Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The ground came rushing up to greet him as Magnus fell. Rail Splitter clanged as it slipped from his grasp, landing out of arm’s reach as his body—absolutely screaming in agony—hit the ground with a solid thud.

The very worst of the pain subsided as suddenly as it had struck him and he was able to gasp in a breath. Despite it all, though, he knew he wasn’t getting back up, not with the pain still overtaking nearly all of his senses.

Chaos continued all around him with the heat of battle, but it all sounded like it was coming through a tunnel filled with wool. His eyes blinked open, but he couldn’t make sense of the blurs of color surrounding him, growing fuzzier with each passing second. There was an off-beat thumping in his ears that he sluggishly recognized as his own erratic heartbeat, each pulse rushing through his body like a wave of agony that pushed a little more blood out of his open wounds.

Everything was growing hazier and hazier and his eyelids felt like weights. There was shouting from above him, followed by a wave of heat, like a wall of fire was nearby. He tried to lift his eyelids again, tried to respond to the yelling and the hellish sounds of battle continuing on around him, but he just couldn’t summon the energy to open his eyes, let alone move. He was supposed to be defending his friends; Merle and Taako weren’t meant to take the heavy hits, weren’t meant for this kind of combat. Merle had already taken a beating and Taako had just been thrown into one of the cavern walls. It was his job to take these hits. Why wasn’t his body cooperating? He had a job to do. He should be protecting them…

The last thing he heard and could make sense of was Taako, his voice high and streaked with panic as he shouted: “If you’re going to do it, then fucking do it! He’s dying! We can’t lose him!”

Oh. He supposed this did feel a bit familiar.

Magnus struggled to do anything but succumb to the pull of darkness, but even he wasn’t that strong. With those last words still ringing in his ears, his body gave in and he knew no more.

==

It was a throb of pain in his side that brought Magnus back to consciousness. He drew a hissing breath in and moved to bring a shaky hand to the pain to soothe it, but the movement made the other pains across his body flare up. He stayed still, panting through the worst of it until the spasms of agony had died back down into miserable suffering.

When it had finally subsided into something manageable, Magnus opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure where he was, but the lighting was nothing like it had been when he had passed out. That wasn’t a cavern ceiling overhead, nor the sky. It took a few lethargic blinks before he could bring his vision back into focus and then a few moments more before he recognized what he was looking at as the interior of the Pocket Spa.

Cautiously, Magnus took stock of his body. He was lying flat on his back on a cushioned surface with something under his head. He knew he was hurt really bad, probably as bad as he ever had been that he had survived, so he counted himself as lucky that he was even waking up. He knew that battle had been fierce, but—

The battle.

Shit, how long had he been out?

Magnus let his head tip to one side, grimacing as the movement sent fresh aches through the sore muscles in his neck. Breathing through the pain, Magnus looked around and immediately spotted Merle. The cleric was out cold, passed out on a low-rise massage table. There was a bandage around his head and a few others lining his arms, as well as some nasty looking bruises mottling his skin. Part of his mustache and beard were stained crimson, likely from a bloodied lip or some blood coming from his nose. He also didn’t look like he was going to wake up any time soon, but thankfully he was breathing. At least he knew for sure that Merle was okay.

He glanced around the spa, but there was no sign of Taako.

Before he tried to get up, he wiggled the fingers on both of his hands. Good, nothing too damaged there. Upon trying to wiggle his toes, however, pain exploded through his left ankle. He breathed a few heartfelt curses as the pain subsided into a constant—but more manageable—pain. Something was definitely broken there.

Somehow or another, he found the strength to force himself to sit up and he let his legs stretch out over the side of the low-rise table he was on. He drew a few fortifying breaths before pushing himself to his feet. A strangled yelp tore from him when pain shot through his ankle and it took every bit of willpower he had not to collapse right then and there, but he managed to stay on his right leg as he shifted his weight off of his bad foot.

Walking would be a whole different story, but this was a start.

Magnus glanced around for something—anything—that could possibly aid him. He breathed a quick praise to Istus at the sight of Rail Splitter on the empty table next to the massage table he had been lying prone on.

With a shaky hand, he hefted the familiar and comforting weight of his weapon from the table and allowed the head of the axe to rest against the ground. Now armed with a makeshift cane, Magnus turned toward the exit.

In starts and stops without putting too much weight on his still-screaming ankle, he staggered to the cloth flaps and stealthily peeked out, all-the-while catching his breath. It wasn’t a good sign that just getting halfway across the spa was enough to tire him out.

When there was no immediate visible threat, Magnus pushed himself forward and out of the pocket dimension.

Magnus found himself standing in a cave not unlike the one he remembered passing out in, but this one bore no signs of battle. There was a campfire nearby with a pot of something that smelled amazing simmering over it.

And sitting at the mouth of the cave, with both the Umbra Staff and his short sword resting across his lap, was Taako.

The elf was sitting rigidly, still in obvious pain but very diligently on guard for any sign of trouble that could come into the cavern. Magnus searched for any obvious signs of wounds, but with his back to him and his cape and hat effectively covering a majority of his features, he couldn’t spot any. He risked a glance out past Taako’s form, but he couldn’t see anything but darkness. It was nighttime, and it was difficult to tell just how late into the night it was. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on; his last memory was that of battle. How did they get here?

He took a step forward, cringing when blade of his ax scraped across the rocky floor. He froze when he saw Taako jump in momentary fright. Taako’s head whipped around as he glanced over his shoulder at Magnus. He looked both startled and exhausted, but vigilant.

Magnus tried for an apologetic smile as he took another unsteady step forward with the aid of his axe, but he paused when Taako staggered to his feet, nearly falling over.

“Get back in the spa, goofus,” Taako said even as he rushed over (limping, Magnus noticed). “I’d say you look like death, but you’re not that handsome.”

Magnus huffed a laugh and immediately regretted it as pain shot through his core again. Taako made a noise in the back of his throat and helped Magnus down onto the stony floor next to the campfire. “Sit down before you fall down, you—”

Taako’s ears quirked and he whirled around to the entrance of the cave, his posture tight like a wire ready to snap. The sight of Taako’s anticipatory expression made Magnus’s blood run cold and his grip on Rail Splitter tightened. Before he could stand back up, however, Taako moved around the fire and scooped up his Umbra Staff and short sword to stand as a sentry, both weapons at the ready to strike.

Magnus tried to stand up to help, but a vicious glare from the elf made him freeze. As Taako returned his attention to the mouth of the cave, Magnus let himself become still. His hearing was nothing compared to Taako’s, and he didn’t have dark vision. He tried to listen for whatever it was that Taako had heard, but he could only hear the crackling of the fire, the bubbling from within the pot, and the beating of his heart.

With his eyes trained on Taako and at the ready to force himself to his feet at the first sign of trouble, against every instinct telling him to do otherwise, Magnus stayed where he was.

They remained like that for a solid few minutes in silence, both of them ready to spring to action. Magnus watched Taako like a hawk, waiting for even the slightest tic.

After another minute, though, Taako finally stood down. Magnus felt the tension leave him with his sigh of relief. He suddenly felt exhausted. “Everything all clear?” he asked in a whisper, sure his words would carry.

Sure enough, Taako’s ear twitched, but he didn’t turn around. Instead, he backed up toward where Magnus was sitting without turning his back to the entrance of the cave. Magnus watched him move and could see how stiffly the elf was holding himself, but he didn’t comment on it.

“Just a herd of deer I saw earlier,” Taako replied at last. He finally sat down next to Magnus, though he was turned so he could keep an eye on the mouth of the cave. Magnus wasn’t accustomed to seeing this level of hypervigilance, almost to the point of paranoia, from his friend; it was odd.

Taako must have felt his stare, for he glanced away from the entrance and at Magnus. The elf’s eyes scanned him, no doubt looking at the different injuries that were visible. “You should keep spa-ing it up, my dude,” he said after another moment, trying to sound flippant and not really succeeding. “Healing properties and shit, since our cleric’s down for the count.”

That reminder was enough to snap Magnus from his study on Taako’s behavior. “What happened to Merle?” he asked. He hated how rough his voice sounded and that he even needed to ask. This never should have happened. He never should have let Merle take those hits in that skirmish earlier, never should have let himself get distracted enough to not see that massive blow against himself that left Taako and Merle on their own to fend for themselves. He was supposed to be the protector, damn it, and he had failed.

