Chapter Text
Things had all gone to shit. Normally, Shigaraki wouldn't be hiding in a fucking forest outside of Roble's Town with two Free Magic creatures and a Mordicant at his back but he knew he was in a pinch. He picked his way carefully through the underbrush to where he could see the townspeople setting up the pyre. He clicked his tongue. He could see various members of the Abhorsen family standing guard around the perimeter. Of course, they could sense his Mordicant so they were on alert, but so long as Shigaraki stayed hidden his plan would work.
But this wasn't a normal plan. Normally, the powerful Necromancer Shigaraki had his partner Dabi by his side. Normally, they would go into battle together and desecrate the armies of the hated Abhorsen side by side. But no, today wasn't normal. Today was a rescue mission.
Shigaraki and Dabi were the leaders of a league of Necromancers who had been at war with the rule of the Old Kingdom for years. The King was weak, old, useless. He ran the people of the Old Kingdom into the ground with his whims. Shigaraki and Dabi wanted the crown for themselves. They used the plight of the people to draw more Necromancers and Free Magic sorcerers to their cause but truly they old cared for each other.
Shigaraki was ice and Dabi was fire. Together they made an unstoppable force, the masters of death. People fled in terror, abandoning their homes and fields to ruin when it was cried they were coming. Shigaraki would go beyond the Ninth Gate for Dabi.
But Dabi had been captured. He had stupidly, rashly gone out on his own during an attack on the stronghold of the Abhorsen's House. On his own, he had been overcome and forced to flee and separate himself from Shigaraki and their army. He had been chased down like a rat, captured, and sentenced to death. To burn at the stake. Dabi was a powerful Necromancer, but without his Bells, he would only last so long in Death before he was inevitably swept away by the never-ceasing current.
Shigaraki would not have that. He had faith in his mate that he would last long enough in Death for him to retrieve his soul. He had his firepower in the form of the Mordicant and the Free Magic creatures Gorgmar and Glasha. Now he just had to wait until Dabi was brought forward.
Dusk came quickly and people began to trickle out of the town proper to where the pyre had been built. The Mordicant grunted and shuffled behind Shigaraki, eager to carry out his creator's will to terrorize the town. But the Mordicant was nothing compared to Gorgmar and Glasha. Shigaraki had made the Mordicant himself, it was bound to him. It would do nothing without his say so. The Free Magic creatures, however, though they were bound to him by his will, they were still independent creatures and still had the audacity to talk back to their master.
"When will we move in, Master?" Glasha hissed at him. She was tall, taller than the rest of them. Her arms were unnaturally long and ended in scythe-like talons. Her body was gray, bumpy flesh and her eyes were black pits.
"Soon," Shigaraki said. "You and Gorgmar should begin your fusion."
Gorgmar was the lesser of the two creatures. Though humanoid in shape his features were reptilian and his mouth was set with two rows of razor-sharp teeth. He was obsidian black and his eyes glowed yellow.
The Free Magic creatures muttered together and began their work to meld into one creature that would carry Shigaraki and Dabi away from the town. It would take some time for them to complete their spell but Shigaraki was confident they would be ready in time. He stayed alert, only just able to see what was going on on the outskirts of the town from their vantage point. Soon, too soon, he saw a large contingent move out of the town toward the pyre.
"Hurry." he snapped at his creatures who did not respond. He saw Dabi in the middle of the group, bound by Charter spelled chains that dragged on the ground behind him, lead by none other than the Abhorsen himself.
Dabi's skin was stark white from all the time he spent in Death. His hair was pure white, leached of all its color, but his eyes, his eyes were red like Shigaraki's, deep, and as ever-changing as the current of Death. Shigaraki's heart swelled at the sight of him. But they were moving too fast. Curses. He should have known they would speed up their timetable if the entire Abhorsen clan could sense the Dead nearby.
Shigaraki's eyes flicked between the fusing of Glasha and Gorgmar and Dabi, who was being Charter bound to the stake. He started to panic. His escape wouldn't be ready in time. The Mordicant was powerful but it was merely a distraction to keep the guards busy while he grabbed Dabi. It wouldn't last long against the Abhorsen. It was a tool to be abandoned, it wasn't enough to take down an army.
