liches, it’s another mega-powerful lich. He’s not going to be fun to explain to Krav, but they have bigger things to worry about.

 

Kravitz does a seriously hot revenge monologue. Like, so hot that it doesn’t matter that it’s in his work accent. It’s just so hot-

 

No! Focus!

 

He makes his way to the stage; it’s Taako Time.

 

-

 

Uh, good news first, then the bad news.

 

Good news: he can, in fact, use magic as a mannequin. The whole thing is basically made of magical energy and can act as a focus.

 

Bad news: he kinda went… overboard during the battle, and his actual body kinda… died.

 

Accidentally.

Through nobody's (or lack of body’s) direct fault.

 

Whoopsy. Well, he keeps that promise to Krav after all.

 

Lydia flies out of Taako’s (dead) body, at least. She’s pissed, but then the Umbrastaff twitches from Magnus’s side and opens itself up, which makes sense, since he just majorly defeated a magic user, but then it just… sucks her up, whole.

 

Oh.

 

Oh.

 

The staff spits Lydia back out. She goes poof.

 

Edward flies into a rage and disintegrates everything around them.

 

Kravitz gets in a lucky swipe.

 

Edward goes poof too.

 

There are other people around now. All of Wonderland’s contestants.

 

Magnus and Merle grab onto him, and he doesn’t feel it.

 

He doesn’t feel anything. Except.

 

Oh.

 

He hugs them back, and his hand touches the Umbrastaff. Grasps it. The boys are blubbering on about him being dead, like yeah, catch up, and Kravitz and Barry are on either side of them, but all his attention is on the staff now in his hands.

 

He holds it close, and he can’t feel it but he can . The Umbrastaff is warm and full of life and magic and he really, really wants to kick Lucretia’s ass right about now.

 

The other parties disperse and it’s just them in that clearing, just the five of them.

 

No.

 

The six of them.

 

He backs away.

 

He raises the staff.

 

He snaps it over his wooden knee.

 

And here she is.

 

-

 

Taako’s not crying.

Really, he physically cannot cry. But he really wants to.

 

He also really wants to hug the sister he hasn’t seen for over ten years, and forgot existed, but he has no nerves and she has no body, and it’s really fucking unfair.

Stupid lucky Barry.

He supposes he could destroy the mannequin, but then he’d just be a soul floating around and that would be dumb. He still wouldn’t be able to hug Lup.

 

“There are two Red Robes?!”

Oh, right, the boys.

 

Kravitz looks on-edge, Mags and Merle are just dumbfounded. Fuck, he’s got explaining to do. At least Kravitz can comprehend it.

 

Time to stall.

 

He goes over to his own corpse while the lovebirds catch up. Wow, even having died a whole bunch before, standing over his own body is a new one.

 

Yeah, he’s dead alright.

 

It’s super disturbing.

 

It’s probably beyond repair, for the time being, with Merle’s magic wiped, and probably not worth coming back to. He could ask Barry, probably, but Kravitz was like, right there and already concerned with his death crimes. So.

 

Hah, it. Like it’s just an object and not, y’know, his body.

 

Even when he died in a cycle, he still had his body on the next one. Not this time, though, because there wasn’t going to be a “next” cycle. Not if he could help it.

 

He collects his things. His hat, his backup wand, his bracer…

 

He almost doesn’t want to take that one, doesn’t want anything to do with her , but it might be important later. It had loosened with his death, so he slips it off of his body and over his mannequin wrist like some tacky bangle.

 

He makes his way back to the group. Lup appears by his side, still a ways off from the others. She’s practically phasing through him with how close they are. He watches Mags and Merle give their stones to Barry, and have just, like, a fuckton of questions. Kravitz is off to the side, watching. He clearly doesn’t trust Barry, but they did fight on the same side, so, benefit of the doubt probably.

 

“Hey,” Lup says, like she’s just back from a trip and didn’t get herself trapped in an umbrella for a decade.

“Hey,” Taako says, like he didn’t forget about her at all and was still alive.

 

“Grim reaper, huh?” she asks.

 

“‘Back soon’, huh?” he asks, though it’s not really a question. He’s maybe a bit more bitter than he thought he was. Whoops.