He was so tired of failing his friends and loved ones.

Next to him, Taako offered a tiny half-shrug. “He brought you back to zero and then got hit by some thug with a club,” he replied, letting his eyes travel back to the entrance. “Had to patch him up myself before moving on.”

Magnus’s eyes shot straight back to Taako.

Taako glanced back over when his explanation received no verbal response. When he saw Magnus staring, he quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

“You…” Magnus blinked in wonder at his friend. “Wait, did you finish the mission by yourself?”

Taako rolled his eyes and looked back at the entrance. “Taako’s fully capable of holding his own, thank you very much.” For his dismissive tone, Magnus didn’t miss how the grip on the handle of his Umbra Staff tightened or how he had to look away before saying that. “But yeah, for sure. Walked in, got the goods, walked out. Might have stabbed someone along the way—it was a sight to behold, my dude,” he said, turning back to him with a grin. “Imagine!”

Magnus felt sick. “You stabbed someone?” he asked.

“Like, right? He tried to stab me first, though. No one does that and gets to live to tell the tale,” Taako replied with a casual shrug. A quick flash of pain appeared on his face for a split second, but it was long enough for Magnus to catch. “Besides,” he went on through gritted teeth after a moment, bringing a hand up to press gingerly against his ribs, “I was using my last spell and I still had to get outside.”

“How did you get out, and how did you outrun all of those guards?” Magnus asked. “Was it Garyl? No, that trail up to the cave was too treacherous…”

“No Garyl today,” Taako said.

“Then how—?”

Taako grinned and brought his hands up. “Magic,” he whispered, waggling his fingers and sending little multicolored sparks through the air.

Magnus huffed a laugh and went to go lightly shove Taako, but thought better of it for both of their sakes. “Stop wasting your energy on bullshit, buddy.”

As Taako returned his hands to his staff, Magnus glanced past him and to the mouth of the cave. It was impossibly dark; with the campfire right next to him, he could make out nothing past a few feet beyond the cavern entrance. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but surely the Bureau had expected them back hours ago.

“Has there been any word from the Director?” Magnus asked, looking back at Taako.

A frown appeared on Taako’s face. “Our Stones of Far Speech and bracers are down,” he said. He glanced down at the bracer on his arm, twisting his wrist slowly to watch the firelight glint off of the metal. Magnus saw that his hand was shaking. “There was a warlock that blocked off our communication. My best guess is that it’ll wear off sometime after sunrise.”

Magnus watched as Taako explained, his eyes easily tracking the exhaustion coming off of the elf in waves. There were dark circles under his eyes and he wondered again how long it had been. As Taako fell quiet and kept a watch on the cavern entrance, Magnus took the time to look his friend over more thoroughly. There were patches of bloodied fabric all over his person. There were a few particularly nasty cuts along his leggings and the skin underneath was hidden with makeshift bandages.

Guilt overcame him again and Magnus turned his eyes to the fire. He tried to steel himself; what happened was in the past, and the three of them were all still alive, so there was no point in reveling in what had happened and what should have happened. He had to keep moving forward and focus on what was happening now so he wouldn’t repeat his mistakes while wallowing in the past.

But still…

“Well, seeing as you’re up,” Taako said off-handedly.

Magnus blinked from his thoughts when Taako struggled to his feet and he watched the elf pull the lid off of the pot over the fire. There was a cloud of steam that billowed upward and the smell of different spices enveloped them.

It smelled heavenly.

“Did you make something?” Magnus asked, watching Taako stir what was in the pot.

Taako rolled his eyes as he reached down and grabbed one of the bowls Magnus hadn’t noticed earlier. “No, I found a pot of bomb-ass vegetable soup just sitting in a cave,” he replied sarcastically.

“Vegetable soup?” Magnus repeated eagerly. He paused, his eyes narrowing on his friend as he ladled the soup into the bowl (he tried not to notice how Taako’s hands were shaking worse now). “Wait, where did you get vegetables?”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” Taako replied with a deflecting laugh, which Magnus instantly took to mean he had stolen them. He couldn’t bring himself to be too upset by it, though, as he realized he was starving.

Taako held out the bowl to him, but suddenly pulled it back before Magnus could even lift his arms to take it. “Aw shit, hang on,” he murmured before rummaging around in his bag. He pulled out a salt shaker and sprinkled some of the crystals onto the soup, leaning in to stare intently at it.

Magnus watched Taako stare at the soup, but he didn’t say anything. He just kept an eye on him, absently picking at some of the dried blood under his nails.

After a solid minute, some of the tension in Taako’s shoulders went loose and he held out the bowl again.

“Thank you,” Magnus said, taking the bowl gingerly.

“For sure,” Taako replied in a low murmur before ladling himself a bowl.

As Taako sat down next to him (with himself between Magnus and the cavern entrance, Magnus didn’t fail to notice), Magnus looked down at the soup. It was a mishmash of different colors—there were carrots and peas and tomatoes and green beans and other vegetables, all settled in a seasoned orange-brown broth that made his mouth water. It looked and smelled absolutely delicious.

He took a bite.

He couldn’t remember ever having soup this good. None of the vegetables were overcooked and the broth had a heartiness to it that just seemed to radiate comfort and warmth throughout his entire body. He made a noise of pleasure around the mouthful and swallowed.

“Holy shit, Taako, this is amazing!” Magnus said, grinning over at Taako with delight before digging in.

“That’s how we do,” Taako said before beginning on his meal, but there was no mistaking the satisfied and relieved tone in his voice.

They ate in silence for a while, taking in the comfort of a hearty meal in front of a campfire in good company. Taako still kept an eye on the entrance, just in case, but for the first time since they left for their mission, they felt almost at ease.

Taako wordlessly took Magnus’s bowl when they were finished and ladled him a second helping. Magnus noticed he was moving sluggishly, like it was taking everything he had to keep going.

He accepted the bowl from Taako and watched as the elf sat back down next to him. As Taako stared into the fire, looking leagues beyond tired, that feeling of guilt returned to Magnus like a wave crashing over him. He knew the feeling of running on empty all too well and he felt awful for putting Taako into that position. If he hadn’t rushed in, if he had observed his surroundings and really thought about what he had been doing, this wouldn’t have happened. Gods, he was going to get an earful from Carey when they got back to the Bureau.

Magnus looked down at the bowl of soup in his hands, idly stirring it. Even after completing their mission on his own, after getting them all to safety without the aid of his party or the Bureau, Taako had kept going. He had completed the mission by himself with only his wits and cunning, and even after that, he had kept working to ensure that they’d have shelter and a hearty meal to get them back on the road to recovery. He’d even stood guard, letting him and Merle rest. When he should have been taking care of himself, letting himself rest and heal, he had been looking out for them.

For as selfish as Taako liked to present himself as being, he really could be so selfless at times.

“Taako,” Magnus said quietly.

“Hmm?” Taako replied absently without moving.

Magnus waited until the elf had actually glanced away from the fire to look at him. “Get some rest. I can keep a look-out for a little while.”

Taako scoffed, but it was a half-hearted sound. “Magnus, my dude, you look like a stiff breeze could wipe you out,” he said. “You’re the one who needs to heal up. Taako’s good.”

“No, Taako’s exhausted,” Magnus countered. Taako huffed, but Magnus continued. “I… Listen, I really appreciate what you’ve done today, I really do, but you’ve been going non-stop since we landed. And even then, I…” He paused, biting his lip for a moment before he went on, a little softer. “Well, I know you didn’t really rest all that much last night.”

Taako immediately paled and Magnus felt like a jerk for bringing it up.

Their mission to Refuge had messed with all of them in different ways. Magnus had caught Merle taking more special care of his Soulwood arm and rubbing absently at his stump when he thought no one was around to see. He’d heard Taako in the kitchen in the middle of the night, but there was never any evidence of anything cooked or baked the following morning. On the nights that Taako wasn’t cooking away his inner demons, he was facing them in awful nightmares or night terrors.

Last night had been a nightmare kind of night. His screams had then been followed by furious sounds from the kitchen, only to have nothing to show for it by dawn.

And the only reason Magnus knew any of this was because his own bouts with nightmares or insomnia or just his waking thoughts keeping him from sleep. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since they had returned with the Temporal Chalice. He wasn’t sure if any of them had.

“Elves don’t need sleep,” Taako finally said, breaking into Magnus’s thoughts. It was a worn out line he had heard countless times, but he couldn’t remember it ever sounding so exhausted and monotone before, as if it had been spoken purely by rote now.

“But they do need rest,” Magnus pressed gently. At Taako’s stubborn look, he went on. “How about we both stay out here, and if something happens, I’ll wake you up. Sound good?”

Whatever retort that had been on Taako’s lips died and he looked like he was really considering the offer, which told Magnus that Taako really must have been exhausted if he wasn’t fighting this more just for the sake of being contrary.

Taako studied him for a long moment with narrowed eyes before he picked up his short sword and scooted a little further away from him. Before the hurt could settle over Magnus, however, Taako slid the sword into its scabbard and set it aside.

“Wake me up,” Taako said, enunciating every word carefully, “if you hear or see anything.”

Magnus was about to reply, but his hearty agreement got lodged in his chest when Taako didn’t lie down. Instead, the elf settled into a loose and comfortable cross-legged position and laid the Umbra Staff across his lap.

“I’m serious, Magnus,” Taako said, not making eye contact. “If there’s anything, wake me the fuck up.”

Magnus nodded, and then said a quiet “you got it” when he realized Taako wasn’t going to look back over at him. He just watched in awe as Taako’s eyes closed and he slipped into a meditative trance, easy as that.

As Taako’s breathing went deep and even, Magnus found himself staring. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Taako meditate. He slept, sure—gods almighty, could this guy sleep when he wasn’t being plagued by his inner demons—but elves normally meditated. For as many times as Taako had said that elves didn’t need to sleep, that always seemed to be his go-to method of resting. He had never actually seen Taako meditate in all of their time together, and he had been curious as to why that was. He could only guess.

For Taako to leave himself so vulnerable in Magnus’s company was touching. The level of trust he was giving to Magnus didn’t escape him; they tended to trust each other in a fight, but off the battlefield was a completely different story.

Magnus felt a swell of affection for his friend and silently vowed to watch over him.

With one last parting glance at his friend, finally resting, Magnus looked toward the fire and settled in for his watch, wincing as he aggravated his bad ankle in doing so. Even with the pain, however, he couldn’t help but feel the warmth of affection within him. He started eating his second bowl of soup and he was warmed all over again.

Despite the aches and pain still permeating his body, Magnus smiled.

Chapter Text

'This mission is absolute bullshit,' Taako mused to himself as he was sent airborne straight toward a cavern wall.

They had been launched from the moon base almost seven hours ago, and in those seven hours, they had hiked a mountain, fought off a nasty Remorhaz, and then proceeded to fight battle after battle as they entered the cave proper. Their intel had been limited, so they had been expecting something of a fight, but not like this. They were all worse for wear, but they were all still standing and moving, so that was a plus.

Taako hit the wall of the cave and there was a snapping sound that was immediately followed by pain. He didn’t even have the breath to shout as he collapsed to the ground in a heap. He blinked the spots from his vision as he tried to remember how to breathe. When he was finally able to pull some air into his lungs, his ribs screamed.

“F-Fuck,” he managed to stammer, curling into a ball and pressing gingerly against his ribs. He drew a hissing breath in and went on with gritted teeth. “Hachi machi, ho boy.”

He would have loved to just stay like that, curled into a miserable little ball of suffering, but that just wasn’t a possibility.

With a few more heartfelt curses, Taako pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath without triggering any additional pain in his side.

The battle continued on around him. There were still two wizards and four guards to take care of before they could proceed down the cave to where there should be a chamber with the item the Director wanted them to collect. It wasn’t even one of the Grand Relics, but it had been the cause of enough death and destruction to have caught the eyes of several Seekers, and—

“Look out!”

Taako’s head snapped up in time to see one of the guards with a sword coming straight at him. “Shit,” Taako murmured to himself, reaching down to grab the Umbra Staff.

Before he could lift the staff at his oncoming attacker, Magnus rushed into his line of vision, bringing down Rail Splitter in a deadly blow.

As the guard collapsed in a bloody heap, Magnus turned to throw himself at the other guards in his line of sight. What he didn’t see was the wizard leveling his wand at his unguarded back.

Taako felt something in him tighten with panic. “Mag—!”

A Lightning Bolt shot through the air and hit Magnus directly between the shoulder blades.

Taako watched in horror as Magnus went rigid, bolts of electricity dancing across his body, before he collapsed. As Rail Splitter was clattering to a stop on the rocky floor, Taako scrambled to his feet. Magnus wasn’t moving. “Merle!” he shouted as he rushed forward.

“On it!” Merle shouted back.

Taako stood between their groups and leveled the Umbra Staff and casted a high-level Scorching Ray at the two wizards and two of the armed guards, hitting all four of them with a bolt of fire.

He could hear Merle rushing to Magnus’s aid behind him as he dodged around the other guard’s blade. His keen hearing could pick up the curses the cleric was muttering under his breath and the sound of frantically flipping pages.

“Taako, this isn’t good,” Merle called to him.

Taako dodged around another vicious swipe from the guard, the blade slicing through part of his cape. “Can’t you heal him?!” he shouted back. “Isn’t that, like, your whole jam?!”

“I can bring him back to zero, but I’m out of spell slots!” Merle yelled, sounding frustrated. “This mission has been hell, man!”

Taako resisted the urge to glance back at them, but just the thought of doing so was distracting enough for the guard to get in a blow to his leg. As the blade sliced into him, he grit his teeth against the yelp of pain in his throat.

“If you’re going to do it, then fucking do it!” he shouted, risking a quick glance back at Merle. “He’s dying! We can’t lose him!”

With a snarl, Taako twisted back around and managed to land a hand against the guard’s shoulder and cast Ray of Frost. Ice rapidly spread out from his hand and, with a panicked scream, the man was engulfed in ice and froze to the spot.

Panting, Taako took a quick look around the cavern; all of their enemies were down for the moment, either frozen or still smoldering. Thank fuck. He spun around and rushed back to Merle and Magnus.

Merle was just lifting his hand from Magnus’s chest as Taako reached them, the golden glow from his Soulwood arm fading away. He used his flesh hand to check for a pulse. He stayed still for a moment and Taako held his breath until the dwarf sagged with relief.

“Okay, he’s stable,” Merle sighed. He ran a hand over his face and stared down at Magnus for a moment before looking up at Taako. “We don’t have any healing potions on us, do we?”

Taako was about to respond, but a sound from behind them made him spin around, lifting the Umbra Staff as he turned. He had just enough time to shoot off a Counterspell before a Thunder Wave hit them.

The caster, one of the wizards Taako was sure he had knocked out, was up on one knee and still smoldering from the blast of that Scorching Ray he had been hit with a minute ago. His wand was glowing with the start of another spell.

Before he could cast something new, however, Sacred Flame consumed him.

As the wizard collapsed again—maybe forever, Taako couldn’t be bothered to care—Taako gripped the handle of his Umbra Staff a little tighter. He glanced down at Merle in time to see him lower his shaky hand down to his side and hold the Extreme Teen Bible closer to his chest.

“This is bad,” Merle said gruffly, gazing momentarily up at Taako before looking back at Magnus, who was still unconscious.

“No shit,” Taako replied absently without any real heat. He glanced around the room again, at all of their downed enemies. He then looked back at their unconscious companion. “Things could definitely be better, my dude.”

Merle snorted a bitter laugh, but before he could add more, Taako heard something come from further down the cave.

“Hey, shush,” Taako hissed quietly, cutting Merle off. “You hear that?”

“No,” Merle replied just as quietly as he struggled to climb to his feet.

They both stood stock-still for a long moment, Merle watching Taako as he focused on the oncoming sound. It was footsteps, no doubts there, but he couldn’t tell how many people were coming. It sounded like at least four.

“We’re going to have company here soon,” Taako said in a low whisper.

“This is really bad,” Merle commented, but he pulled his war hammer out and held it at the ready. He peeked momentarily back up at Taako. “Do you have anything that can be triggered by them walking in here?”

Taako thought for a moment before a devious grin spread across his face. “Hell yeah,” he said. He raised the hand not holding the Umbra Staff and pointed. Light shot from his finger toward a point just to the right of the tunnel opening.

As he turned back around and grabbed Magnus under the arms to drag him away, Merle squinted at the little ball of light. His eyes widened and he rushed over to help Taako. “Why in Pan’s name would you cast Delayed Blast Fireball?!” he whispered viciously.