 

“Taako…”

 

“Look, Lulu, it’s- I’m so happy you’re back. Like, so fucking happy. But, it’s just. I died today. I know I’ve done it before, but usually I just come right back. But I didn’t. I died, and I’m still dead, and I’ve just had so many emotions today and I’m very tired. And I have to explain to my Grim Reaper Boyfriend ‘hey, my sister and brother-in-law are liches, and I didn’t tell you because I forgot.’ So can we just, I don’t know, sit for a while? No convo?”

 

Lup is silent, and contemplative, and then she just curls into him as much as she can.

 

The world can wait.

Chapter 5: Mushy Stuff

Summary:

Talks n Taako

Notes:

I've been trying really hard to live up to the first chapter title but I think it's impossible. It was just too good.

Lup tries not to be too offended by her brother’s attitude. She did kinda disappear on him for a long time, which was not cool. But in her defense… nah, not really a lot to excuse here. She fucked up, obviously.

 

What isn’t fair is that she didn’t escape the umbrella before Taako fucking died . Like, he’s died without her before, and it sucks, but now there’s no guarantee of him getting another chance. This time is different and super weird. He’s never stuck around after he’s died before, since he’s not a lich. The next cycle after he’d died, they’d have a cuddle sesh and like, talk about it and shit. But they don’t have time to talk, and barely have the ability to do something that kinda resembles a cuddle. It’s a fucking sucky time.

 

And what, exactly, is she supposed to do about Grim over there? Her brother’s boyfriend, one who’s close enough to him to make an awesome vengeance speech, is kinda sorta against her entire state of existence. She hasn’t tried talking to him yet, because what the fuck is she supposed to say? 

 

‘Hi, my name is Lup, I’m Taako’s Lich Sister that he never mentioned having since he forgot about my existence. No really, I’m not making it up, yes that was me who tried to shoot you with a fireball that time. What are your intentions with my brother?’

 

She hasn’t had a conversation in over a decade but she still knows that’s not a good start to one.

 

And all this is assuming that they even beat the Hunger, that they can even stay here long-term. Taako would be crushed if they had to leave, but at the same time, they are so incredibly unprepared to face it head-on. Plus if they left, they both would get their bodies back…

 

No. They can’t leave, not after everyone’s become so invested in this world. Leaving after a year is one thing, but after so long, they’ve really integrated, to the point where they didn’t even know they were from somewhere else.

 

They have friends here. Family, apparently. Just because she didn’t feel the same attachment didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight for them.

 

God, she needs a good fight right about now.

 

-

 

It’s evening, now.

 

Everyone’s situated around a campfire, in a clearing they’d made over a year ago. It’d be sentimental, if Taako didn’t have other things on his mind. Way more important things. Like how the fuck to explain his lich family to his anti-lich boyfriend.

 

Krav is being remarkably cool about everything. First, he didn’t mind Barry’s general existence in the Final Battle once he saw that they were allied. Then he didn’t outright question why Taako suddenly broke a lich out of his umbrella and seemed really close to the aforementioned lich. He also didn’t immediately try to reap them after everything calmed down.

Is this, like, trust? Trust in Taako ? Neat.

 

Wait, that sounded, like, really sad and pathetic.

 

Obviously people had trusted him before, it was just usually Lup and the crew. Not people outside of it.

 

Anyway.

 

Explaining. He also really needs to brief him on the whole “end of the world” thing, that is arguably more important than meeting the family. But it’s kind of related?

No. Apocalypse first, family later. When they aren’t all in massive danger.

 

Okay. He asks Kravitz if they can talk, in private. He doesn’t need the boneheads bothering them with questions like “why is Taako talking in static” or “when did you two get so close” or making kissy noises at them like he knows they would. In fact, they already are.

 

Ugh, stupid family. Unfortunately, he had missed them.

 

He draws Krav over to the treeline. Kravitz takes him in his arms.

 

“So, what did you need to talk about?” Kravitz says.

 

“Do you remember that goop stuff in the Astral Plane?”

“You mean the stuff that tried to drown me, and then you, and did drown all my coworkers? Nope, can’t remember.”

 

“Ass,” Taako says, and it sucks being made of wood cause he really wants to kiss his boyfriend but you can’t do that when you don’t have a mouth. He leans his featureless face against Kravitz’s side instead.