“You said something that can be triggered,” Taako grunted as he and Merle pulled Magnus’s dead weight further away from the point of his magic bomb.

“Not something that can cause a cave-in, you idiot!” Merle exclaimed.

“It’s an explosion of the fwoosh kind, not the boom kind,” Taako said reassuringly. From the pained noise Merle made, he guessed it wasn’t a very heartening explanation. “We’ll be fine. Just get behind something.”

Together, they managed to get themselves and Magnus away from the blast radius. Once they were hidden behind a series of rocks, Taako pulled off his hat and peeked around the edge of their shield. He concentrated on the spell and the sound, which was steadily getting louder.

When he saw the first of a new wave of guards, Taako triggered the bomb.

He ducked back behind the rocks as the sound of the explosion ripped through the cave, followed swiftly by a wall of heat and screams.

Taako put his hat back on and looked over at Merle in time for the dwarf to look over at him. They shared a single glance before their grips on their weapons tightened and they bolted up and back into battle.

His fire bomb had taken out five guards, but there were still three others to defeat—two fighters and a warlock—before they could move forward. Taako went after the warlock, who cast something that filled the area in a momentary flash of blue light, but otherwise didn’t seem to do anything.

They each took out one on their own and as Taako was twisting around to level his umbrella at the last of the guys, he saw the fighter bring down his greatclub on Merle.

Merle dodged just a second too late and took the hit directly to the side of the head. He crumbled soundlessly to the floor.

With panic rising within him, Taako shot off another Ray of Frost and froze the final guard to the spot.

“Shit shit shit,” Taako cursed to himself as he rushed over to Merle, pushing him until he was lying on his back. He hated how limp Merle was, how he didn’t grumble or smack his hand away when he reached for his neck in search of a pulse.

Taako exhaled in relief when he felt a heartbeat beneath his fingers. Just unconscious, then.

“H’okay,” Taako murmured, trying to catch his breath. “Okay, shit. This is bad.” He looked around the room again, thinking frantically. “Fuck, this is bad.”

It would be smarter to just wait until Magnus and Merle woke up again and then just abandon this mission. Fuck whatever was at the end of this cave. It wasn’t even a Grand Relic, so why bother, right? It wasn’t worth dying over.

Taako used the Umbra Staff to help him get to his feet. He swayed for a second before he found his footing. “Ho boy, done goofed up this one, boys,” he mumbled as he started pacing a little around the room, back and forth between Magnus’s and Merle’s unconscious bodies. He couldn’t hear any other incoming guards, so that was a blessing.

But what to do…?

Taako glanced back from whence they came. He glanced at the bits of fire lining the way forward. He glanced around at all of the fallen or frozen attackers, either dead or unconscious. It was likely only going to get worse going forward. It was possible that the guards had rallied back toward the only exit to this place, so it was possible that it was going to also be bad going back. Both scenarios were bad.

It wasn’t like he could summon a ride back to the Bureau from where he was right now. He’d have to go back eventually anyway, so…

So.

Taako looked both ways: the way back and the way forward. His grip on the Umbra Staff tightened and he felt something within him harden with resolve.

He reached into his bag and quickly pulled out the Pocket Spa, deploying it as he rushed over to Merle. He dragged both of them into it, keeping the flaps at the entrance open and his ears on high alert for the sound of any incoming persons as he rummaged through Merle’s bag for his first aid materials. He did the very basics, making sure both Merle and Magnus were as stable as he could get them. He wrapped any bleeding wounds he could see and hoped that the healing properties of the spa would take care of anything else.

Once he was finished, he stepped out and looked back in on them for a second longer before he collapsed it back and put it in his bag. He drew his short sword, but kept the Umbra Staff in his dominant hand.

Taako continued on his own, because damned if he wasn’t leaving this cave without completing their mission. Damned if they were going to nearly die and then come away from this empty-handed. Fuck that noise.

He limped forward past the fires and the smoldering bodies of the dead guards, determined to see this through.

There was only one other person he bumped into before he made it to what their intel had called the inventory room. He quickly detained that guard before they could call for backup and then quickly made his way into the inventory room. He was down to his last spell slot, and he needed to save it if he wanted to make it out of here alive.

The chamber was a large room that looked more like a dragon’s hoard than a place where magical items were created to be sold on the fantasy black market. Items and weapons were strewn all about, either on crates, shelves lining the walls, or on the floor itself. But the one he was looking for—the charm bracelet that could imbue weapons and other items with dark necromantic magic—was across the room on a large messy desk.

And behind that desk was a half-elf man, staring at him with eyes widened in shock.

The half-elf reached for his wand, but Taako pointed his Umbra Staff directly at him and the half-elf froze. “H-How did you get in here?” he asked.

“It’s a long story, my dude,” Taako replied, but he kept his staff leveled with the guy. “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve had about enough of your shitty cave, so here’s my deal to you.” He nodded toward where the bracelet was sitting on the desk. “You give me that, and I don’t bring this cave down on your ass. Sound good?”

“Now, hold on,” the half-elf said with a nervous laugh. “How about we—”

“Nope.” Taako pointed the Umbra Staff up at the cavern ceiling. “I hate this place, thug. I want out, and I’m either leaving with that bracelet or not at all.” His eyes remained on the half-elf across the room, but in his periphery, he could see the tip of the Umbra Staff start to glow ominously. “Your choice.”

Panic sprung to the half-elf’s face. “Alright, alright!” he yelped, scrambling for the bracelet. “It’s yours! It’s yours! Just don’t collapse this place, you suicidal clown! Here!”

He threw the bracelet across the room and Taako quickly sheathed his short sword in time to catch it. “Nice,” he said, tossing it into his bag. “Alright, pleasure doing business with you. Bye.”

And with that, Taako backed out of the room and then made a break for it.

His ribs were screaming at him with each breath he took, and his legs felt just about ready to give out, but Taako kept running. He made it through the widened hallway with the two frozen guys and the bodies of other guards that were still smoking. Geez, there was a lot of collateral on this mission.

He pressed on.

As he neared the mouth of the cave, his keen hearing picked up on the sounds of movement. He drew his short sword once more and contemplated on pausing to catch his breath, but there was a chance that the half-elf had contacted them in warning. Best to get out as fast as possible.

He was down to his last spell slot, one that he had been saving in case they needed one last blast of magical power to make their escape. He did have one other trick up his sleeve, but he had to get out into the open first. He was hurt and not moving as fast as he could. He probably had only one or two more hits left in him before he passed out.

This was bad.

His hand tightened on the Umbra Staff and he braced himself.

He pulled a Magnus and rushed in.

The guards were definitely surprised to see him come running straight at them. In their moment of stupefied inaction, Taako managed to make it past them as they were hastening to draw their weapons. He dodged around a swinging sword from the last guard and rushed onward, aware that they were all following.

He rounded a bend and saw sunlight, and hope rushed through him. Almost there.

He rounded the bend and there was a guard, swinging a sword straight at him.

Taako saw the sword coming at him and cringed away, casting Blink just before the sword sliced into his chest.

In the Ethereal Plane, he staggered away from the guy and made it a few more paces down the cavern hall toward the opening before he Blinked back into the Material Plane. There were another two guards standing there holding a lance and a dagger. Taako Blinked again and ran past the range of the lance and appeared back in the Material Plane between the two of them.

The guy with the dagger tried to twist and attack, but Taako was ready. He ducked under the guy’s arm and brought his short sword up and stabbed him in the side before he kept running toward the sunlight.

He made it out of the cave and into the sunlight. There were a few other guards standing around, all startled to see him, but there were also guards still on his tail.

He was officially out of spell slots, and he couldn’t Blink his way away from them. As he ran, he sheathed his sword and cast Free Polymorph on himself. It was something he didn’t utilize often as a wizard in the school of transmutation, but he was thankful for it now.

As his body began morphing, an arrow shot through his leg. The sound of pain that escaped from him was halfway between a yelp and a screech as he finished the transformation.

Thinking past the pain, he spread his arms and took off on the wings of a hawk.

There were several great things about the ability to Polymorph, but the one he was most grateful for in that moment was the single-mindedness that came with the intellect of a different beast. That single-mindedness in that moment, in his new hawk mind, was just the survival instinct to run.

He dodged around arrows shot his way as he gained altitude, flapping his wings to get above the trees. He flew out over the trees and over the woods; the foliage would block him from his attackers’ sight. He was safe from the arrows.

He hit an air current and glided over the mountain, content to just put distance between himself and the cavern. They had survived.

==

About an hour later, Taako found himself circling over a different portion of the same mountain range. There was a cave not too far from the base of one of the mountains, which also was on the edge of some farmlands. It looked as promising as anything, so that seemed like a pretty good place to—

Suddenly, he felt his body begin to transform.

The first real thought he had once his mind began to return was ‘oh shit.’

Taako started to dive toward the ground, but he returned back to his own body about halfway there. Freefalling, the ground was coming up on him really quick. He grabbed the Umbra Staff from where it was falling beside him and cast Feather Fall.

With a slight jerk, he started to slow down so he wouldn’t immediately die upon impacting the ground. As he was gently falling, Taako took a look around where he was now that he had the capacity to really think again. He spotted the cave off in the distance just before it was hidden behind the trees, probably a good mile or so away. On his other side was the farmlands, and beneath him was the forest that covered the mountain.

Taako landed in the forest and immediately collapsed to his hands and knees, panting. He tried not to collapse completely, knowing it would take way more energy to get back up, but the thought was way more alluring than some of the thralls he had beaten in a contest of wills. His chest was a constant pain now, each inhale more painful than the last. He hoped he hadn’t done more damage with that Polymorph spell, but it was either that or capture and death, so lesser of two evils and all that.

Once his heartbeat was almost back to normal and breathing didn’t hurt quite so much, he managed to push himself into a seated position and grabbed his bag. He pulled out the Pocket Spa and deployed it beside him. Without getting up, he peered inside.

Magnus and Merle were both still unconscious, but they were still in the same position Taako had left them in. Thank goodness for pocket dimensions; those sick moves he had pulled to dodge those arrows earlier could have been hell on them otherwise.

As soon as he was sure they were both still breathing, Taako put the Pocket Spa away and took another glance around his surroundings. He had managed to fly a pretty good distance away from the cavern their mission had sent them into. He would say they were maybe thirty miles away, but still somewhere along the same mountain range. There was plenty of tree cover and aside from the farmland nearby, there wasn’t much chance of anyone seeing any of the transport pods landing or returning to the moon base.

He leaned back against a tree and dug through his bag until he found some bandages, tying them around the worst of his bleeding wounds.

He then pulled out his Stone of Far Speech. “Ground control to Major Ango,” he said. He tipped his head back against the tree behind him as he waited for a response. His eyes drifted shut for a long moment, but he forced them back open to stare up at the leaves overhead and the sky above. The sun was going to set soon.

He stared upward for another moment before he brought his stone up to his face again. “Hey, Agnes?” he tried again, frowning when there was no response. “Angus?”

He tried a few different frequencies: the Director, Avi, No-3113, even Killian, but there wasn’t an answer. Uneasy, he set the Stone of Far Speech aside and tried his bracer instead, but that didn’t appear to be working either.

It was then that he remembered the spell that the warlock had cast before Merle had been knocked out. It must have been some sort of magic to block off their communications, like what had happened in the Miller laboratory over Candlenights. He recalled Hodge Podge’s spell (had it been a spell?) had been blue when he had cut off the line between Magnus and Angus.

He didn’t know how long it would last.

Taako let his head hang in frustrated resignation for a moment before he reached over to retrieve the Umbra Staff, which had been leaning against his leg. “Looks like it’s just you and me,” he murmured to it absently before he managed to climb to his feet. After a quick glance around to get his bearings, he limped off away from the mountain.

As he was walking back toward the farmlands, he couldn’t help but reminisce about his years on the road, before Sizzle It Up. In between the troupes and the caravans, he had traveled long hard roads on his own, searching for work, living off of the land, and stealing when survival necessitated it.

The loneliness of it all was just as smothering now as it was then.

He reached the edge of the farmlands and paused, still hidden in the brush. There was a farmhouse off in the distance, a cheerful red in the light of the setting sun. Taako stared at it. Magnus would have suggested they approach the house and charm the owners with his rustic hospitality for a place to stay while they were stranded. He’d offer to help with any chores, or offer payment in the form of a lovingly carved bench for the porch or something.

With a start, Taako shook his head and stomped down that line of thought before the ache of loneliness could carve a deeper place in his chest. He pulled out the Stone of Far Speech and tried to connect another call, but still no luck.

Taako glanced back across the field at the farmhouse. Approaching it and asking for help was Magnus’s style, but definitely not Taako’s. He definitely was not the sort to ask for help. He knew better than to rely on the charity of others when he had been burned so many times before. He was better off relying on himself—always had been, always will be.

The Pocket Spa felt a little heavier in his bag.

He used the dying light to his advantage and snuck into the field, harvesting a few different vegetables here and there. It shouldn’t have surprised him how easy it was to fall back into this, ducking down between rows of vegetation and stealing enough for a few meals that would go unnoticed by a farmer. This had been one of his main methods of survival when he was between caravans. It was simple to return to it.

Merle would have enjoyed this, Taako thought as he unearthed a few potatoes before carefully patting the soil back down until it looked undisturbed. The chance to just be around a garden, harvesting vegetables and just enjoying nature… Taako had seen some of the potted plants Merle kept in his room. Despite how gruff the dwarf had tried to present himself as, he was loving toward plants to an almost disturbing degree.

As Taako pulled an onion from the ground, he forced himself to stop thinking about Merle.

With an admonishment to stay focused, Taako finished stealing the vegetables and herbs he could use and retreated from the farmland as dusk turned to twilight. It was time to get to that cave he saw earlier.

Taako limped among the trees, trying not to get lost in thought and stay alert. He paused a few times when he either heard something out of place or he needed to rest and catch his breath. He ached all over and he hadn’t really had a chance to take full stock of his injuries. He had wrapped his bleeding wounds, but aside from that, there just wasn’t time. It was getting dark, and they needed shelter.

They needed shelter…

That ache of loneliness shot through him again, cutting deeper than most of his physical wounds. He tried to push that aside as he started to hike up the slope of the mountain. He had to focus.

By the time the cave came into sight, the sun had set and night had truly fallen. Thankful for his dark vision, it hadn’t made much of a difference for him, so he had been able to keep going at the same monotonous pace he had fallen into. He walked and tried to keep from thinking.

==

Later, once he had checked in on Magnus and Merle in the Pocket Spa, Taako settled by the fire he had started and stared into the flames, his Stone of Far Speech settled in his hands. He knew it wouldn’t work, not until maybe sunrise, but there was a certain comfort in holding it. It was an empty comfort, but it was a comfort nonetheless, so he’d take it.

He looked away from the fire and down at the stone, turning it over in his hands for a long moment. He drew a breath and lifted it up.

“I, uh… I know you can’t hear me,” Taako said quietly, “and even if you could, you’re probably busy getting your reaper on, but…but if by chance you can, I’d really like to hear your voice right about now.”

The stone remained silent and Taako felt his ears droop.

He wasn’t surprised, but the weight of loneliness cut into him. He hated this, hated how dependent he had become on Merle and Magnus and Kravitz and Angus to stave off this biting solitude. He should have been used to this by now; he had spent so much of his life alone. Solitude had been one of his most constant companions.

Taako set the stone down and curled into himself, grimacing as something in his chest tugged with a bolt of pain, and stared absently into the fire. He hated this. He hated this.

He startled when he felt something touch his leg. Glancing down, he saw the Umbra Staff settle against him, having moved by its own volition again.

He picked up the staff and slowly twisted it in his hands. He snorted a small laugh. “You jealous thing, you,” he scolded fondly. “You just can’t stand me talking to Kravitz before talking to you, huh?”

The Umbra Staff didn’t react, but just holding it brought Taako the same comfort he always felt while holding it. He ran his thumb along the curve of the handle. “Well,” he said, “it’s still just you and me.”

He used the staff to help get himself to his feet. He almost collapsed, but he managed to get upright and he limped into the Pocket Spa.

Magnus and Merle were both still unconscious, but he checked for their pulses again and was relieved to feel their hearts beating a little stronger than the last time he had checked.

He limped off to one of the cupboards and withdrew a soup pot that Magnus had insisted he carry in his personal pocket dimension. He hooked the Umbra Staff over his elbow and filled the pot about half-way with some water before carrying it out of the spa and back into the cave.