 

“I told you I knew that stuff, right? It’s kind of a long, unbelievable story, but…”

And Taako tells him of a hundred years, of a family of seven, and this one giant asshole that kept coming along to ruin everything. The basics, at least, they could get into details later.

“You’re right,” Kravitz says “That is unbelievable. And if it was anyone else I’d think they were fucking with me but after today… I don’t know, Taako, I think I need some time to process.”

 

And Taako nods, cause it’s a lot of bullshit to deal with, and he didn’t think he’d want to deal with it either if it wasn’t already his life. He starts to pull away, but…

 

Kravitz catches his arm.

 

“I mean, if you don’t mind, maybe we could process our shitty days together?”

And yeah.

Taako doesn’t mind one bit.

 

-

 

The next morning, they arrive at Barry’s cave thing.

 

The whole thing is incredibly cliche. Like, red string board, full of dusty old books, a giant glowing tube, classic necromancer stuff.

Kravitz walks in and immediately turns right around and walks out again.

 

“Nope,” he says.

 

Apparently accepting Barry as a lich was different from accepting actual evidence of his ongoing necromantic crimes.

Taako pushes him back inside. Fuck “plausible deniability”, they had important shit to do.

 

Barry says something about his new body that he’s apparently been growing for months. Kravitz looks extremely uncomfortable, like he’s forcing himself not to say anything. 

 

If the three of them had been big bounties just for dying a bunch, then Barry is probably huge .

 

Barry mentions maybe growing new bodies for Taako and Lup, in a few months, and Kravitz really just has to put his foot down for that one. Turns out he does, in fact, have a limit.

 

So anyway, Barry’s not gonna remember shit in his body, and he’s gonna be naked.

 

“Hot,” Lup says.

“Gross,” says Taako.

 

And Barry goes into the pod. Flesh-Barry comes out of the pod.

 

It is, indeed, gross.

Chapter 6: Sus

Summary:

The boys make it to the moonbase. I'm sure nothing will go wrong.

Notes:

Sometimes I struggle naming a chapter

Sometimes it comes with a name that I have to use because nothing else could possibly fit better.

They have a plan.

 

Well, most of a plan.

 

Like, 85% of a plan, and then 15% winging it.

 

So there he is with the other Dos Horny Bois, waiting for a sphere to land, with his amnesiac brother and apprehensive boyfriend in a pocket dimension in, well, his pocket.

 

As much a Lup had wanted to tag along, the coin had warned them all of the Bureau’s fresh new Lich Ward. So she literally couldn’t, even though Taako as a ghost would be unaffected? Probably a crappy ward, but whatever, it was good enough to stop his sister setting metaphorical foot on the moon.

 

It will be fine, really. He’ll see her again soon enough.

 

He’d better.

 

 

 

On their way up to the base, he casts Disguise Self. Their other option would’ve been pretending he was a wooden servant from Wonderland, which, uh, no way, no thanks. Taako works for no one but himself these days. Besides, the chucklefucks would have way too much fun with it. So, pretending to be alive. Sure, the spell wouldn’t hold up if anyone touched him, but it’s not like he’s all touchy feely to begin with. Add some delicate looking injuries and nobody's going to be glomping him anytime soon.

 

They arrive at the base. Not as big of a welcoming party as usual, just Avi, Carey, Killian, oh, and here comes the Captain. Uh, Davenport. Sweet Fantasy Jesus, now that he thinks about it, what the hell happened to him? What the fuck did Lucretia even do?

 

He’s so glad his wooden face has no expressions to school, though really anger wouldn’t be too out of place with the shape he looks to be in.

 

Carey jumps into Magnus’s arms, and it’s actually kind of sweet. Killian looks like she’s about to cry when she sees them, and Avi just takes a big swig of whatever’s on tap today.

 

Davenport has the Relic ball thing, and he looks impatient as they fumble for the bell. His hand almost brushes Taako’s as he shuts the damned thing inside. Good riddance to that thing, at least.

 

 

 

They follow him across the quad. All the lush greenery and bright flowers are wilted and brown, and not even a warm brown, just a very brownish grey. The Hunger is close and even if nobody else here knew what it was, they can all feel it getting closer. Even the Fantasy Costco is all boarded up.

 

They finally get to Lucretia’s place. She has her arm around Angus, who looks like he’s been crying. If Taako currently had a heart, it would’ve hurt. Not too much, really, but still.

 

As the two hear the four of them enter, they look up, and damn, Taako knew they looked bad, and in his own case he designed it that way, but did those two have to look so shocked about it? Angus actually stumbles back a bit.

 

“Boys-,” Lucdretia starts, “Magnus, Merle, T-Taako, you’re-” and she’s totally flabbergasted. Like, right, got it, they look like shit. He seriously doubts that she came out of that hellhole looking daisy-fresh, what the fuck did she expect?

 

“Sirs?” says Angus, who’s now actively crying, and can’t take his eyes off of Taako. Kid looks half-a-sec from flinging himself at them, but there’s something in his face that Taako can’t quite track, but-

 

“What,” he feels himself say, “Do I have something in my teeth?” And he makes the illusion smile. Always gotta break the tension.

 

“Well, you are missing a couple,” Merle says. Yeah, if only that were all he was missing.

 

“And a lot of blood!” Chirps Magnus. Again, technically true.

 

“Boys,” Lucretia says again, finally composing herself, “I’m so-so glad that you’re here, all three of you, safe and- and alive. I thought for sure that- well, obviously that was, uh, an incorrect assumption.”

She looks like she’s about to cry. Good.

 

“Yep,” says Magnus. “All three of us are completely and totally alive!”

 

Idiot.

 

“Right,” she says. “I see you have already, ah, handed over the Relic. If we could commence the destruction…”

And yep, they sure do that.

 

It’s a pretty light show and all, but it’s totally bogus. Nothing can destroy the Light like that. Angus seems especially into it, having finally torn his gaze away from Taako. There's something hard in his expression, but Taako can’t tell what.

 

Finally the lasers die down and the ball is wheeled back out. Ango is still glaring holes in it. Yeah, Taako can’t say he disagrees, it was a particularly Bullshit Relic, even if it’s now who-knows-where. He almost wants to reach out and reassure the kid, but a wooden hand on his back would defeat the whole “disguise” thing they have going on, so no dice.

 

“Director,” he says instead, and ugh, it’s killing him (hah) to refer to her like that right now, “You of all people know just how long a day we’ve just had. If you don’t mind, I know we’ve gotta do the whole thing with the debrief and getting paid, which I assume will be hefty after yesterday’s bullshit, and the token, and all that jazz, but could we please take this to your office? I know I need a sit-down right about now.” He makes a show of wobbling on his feet with no umbrastaff to use as a cane.

 

She nods. “Angus, go get some rest. You’ve had a long two days, and I’m sure there’s going to be details of this that you’re not going to want to hear.”

Retia isiAngus nods and says nothing, back to staring at Taako. He just stands there, staring, as the four of them make their way to Lucretia’s office.

 

Lucretia sits behind her desk, leaning her staff- the fucking Bulwark Staff against it. Fuck, of course she does. Of course the Seventh Relic was right there all along. What the fuck was she planning if getting the bell hadn’t lined up perfectly with the Hunger coming?

 

“Second to last relic,” he says, cause might as well fuck with her a bit. “I mean, this one was a fucking doozy, to drastically understate it, so the final one’s gotta be guarded by like, an actual monster. Or maybe the Red Robes themselves!” Magnus shoots him a look, but he ignores it.

 

Seriously, why didn’t she just tell them there were six?!

 

“I… right, a monster Red Robe, sure. Exactly.” She looks extremely uncomfortable and it’s hilarious.

 

“I mean,” he continues, “It’s gotta be either on the other side of the planet or right under our noses the whole time .”

 

Is she starting to sweat? Delightful! Good old Lucretia and her famously terrible lack of foresight.

 

“Now boys, about your payment-” but she’s cut off by her stone of farspeech. Right on cue.

 

“Madame Director,” says some nameless guard on the other end, “The Moonbase is under attack by a Red Robe!”

 

“What?!” She startles. “What is he- are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, ma’am, they’re floating off the side of the base and throwing fireballs at us. They’re missing, but it’s still pretty- pretty rude.”