After the pot was settled over the fire, he sat back down, laying the Umbra Staff across his lap before pulling the pilfered vegetables and herbs from his bag. With his senses tuned to any out-of-the-ordinary sounds from outside, Taako got to work in starting a vegetable stock for some soup. It was a comfort food he had perfected since his years working as a chef for different caravans, and if he knew Merle and Magnus, they would need some comfort food to get themselves back up to full.

With a task to keep himself focused, Taako settled into the steady pattern of chopping with nothing but the campfire and the Umbra Staff as company.

Chapter Text

As Merle started to come to, all he could really think was ‘ow ow ow.’ His head was a throbbing center of pain and misery and he kind of wanted to just sink back into the sweet embrace of oblivion, but the thought that quickly followed that was ‘the boys.’

It was then that he remembered their mission and the battle. He remembered Magnus being struck by a vicious Thunder Bolt and collapsing. He clearly remembered feeling Magnus’s pulse, his heart beating weakly before he had cast Spare the Dying. He remembered Taako casting a fire bomb and then the two of them leaping into battle, and then…nothing.

Merle slowly cracked open his eyes, hissing for a moment when the light sent a fresh bolt of pain through his aching skull. He forced himself to squint around; if they were still in danger, they probably needed a healer. Even without his spell slots, he could still keep his friends from dying.

Once his eyes adjusted, he glanced around and found himself in what he was sure was the Pocket Spa. He spotted a pile of his belongings on a table next to him and he found a similar pile of Magnus’s belongings a few tables away, but there was no sign of Magnus or Taako.

He carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position, groaning when his head protested the change. With his flesh hand, he pressed gently where the worst of the pain seemed to be radiating from and found a nasty bump under a layer of bandages. Well, there was probably the cause of his unconsciousness.

Merle looked around one more time once his headache became less of a screaming pain and more of a constantly lingering ache. He carefully slid off of the table and onto the floor, his jaw tightening around the pain that went through his body. Ugh, it had been a rough mission. He was getting too old for this.

Thankfully, he could feel the divine magical energy flowing through him again, which was a blessing because he knew he and his party desperately needed it.

He just needed to find said party.

Merle stepped around the table to where his belongings were, careful to keep a hand on the table when he stumbled a little. He slipped on his glasses and inspected his things. It looked like someone had rummaged through his bag, but a quick inventory showed that the only missing items were some medical supplies. He grabbed the Extreme Teen Bible, running his flesh hand carefully over the cover, before he turned toward the exit of the spa.

He had to pause once on the way to the exit when a wave of dizziness overcame him. He swallowed down the roiling nausea in his core and continued on his way once he was sure taking another step wouldn’t result in him collapsing to the ground. He was sure he had a concussion from that blow to the head, but he wanted to find the others before casting a healing spell so they could all benefit from it.

As he reached the exit, he parted the cloth flaps and peeked out. It looked like they were in a cave, which wasn’t ideal, considering that was where all of this shit went down. Then he spotted the bulky figure of Magnus sitting by a campfire and felt a bit more at ease. It was good to see him sitting up and moving and, you know…alive.

He carefully stepped out of the Pocket Spa and shivered a little with the drop in temperature within the cavern. He glanced around, looking for signs of battle as he approached Magnus.

Before he could greet him, however, Merle staggered to a stop at the sight of Taako meditating. In all of their time together as a team, he couldn’t recall ever actually seeing the elf meditate. Sure, he had seen him sleep on occasion, especially when they had shared a room with Pringles. He had caught Taako passed out on the sofa in the shared living room of their suite. He had even found Taako asleep with his head down on the table in their kitchen, surrounded by books and spell components and half-empty cups of tea.

But to actually see him meditating… It spoke volumes about his level of trust.

Merle stared slack-jawed for a few moments longer before he shook off his stupor and walked quietly forward, careful not to disrupt the meditating elf.

Magnus glanced over at him as Merle sat down on his other side. The fighter looked rough, but he was up and moving, so there was that. He offered an exhausted smile and nodded toward the pot sitting over the fire. “Help yourself,” he whispered. “It’s really good.”

Leaning over a little, Merle glanced into the half-empty bowl in Magnus’s hands. “Did Taako actually cook?” he asked in a hushed voice.

As he began to work up the motivation to get back up to his feet, Magnus smiled again and stole a side-long look at Taako. “I was surprised, too,” he said as Merle stood up. “I think he—”

Magnus cut himself off as he reached out to steady Merle when another wave of dizziness overcame him. “Whoa there,” Magnus said, neatly catching him before he could topple over into the fire, “what’s wrong? Are you going to pass out again?”

As he blinked spots from his vision, Merle let Magnus help him sit back down before he shrugged the fighter’s hand off of him. “I’ve definitely been better,” he grumbled, “but no, I’m not going to pass out again.”

“Are you sure?” Magnus asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “Cause Taako mentioned you got hit in the head with a club.”

“Was that what it was?” Merle asked. He gently rubbed at his head. “Feels like I got hit by a battlewagon. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a concussion.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Magnus asked. “Can you heal yourself? Wait, you were out of spell slots, right? Do you need to sleep so you can recover them?”

“Slow down, Maggie, you’re giving me a headache.” He let his hands fall to his lap and he glanced down at them. “I think I have enough juice for one or two healing spells, but I wasn’t going to do it just on myself. I may be a shitty cleric, but even I’m not that bad.”

“Hey now, you’re not a shitty cleric,” Magnus replied as Merle lugged the Extreme Teen Bible up onto his lap. “I mean, you have had some real stinkers, but when it really matters, you come through.”

“Uh huh,” Merle said distractedly, flipping through the pages.

“Merle.”

When a hand came to a rest on his bible, Merle glanced up to find Magnus watching him intently. It was a little unnerving.

“You kept me from dying today,” Magnus said bluntly without breaking eye contact. “I doubt I would have come away from that fight alive without your interference. I know Taako and I give you a lot of shit, but you are more useful than you give yourself credit for. We both love you and we’re both grateful to have you here with us. Thank you for being there for us.”

Merle uncomfortably glanced away down to his bible, down at Magnus’s scarred hand. “Yeah, well…” He didn’t actually know what to say. He cleared his throat and lightly patted Magnus’s hand before shooing it away. “Stop throwing yourself into danger all the time.”

“It’s kind of my job,” Magnus replied with a slight laugh as he withdrew his hand.

“It’s kind of not,” Merle shot back, giving him a pointed look. “You’re more than just a punching bag and a meat shield. Also, don’t let Carey hear you say that.”

Magnus groaned theatrically. “I’m going to get such an earful and an ass beating when we get back,” he said, returning his attention to his soup. He stirred it a few times before glancing back down at Merle. “But fair enough, I guess.”

Merle only offered a hum of acknowledgement, but he thought Magnus got the hint. He focused on his bible again. He wanted to cast Mass Cure Wounds, but he knew he would just be wasting energy in trying it. He was still exhausted and knew his holy magic was limited at the moment.

“Okay, let’s give this a whirl,” he murmured to himself as he flipped to a particular passage. He cleared his throat and softly began a prayer, letting the power granted to him by Pan flow into each word. His Soulwood arm sprouted little golden leaves as he spoke and he felt his headache lose its vicious edge the longer he spoke until it was just a discomfort. He heard Magnus heave a relieved sigh as his Prayer of Healing took hold.

“Amen,” he concluded, giving the Extreme Teen Bible an affectionate pat before closing it.

“Amen,” Magnus echoed, carefully stretching and testing his range of mobility. He grimaced slightly, but when he settled, he looked ten times more comfortable and alive. “Thanks, buddy,” he said, turning a smile over to Merle.

“You’re welcome,” Merle replied. He knew he hadn’t healed all of their wounds—hadn’t even come close—but at least this would take the edge off of it until they could get back to the moon base and recuperate. “How are you feeling?” he asked, running a critical eye over Magnus.

“Way better than I was,” Magnus replied.

“Uh huh,” Merle said, unimpressed. “And when were you going to mention your ankle?”

Magnus blinked, his expression impressed for a second before it shifted into something both stubborn and sheepish. “It’s not as bad as it was,” he answered after a moment, looking away.

Merle snorted as he stood back up, relieved when he didn’t stumble this time. “Get that boot off before I get back. I’ll make you a splint.”

By the time he got back from the Pocket Spa with his bag, he was pleased to see that Magnus had followed his instructions. That feeling was instantly followed by dismay at the sight of his ankle, which was swollen and an awful mix of dark blues and purples. “That doesn’t look good,” he said quietly as the approached.