 

“Fireb- uh, right, uh, I’ll be right down. Boys, I’m sorry, if you could wait right here-”

“Go!” says Merle. “Go. Don’t worry about little ol’ us, go play with your friend. We’ll be fine.”

“Yes. Well, not- not a friend, necessarily, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Now, why now, of all times-” And she’s out the door.

 

They wait another minute to be sure, then Taako checks the food for traps. Nothing. The coin starts spouting directions to some complicated puzzle that he only half listens to because the hallway in front of them is completely empty. No orbs or lights or whatever Barry thought there would be.

 

They take a step and-

 

Fall right into the floor.

 

They’re surrounded by goop, and Taako sinks faster and faster until he’s completely submerged. It’s pitch black around him, and he’s totally restrained. He can’t move. No, not pitch black. There are streaks of light around him, colorful light, swirling and rainbow and bright. He struggles, but whatever’s holding him only tightens. Fuck, he can’t do this, can’t take this. Is this Wonderland again? Is it the Hunger? Were they too late? No, they couldn’t have been-

 

They couldn’t have been.

 

This can’t be real.

 

And just like that, everything’s gone, he’s back in that stupid “empty” hallway, on the ground flailing like an idiot, with his friends, who are also flailing like idiots. He shakes them awake.

 

He looks up to see Angus McDonald pointing his wand at what he assumes is supposed to be an alarm bell, though it’s not really doing much alarming, what with the silence spell being cast on it. His gaze is directly on Taako.

 

“Hell yeah, my dude!” he says, and he’s so proud, until Angus shifts his arm and points the wand directly at Taako instead.

 

“Who are you?” The kid asks.

 

Uh, what?

“Uh, Ango, you know who I am. I’m Taako, from TV? Baller chef and wizard?"

Angus affixes him with a cold, hard glare.

 

“Bullcrap, sir. Taako died yesterday, in Wonderland. I watched his vitals drop to zero myself. That disguise may have fooled the others, but you won’t fool me.”

 

Angus fixes his glasses, then points the wand at Taako even harder. The boy actually looks like a threat, here.

“Now, I’ll ask you again. Who are you? ”

Notes:

I'm pretty sure what I did here with Taako was what Griffin thought the boys were gonna do for Magnus. Coin! Barry specifically mentions finding a disguise and not letting anyone touch him, which both remind me of "disguise self" which is an only visual spell. And Taako is, of course, a wizard who can cast disguise self on himself.

Also, the spell is specifically noted to be noticed if someone passes an investigation check.

Lucretia didn't pass hers. Angus did. :)

Chapter 7: Heartbeat

Summary:

How Angus’s last few days have gone

Angus was trying to be patient.

However, it was very hard to be patient when you’re an 11 year old boy and three of your favorite people were on a very dangerous mission where it was very possible that they would die, and according to Madame Director, will almost definitely come back drastically changed.

 

If they came back.

 

No, no, they would be fine! They’ve probably gone through worse in all of their previous missions combined. They were very strong and capable adventurers who would be just fine.

 

Angus was situated in front of three crystal balls- one red, one green, and one purple. Each pulsed with light in time with the, well, pulses broadcasted from Magnus, Merle, and Taako’s bracers. Everyone at the moment was steady, if a bit fast, which made sense with the amounts of fights they were probably getting in.

 

Unfortunately, stone of farspeech signal cut out as soon as the three had entered Wonderland, so there was no way for Angus to keep his promise of helping with their emotional wellness, but the bracers’ transmissions were uninterrupted.

 

It was stressful, knowing that his friends' lives were literally being projected in front of him. Madame Director had tried to get him to take a break or to stop watching altogether, but he just couldn’t! There wasn’t much he could do for them, but he could at least keep watch. He felt better when he knew they were alright.

 

Until they weren’t.

 

Taako’s heartrate had been unusually high the entire day, even higher than the other two, and picking up at incongruous moments when Magnus and Merle seemed to be at rest. Then, when all three of the Reclaimers seemed anxious, his heart started pounding- and then he calmed down, and the other two skyrocketed like they were going into battle.

 

For what seemed like a long time, it stayed that way: Taako unusually calm and the others full of adrenaline. Then it started pounding again, until it started to slow… and kept slowing… and stopped.

 

And the purple crystal ball went dark.