“It looks worse than it feels,” Magnus replied, glancing over as Merle sat back down beside him. He watched Merle examine his ankle. “I think it was broken before your healing spell. I couldn’t move it before, but now I can a little. Look.”

Magnus demonstrated with a grunt of pain and Merle swatted him on the knee. “Stop that. You’re going to make it worse,” he scolded. “I’ll wrap it and put a splint on, but you have to rest, capisce?”

The fighter sighed. “Yeah, alright.”

“Good.” Merle got to work carefully wrapping Magnus’s ankle, trying to be a gentle as possible. If Magnus noticed, he didn’t call him out on it. “So, did Taako tell you what happened?”

As Merle worked, Magnus told him everything that Taako had told him. Merle listened raptly, occasionally taking a break to glance over at the elf still silently meditating on the fighter’s other side. No matter the circumstance, Taako always managed to surprise him. It wasn’t always a good surprise, to be sure, but it was a surprise nonetheless.

To learn that Taako had not only completed their mission and escaped, but to know he had done it alone was something else. And then on top of that, he had found a safe place for them to hide and recover until they could get back in contact with the Bureau of Balance.

“And then I talked him into letting me keep watch so he could rest,” Magnus said at the end. “That was maybe an hour ago.”

Merle watched him finish off his soup and then looked back over at Taako. “Did he mention any injuries he had taken?” he asked. The elf looked a little better than he did before his Prayer of Healing, but he also had a few layers on. It was hard to tell just by looking at him.

“No, but he was limping and I think he hurt his ribs,” Magnus replied. “I think he was just more tired than anything else.”

“I can ask him when he wakes up,” Merle said. “I’m glad you were able to convince him to rest.”

A mirthless smile crossed Magnus’s face as he kept staring into the fire. “He must have been really exhausted if he actually listened to me.”

Merle hummed in agreement before turning his eyes up to Magnus. “Any chance I can convince you to do the same?” When Magnus looked over at him, Merle offered a shrug. “We’re probably going to have to hike down this mountain to get somewhere a pod can land. You’re going to need your strength. I can keep watch for a while.”

Magnus watched him for a beat and then he smiled. “As long as you get some of this soup,” he replied. “Taako will be pissed if you don’t.”

“Because a hearty meal will help, or because he won’t get to boast about making the best soup I’ve ever had?” Merle asked with a grin.

Magnus stifled a laugh. “Both, probably,” he said. “It really is the best, though, I’m not even exaggerating.” He glanced behind him at the Pocket Spa. “Let me just get my—”

“You are not walking on that ankle, young man,” Merle cut him off, shaking his finger at him before getting to his feet. “I mean it: you have to rest.”

Magnus rolled his eyes fondly. “Sure, Dad,” he said.

A wave of affection washed over Merle and he resolutely turned to the Pocket Spa, determined not to let Magnus catch him in his moment of weakness.

He returned with Magnus’s bedroll in his arms and his warhammer strapped to his back. As he walked, he did another scan of Taako to see if he noticed any injuries, but he still couldn’t tell.

Merle helped Magnus get settled and insisted that he prop his ankle up to reduce the swelling a little. Magnus complied easily, much to Merle’s relief. It was like as soon as he was lying down, Magnus’s exhaustion caught up with him.

Magnus settled in on his back with Rail Splitter at his side. He looked up at Merle. “Wake us up if you see or hear anything, okay?”

“You got it,” Merle replied, leaning down to lightly pat Magnus’s shoulder. “Now, get some sleep.”

With a yawn, Magnus let his eyes close and gave Merle a thumbs up. “You got it,” he said in a sleepy mumble. “Get some soup.”

As quietly as he could, Merle moved around the campfire, ladling himself a bowl of Taako’s soup before he walked toward the mouth of the cave. He sat himself down and let the warmth from the bowl settle into his hands (even if he could only feel it in the one hand) as he looked around their surroundings.

It was night time; beyond the foliage above he could see stars. The forest around him was alive with nocturnal animals. He spotted a few bats flitting around and caught sight of a red fox with her kits, probably going back to their den.

Merle breathed in the crisp, mountain air and felt something in his chest settle with the harmony that was nature. A peaceful smile tugged at his lips and he surveyed the forest again before he took a spoonful of the soup.

“Damn, Magnus wasn’t kidding,” he murmured in pleasant disbelief. It really was the best soup he had ever tasted. It wasn’t even just the flavor (though Pan bless, it was heavenly). It sent a warm feeling through him, one of home and family.

Merle smiled to himself again and looked back out at the night, letting the soup warm him from the inside and the peace from the surrounding forest settle over him.

==

About an hour and a half later, the sky was beginning to lighten with the beginnings of sunrise.

Merle was watching the stars fade into the dawn when he heard a distressed sound from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Taako levitating and starting to twitch. “Oh shit,” he breathed, getting to his feet and hurrying back into the cave.

“Taako?” he began softly, coming to a stop next to the floating elf. The look on his face made something in his chest tighten; it was rare to ever see such a fearful and mournful look on Taako’s face. “Hey, Taako?”

With a sharp inhale, Taako curled a little more into himself, but didn’t wake up.

Merle raised his hands in a placating manner even though Taako couldn’t see them, but didn’t touch him. His self-preservations instincts distinctly told him not to touch the elf. “Come on, buddy, wake up. It’s just a dream.” Did elves dream while meditating? He honestly had no idea. “Taako?”

Taako violently jerked and the Umbra Staff fell from his lap and straight onto Magnus’s face.

Startled awake, Magnus immediately shouted and flailed.

Taako shot awake with a gasp at Magnus’s yelling and fell from his point in the air, hitting Magnus as he landed on the cavern floor.

Merle watched the two of them, both still clearly disoriented and about to attack each other, and then jumped between the two of them, closing a fist around each of their wrists that were raised and poised to strike.

They both immediately froze, panting and looking at Merle in confusion.

Merle glanced between the two of them, still holding their wrists. “You two good?”

“What the hell, old man?” Magnus asked, catching his breath. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“It was either that or let you two try to kill each other,” Merle replied. “Now, how about we just calm down and put away the ax and fire, okay?”

They looked to their hands. As Merle let their wrists go and stepped back, Magnus set Rail Splitter back on the ground and the flames in Taako’s hands died out.

“Shit,” Taako breathed, rubbing at his face and shaking his head, like he was shaking away the afterimages of whatever had disturbed him so badly. “Sorry, homie.”

“Nightmare?” Magnus asked sympathetically. He offered Taako the Umbra Staff.

The withering look Taako gave him was answer enough. As he took the staff, though, the look turned a little less heated. He rubbed his face again before turning to look at Merle, his eyes doing a scan of his person. “How’s your head?”

It was a clear change of subject, but Merle let it slide. He smiled. “Eh, I’ve felt better, but also definitely worse,” he replied, gently touching the bump on the side of his head. “How about you?”

“My head’s just fine,” Taako said as he pushed himself up into a comfortable sitting position.

“What about your ribs and your leg?” Magnus asked.

Taako shot him a look of betrayal before he extended one of his legs and poked at one area. There was a bandage tied around it, but the fabric of his leggings underneath was stained in blood. “Well, that feels a little tender, but better,” he replied.

“And your ribs?” Merle asked.

Taako poked his ribs much more gently and grimaced.

Merle sighed. “Alright, take your shirt off.”

“Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?” Taako replied with a smirk even as he reached up to unclasp his cape.

“Oh please,” Merle said, rolling his eyes, “you’re not exactly my type.”

Taako hummed in agreement. “You’re absolutely right, seeing as I don’t photosynthesize.”

“Okay, I’m stopping this conversation right now. Holy shit, I’m in hell,” Magnus cut in with a look of horror on his face. Merle chuckled and Taako let out a laugh that was cut short with a cringe.

Merle helped Taako remove some of the additional layers so he could take a look. Taako’s side was a wall of bruises. Magnus had pulled in a hissing sympathetic breath when he saw it, but Taako scoffed and tried to play it off as not that bad. As Merle examined him, Magnus and Taako teased each other about their injuries, and when Merle joined in, he got picked on just as much.

He couldn’t tell if any of his ribs were broken or if they had been before his Prayer of Healing, but the bruising looked bad enough. Taako had allowed him to carefully trace the bruises for any possible sign of broken bones, but it was hard to determine with the bruising and swelling. There wasn’t much he could do for them without his spell slots, either. All he could really suggest was not straining himself until they got back to the Bureau.