 

That… couldn’t be right…

 

“Madame Director,” he called, “Something’s wrong with Taako’s crystal.”

 

“Wrong? Nothing should be… wrong…” She stopped next to him with her hands covering her mouth.

 

“No…” she said, and she looked on the verge of tears. But why would she cry at a technological malfunction?

“Angus… sweetheart…”

 

Everything was fine, wasn’t it? They just needed to- to fix the ball and…

 

Water drops hit the glass and the back of his hands where he had them cupped around the crystal ball. The dark crystal ball that wouldn’t come back on, no matter how hard he tapped. The other two balls had gone back to normal, but Taako’s…

 

No…

 

He wasn’t sure who moved first, but he was in Madame Director’s arms, and he could feel her shoulders shaking.

The rest of the day was a blur. Madame Director told him not to tell anyone else, not that he felt very inclined to speak anyway. They would find out when the Reclaimers- the two of them- came back. As far as they knew, he was just so caught up in his worry that he didn’t feel like talking. They weren’t wrong.

 

Even once stone signal was restored, Magnus and Merle weren’t in contact. They were probably taking their time to mourn. They didn’t even come back that night.

 

He had some time to think. There was a theory he had, about where the Relics went. It was actually a bit convenient that the Reclaimers took the night for themselves, as awful as the reason was. It gave him some time to make a plan.

Avi called Madame Director, saying a sphere had been called from the Felicity Wilds.

 

The Reclaimers were returning, Animus Bell presumably in tow.

 

Wizard, presumably not.

 

He stood next to Davenport as he prepped the Relic container- he wouldn’t be allowed near once the bell was actually inside. As the gnome was distracted, Angus drew a tiny chalk star on the sphere, where only he would know to look. Then Davenport left, pushing the cart ahead of him.

 

All that was left to do was to wait and see.

 

It hit Angus, again, that there would only be two out of three Reclaimers stepping back through those doors. He was never going to see Taako again.

 

Taako, who had become a mentor of the year or so they had known each other, who teased him and praised him both, who had taught him to make macarons that didn’t suck…

 

Taako was dead.

 

He didn’t know when the tears had started again, but Madame Director was hugging him, and it was… not nice, but comforting, to commiserate over their shared pain.

 

The doors to the chamber opened, and in walks Davenport with his Relic cart, and Merle and Magnus. Merle is haggard looking, with one eye noticeably pale and the other patched. Magnus looks older, more tired. Both looked beat to heck and back. And behind them… behind them is Taako.

 

No. This wasn’t- this was impossible. There was no way that could be Taako standing there. But he’s there, looking somehow worse than the other two. There’s a long gash across his brow, and bandages across his midsection that look bled through. His legs are splinted, and when he smiles, he’s missing teeth. His hat is ripped and he’s missing his umbrastaff. But that’s Taako, definitely… right?

 

Then they’re “destroying” the Relic, and Angus has to push everything else out of his mind. Has to concentrate. Look for any moment a switch could happen, a flash of light a beat too long. And when the container comes out, it’s clean. Too clean. Any trace of his star is gone, if it was ever there in the first place, confirming a switch. The Relic wasn’t destroyed in the smoke and mirrors, just moved. He doesn’t know what to do with this information, but it doesn’t imply anything good.

 

He turns his attention back to Taako. He looks bad, but there’s something just… off. He’s not emoting as much as he usually does, which could be chalked up to his injuries, but there’s not even any of his usual microexpressions, no ears twitching or shuffling in place. His hair is almost too perfect despite his disarray. And those wounds, why weren’t they healed by now, or at least better taken care of? That gash should’ve been sutured in the past day, and the bandages changed on his stomach. He should have some kind of crutches to go with those splints. Heck, with those wounds it was a miracle he was even upright and walking. It was like… like stage makeup, where he wanted to look noticeably injured so that no one could ever assume otherwise.

 

It was suspicious.

 

The Reclaimers and Director moved to her office. Madame Director told him to go. Angus had no intention of leaving just yet.

 

Nothing about this made sense. Taako was supposed to be dead, and yet here he was, almost perfectly injured yet improperly treated. Merle wasn’t nearly as incompetent as everyone liked to joke he was.

 

When he had asked for details of Wonderland earlier, to prepare for what the Reclaimers were going through, Madame Director described a horrible place where the occupants could get into your head and sense your greatest desires and fears. Could these beings be psychic, and able to see enough of Taako that they could use something like Disguise Self to take his place? Could they trick or charm Magnus and Merle into believing Taako had never died?

 

Suddenly, Madame Director rushed out of her office and through the chamber doors. She hadn’t even spared Angus a glance. Just what could she be so worried about that she’d leave the  Reclaimers all alone… in her office…

 

Crap! The fake Taako may have planned this, but why? Perhaps to get to the hidden Relics? Maybe it wasn’t the Wonderland beings at all, but the Red Robes?

 

Angus crept to the doors of the office. There was no one inside, but the inner door was ajar.

 

Inside, the Reclaimers were lying on the floor, flailing and screaming. A bell was ringing, which Angus quickly silenced. Of course, “Taako” was the first to awaken.

 

“Hell yeah, my dude,” says “Taako”.

 

Angus is not impressed. That was like, the most basic of Taako’s vernacular.

 

He points his wand at the being wearing the appearance of hsi mentor.

 

“Who are you?” he demands.

 

“Uh, Ango, you know who I am,” says the fake. “I’m Taako, from TV? Baller chef and wizard?”

 

Again, information anyone could get from either mind reading or plain old spying. It made Angus sick.

 

“Bullcrap, sir,” he says. “Taako died yesterday, in Wonderland. I watched his vitals drop to zero myself. That disguise may have fooled the others, but it won’t fool me.”

He pushed up his glasses in what he hopes is an intimidating gesture.

“Now, I’ll ask you again. Who are you? ”

Notes:

Angus possessed me and made me write 1.5k words on how he was feeling

Chapter 8: Cut the Knot

Summary:

Nobody is having a good time today.

Notes:

To cut the knot, according to merriam-webster, means "to solve a difficult problem in a very direct way by doing something forceful or extreme."

The actual, literal baby of the Bureau has a wand pointed straight at him. Any other time it’d be, like, hilarious, but they did not have time for this .

 

“Well?” Angus says.

 

“Look, Ango, I am Taako. What the fuck do you want me to say?”

 

“You could start with, oh, I don’t know, the truth ? Taako’s dead .”

 

Fuck. This is going to go in circles. Time to cut the knot. 

 

He mentally takes a deep breath, and drops disguise-self.

 

Angus gasps, and Taako hears a couple “oh shit”s from the peanut gallery, which, massive help they are. Barry and Kravitz have exited the pocket spa at this point.

 

“You’re right, kid. I did die. But I promise you, I’m still Taako.”

 

“Sir what- what happened to you? Why are you-” poor kid can’t even finish, his eyes are filled with tears. Taako gets to his feet and crouches by Angus, gently pushing on his wand arm down until he lowers it.

 

“Some nasty liches yeeted me from my body. But don’t worry, we’re awesome and we took care of them, and we don’t have to worry about them anymore. Now, let’s get ourselves through that door, okay?”

 

“I- we can’t, not yet. There’s still something I need to know.”

“What’s that, kid?”

 

“Is the Bureau evil?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Before, when they took the Relic to be destroyed, I made a mark on the sphere. Then when it came out, the mark was gone. That means it wasn’t the same sphere that went in, and they’re hiding the Relic somewhere. Why would Madame Director lie to us like that? What is she using the Relics for? I- I don’t want her to be evil, but…”

 

Smart kid. Brilliant, even. But did he have to have this crisis now ?

 

“No, kiddo, she’s not evil. She’s short-sighted, sure, and a little misguided, but I promise you she’s not evil. But what she has planned with the Relics, it wouldn’t be good for this world, so we have to stop her. Understand?”

Angus nods, and puts his wand away. He steps aside so that Taako can access the big vault door.

 

There’s a keypad with a 7-digit code. Now, if he were Lucretia, he’d want to make the solution make him feel as guilty as possible, but he doesn’t really have time to figure out which of her several mistakes this could be referencing, and how. So he takes out the hole-thrower and just… cuts the knot.

 

He makes straight for the lich ward. It’s a big, ugly thing that he can feel the energy flowing out of, and he knocks it onto the floor like a cat with a coffee mug. It’s incredibly satisfying.