It did mean that getting back to the Bureau would be a feat and a half, though…

“Oh, hey,” Magnus said, glancing past them toward the mouth of the cave. “Sun’s up.”

“Oh, good,” Taako replied as he used the Umbra Staff to help him to his feet. “Time to fucking dip.”

Merle looked between the two of them. “Do you, uh… Do you think you two are okay to travel?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Magnus immediately replied over Taako’s “For sure.”

As the three of them broke camp, they started plotting on where they should go next. The ward on their Stones of Far Speech and their bracers was going to break any minute now, and they all agreed that they were more than done with this mission. The sooner they could get to level ground away from trees, or just to a clearing that a pod could squeeze into, the better.

The only problem, Merle thought as he carried the soup pot into the Pocket Spa, was how they were going to get down the mountain. He left Taako and Magnus arguing about just how injured they really were.

When Merle walked back out of the spa, he found Magnus upright and trying to walk. “Hey!” he yelled, rushing forward. He got there in time to help Taako catch Magnus when he nearly crumbled to the ground with a hissed curse.

“Okay, for Pan’s sake, enough’s enough,” Merle said, putting his foot down as Taako pulled Magnus upright to lean on him. “Taako, I say you summon Garyl and then we just get on with it.”

“There ain’t room for three,” Taako replied, slinging Magnus’s arm over his shoulders.

“We don’t need all three of us riding,” Merle countered. “Magnus, you clearly can’t walk on your ankle, and Taako, you shouldn’t be straining yourself with your ribs looking how they are right now. I healed what I could, but you both really need the touch of something better than an exhausted and wounded healer.”

“Hey,” Magnus said a little forcefully, “this exhausted and wounded healer risked his ass to save mine. I’d much rather have a broken ankle than be dead, old man.”

“He’s right,” Taako said, not looking at either of them but instead at the small flame still going in the fire pit. “None of us are at our best right now, but we completed the mission and we’re all still breathing. This whole thing could have turned out a hell of a lot worse had it not been for you. That’s a win in Taako’s book.”

There was a lingering moment of silence as Merle looked between the two of them. Magnus’s intense look brought him back to their conversation earlier, and Taako’s affirmation only drove the point home. He was touched that they were willing to not only admit that they needed him, but wanted him.

A part of him wanted to thank them, but he just wasn’t that kind of guy. Still…

A small smile crossed his face as he felt warmth suffuse in his chest. “Yeah, I’d call that a win in mine, too,” he admitted softly.

“And I got to see you set a wizard on fire,” Taako added with a cheeky grin. “I bet that thug wasn’t expecting to have the wrath of Pan reign down on him.”

“He was about to blast us with something!” Merle said. Then he grinned up at Magnus. “Good thing we had Taako there. Shot off that Counterspell like a pro.”

“I am a pro, homie,” Taako replied, tossing his braid over his shoulder and preening.

A small smile spread across Magnus’s face. “You think this pro has the energy to summon a ride down the mountain?” he asked.

Taako grinned. “For sure,” he said. “Watch and be amazed at the wondrous and fabulous workings of Taako, wizard and chef extraordinaire. Accept no substitutes.” The effect of his grandiose words was lost by him limping forward and helping Magnus along toward the mouth of the cave. Merle walked after them, keeping a very careful watch on them as he put out the remains of the fire.

Garyl rose from under Magnus and Taako once they reached the mouth of the cave. He looked down at Merle for a moment, and then back at his two riders. “Yo, you all look like shit.”

“Astute as always, darling,” Taako said with an affectionate pat to the steed’s neck.

Merle collapsed the Pocket Spa and handed it to Taako before he took the lead. He carved a path down the mountain, carefully navigating a trail that a binicorn could follow without falling.

The walk down was pretty smooth and they kept the conversation light. They were all still exhausted and hurting, and the longer they were on their way down, the longer the silences between their conversations lasted.

The ground was just starting to level out when suddenly all three of their Stones of Far Speech crackled to life, making them all jump.

“—ako, Merle, come in! Status report! Come in!”

They all fumbled for their respective stone, but Merle unearthed his first. “Ten four, over!” he replied.

The sigh of relief from Director Lucretia was audible from each of their stones. “What happened? You’ve been off the radar for the past fourteen hours. Is everyone alright?”

“Eh, we had a little technical trouble. We’re all a little worse for wear,” Merle replied, moving back to stand next to Garyl and the other two, “but we’re still breathing.”

She must have heard the exhaustion in his voice, or she found the general lack of additional comments from their trio concerning. “Get back to the base as soon as you can. Have you completed your mission?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Taako answered, sounding bored.

“Then I’ll have Avi alert me when you have returned. Head straight to the infirmary when you get back; we can debrief there.”

“Well, wait a second. I mean, we’re not that bad off,” Magnus countered. “We can totally meet you in your office.”

“So you’re not injured?” Director Lucretia asked.

“Noooo,” Magnus immediately replied.

Merle gave him an unimpressed look. “Maggie broke his ankle,” he said.

Magnus shot him a look of betrayal. “Merle, you snitch!” As Taako started to laugh (which immediately turned into a grimace of pain), he turned his look of betrayal on the elf. “Well, Taako broke a few of his ribs!”

“Nark,” Taako said, but he was grinning. “And Merle probably has a concussion, so we’re all doing our best out here.”

“Hey!” Merle protested.

The sigh that came from their Stones of Far Speech sounded tired, but Merle could sense the relief in it. If they were able to pick on each other, then their injuries couldn’t be truly terrible. “Just don’t injure yourselves any more than you already have. No picking fights with anything.”

“No worries on that front,” Taako muttered.

“We’ll be back soon. We’re looking for a clearing now,” Merle replied.

The call ended and they continued on their way, breathing a little easier now that they could see the light at the end of the tunnel and knew they were almost done with this mission.

==

After washing away the sweat, dried blood, and the general grime from their mission, Merle stepped out of his in-suite bathroom dressed in sleepwear. Despite it being the early afternoon, all he wanted to do was sleep.

The debriefing with the director had taken place as their wounds were being treated by a group of healers. Taako had handed over the magic bracelet to Davenport while they talked and then they went their separate ways once they got back to their quarters.

Merle started shuffling toward his bed, but he realized he should probably drink some water before passing out for the next several hours. Hydration was important, and there was only so much a healer could do in that department.

After giving his bed a longing look, he walked out of his room and down the hall toward the kitchen. Neither Taako nor Magnus were up and about; he guessed they had gone to sleep, too.

He drank one glass of water and then refilled it to take with him back to his room, but he only made it as far as the couch in the living room before he sat down. He set the glass on the coffee table and leaned back against the cushions. He could feel himself start to nod off and told himself that he really should get up and just go to bed, but he was just so exhausted.

His eyes blinked open (when had he closed his eyes?) when someone sat down next to him. They had sat close enough that the shifting cushions pulled Merle up against a meaty arm. Magnus, then.

Merle was about to shift away, but he paused when Magnus casually threw his arm around him and held him in place against his side. Magnus was a very tactile person and Merle was too tired to pull himself away. Besides, the guy was ridiculously warm and he was actually kind of comfortable. Who was Merle to deny Magnus some post-mission comfort?

His eyes slipped shut again, but before he could doze off, he felt Magnus jump a little. He opened his eyes in time to see a Mage Hand pull his glasses from his face and place them on the table next to his glass of water. Merle blinked lethargically at them for a moment before both he and Magnus had a lapful of blanket-clad elf.

Taako let part of the blanket wrapped around him drape down over Magnus and Merle’s legs as he shifted until he was comfortable, not saying a word. Merle didn’t have the energy to lean forward and look around Magnus to get a look at the elf’s face, but he could imagine Taako was keeping his eyes averted and his expression disinterested.

Merle felt himself smile and he let his eyes drift shut once more. He was practically wrapped up in his friends, with Magnus against him and Taako across him, ensuring that he wouldn’t be getting up any time soon, not without a fight. He simply didn’t have the energy to do so, which is what he hoped they thought.

Though honestly, he didn’t have the heart to, nor the desire. It was so nice to feel wanted and loved, and it was so nice to provide that to the others.

He was warmed to his core and breathed out a long peaceful breath, settling in for a well-deserved nap with his boys.