 

The coin starts explaining things because apparently, Barry didn’t factor in any time for being accosted by small children. Every time it mentions something mission-related, this big-ass bell over the little voidfish’s tank starts chiming.

 

Shit, now they have even less time before Lucretia comes back. Nice going, Barold.

 

“Alright, boys,” he says, “drink up. Not you,” he adds to Kravitz. “But everyone else, get a good swallow.”

 

Thankfully, nobody puts in any stupid arguments, and they all drink. Barry even has the bright idea to take some for later.

 

Angus perks up as he drinks and starts cooing over the little voidfish. Taako goes to grab it and run, and-

 

The door slams fully open, and in comes Cap’nport and, like, a shit ton of guards.

 

They’re fucked.

 

---

 

Lucretia ran as fast as she could. Faster, actually. Should she survive to the next morning, she’ll certainly be feeling it then.

 

But that didn’t matter right now.

 

What matters is the red robed lich attacking her moonbase, and not for the reason her guards might think.

 

There were only two liches she knew of that wore red, and unless Barry had picked up a flare for fire since she last saw him, there was only one person in the whole planar system that this could be.

 

Lucretia had to see for herself.

 

As she reached the edge of the base, she saw her, bright red against a blackening sky some 100 feet away.

 

Somehow, now, at the end of the world, Lup came back.

 

“Lup,” she called, still half believing that it was all some terrible trick, that this couldn’t possibly be real.

 

“Hey, ‘Cretia! Long time no see! I can’t believe you just, fucking, built a whole moon!”

 

“Lup, what the fuck are you doing here?”

 

“What does it look like? I’m attacking your base!” Lup practically sang. The fireball went off just in front of Lucretia. Clearly, Lup was holding back.

 

“Why? Where have you been?!”

“That is a very long story that I don’t feel like shouting!”

Oh, bullshit. “You don’t even have lungs!”

 

“It’s the principle of the thing, Lucretia!”

 

There’s a pinging in Lucretia’s head. It takes her a minute to place it.

 

Oh shit.

 

No. No no no no no no. They cannot have found the baby, not before she’s done with the plan.

 

The plan… that she wasn’t currently doing.

 

“You’re a distraction!”

 

“You know it, babe! And if you’ve figured that out, then hopefully I can do this…”

 

And Lup drifts forward, well into the airspace that should’ve been protected by the lich ward.

 

Fuck .

 

She reaches for her stone of farspeech. “All available guards to my office, now . Do not let the Reclaimers escape.”

“Hey, ‘Cretia, I just had an idea!” Lup says, floating closer and closer. “What if, you give me that staff, and we can all have a friendly little chat!”

 

“No, Lup. We agreed that if your plan didn’t work, we’d do mine. Well, it super didn’t work.”

 

“Right, we did say that! But, also, give me the staff.”

 

“No.”

 

“Lucretia give me the staff… please?”

 

“My plan will work, you just have to trust me.”

 

“Aw hon, I do trust you. Now give me the staff.”

Lucretia took off. She had to get back to her office. She needed to start channeling the light out of the bell, now .

 

She arrived back at her office, Lup hot on her heels and her own chest heaving.

 

The guards had gotten the boys. More boys than she was expecting, actually. It seems the three had roped poor Angus into this, and Barry was there, alive, somehow? There was also a man in a suit that Lucretia had never seen before in her life, but introductions would have to wait.

 

She summoned the Animus Bell from its hiding spot. She could multitask, talk while channeling.

 

Barry lunges at her. It seems he’s already gotten a lot of his memories back, then. Davenport stops him from interrupting her.

 

The boys don’t look so good. Magnus and Merle looked like they were going to be sick, she’d better start explaining, fast.

 

And Taako…

 

Gods, Taako.

 

Really, she can only recognize him from the hat and the way that Lup immediately appeared beside him. Where he should’ve been was instead a wooden mannequin. No wonder the ball had said he’d died: he really had. She’d been so happy to think it’d been wrong, even though that’d made no sense.

 

And if he’d been dead this whole time, then that meant-

 

No. Later, later, later. They’d have time later .

 

She hoped.

Notes:

One of my outline notes was "Lucretia's getting good cardio" and I felt inclined to share.

Notes:

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