He started clawing at his throat. What could he do? He could call more Dead, of course. No, wait. He whined as the scratching got faster. Using his Bells would just give away his position. He didn't have time to summon any number of Lesser Dead and bind them to him when the Abhorsen, of all people, would get to him faster than he could get into and out of Death.
He saw the pyre lit and still the creatures weren't ready. He wanted to grab the two of them and shake them but humans couldn't touch Free Magic creatures without serious consequences. He wouldn't get Dabi out of here if he destroyed himself. The flames licked higher, obscuring his view of Dabi. He could only hear him screaming.
Finally, finally, the fusion was complete. A winged beast stood in the clearing with an ornate saddle on it's back. Shigaraki threw himself into the saddle as quickly as he could without touching the beast and shouted,
"GO!" to the Mordicant.
The Mordicant rushed through the trees, fire billowing from its mouth and dripping from its talons. It cut down the first of the guards with ease. The people ran screaming from the execution but the Abhorsen guards were ready and began a return assault.
The winged beast leaped into the air, pressing down smaller trees with the power of its wings. It flew quickly to the pyre and touched down, letting Shigaraki down from it's back. Shigaraki ran for the stake and Dabi's burning body. The Abhorsen was there, Bells at the ready, but Glasha and Gorgmar were there with him. Bells had no sway over them. With a mighty roar, they struck at the Abhorsen with a clawed foot and sent him tumbling to the ground. Shigaraki knew he had to be quick, he could see other soldiers running to the Abhorsen's aid. He shouted a Free Magic word of power, strong enough to destroy the Charter Magic binding Dabi, and ran into the flames.
Dabi fell forward as his bonds broke. He wasn't responsive but Shigaraki was there to catch his lover. He was badly burned and he was very, very dead but that didn't stop Shigaraki. He dragged him over his shoulder and summoned Glasha and Gorgmar to him. They backed off the Abhorsen and into the fire. Shigaraki threw Dabi's body over the saddle and propelled himself into the seat. He had just enough time to get his equilibrium before Glasha and Gorgmar launched into the air.
Arrows flew at them but Shigaraki called a wind and hastened them out of reach of bows. He barely had time to see the destruction his Mordicant had wrought before they were too high up to see the disaster they were leaving behind.
He turned his attention to Dabi who's body lay across his lap. The damage to his physical form was severe but there was nothing Shigaraki could do about it while they were hurling through the air. When they got far enough away from Roble's Town he could fix Dabi as best he could before going into Death for his soul. So long as a Necromancer still had his physical body he could come back in any number of forms. Shigaraki buried his hands in the remains of Dabi's shirt and urged Glasha and Gorgmar to go faster.
Glasha and Gorgmar were fast, but not fast enough for Shigaraki's liking. When they finally touched down on the west side of Red Lake Shigaraki was certain Dabi would at least be beyond the Third Gate and he still had to do something about his body. Shigaraki hauled Dabi off the back of the winged creature and laid him gently on a large patch of moss with practiced ease, it wouldn't be the last time he handled a dead body.
Glasha and Gorgmar began their separation and Shigaraki began his work on Dabi. His burns were extensive but Shigaraki was a Free Magic sorcerer, it was nothing he couldn't clear up given an appropriate amount of time. But he didn't have time. For now, he steeped himself in Free Magic and went to work doing the bare minimum. He cleared his lungs, he soothed his bones, and, most noticeably, he pulled silver threads of Free Magic through the burned skin, stitching it to the skin that hadn't been touched. His arms, his chest, his legs, his face. The charred and tormented skin knit itself back over his bones and as Shigaraki let the magic go the silver glimmer of his work remained stark against Dabi's skin.
Shigaraki turned to his surroundings. Glasha and Gorgmar were separate once again, restless without orders, but Shigaraki's will was strong. They would submit to him. Everyone submitted to him.
"Guard us. Defend us if searchers come. Kill all of them. I'm going into Death for him." He ordered. Glasha and Gorgmar bowed in response. Shigaraki loosened his Bells and settled himself down next to Dabi. No Diamond of Protection for him, no Charter Magic nonsense. He had to rely on his minions. But he wasn't comfortable, his confidence had taken a hit when his plan had gone so horribly awry. It would have to do though, he couldn't waste any more time. He had to get Dabi before he got to the Fifth Precinct and lost his form from Life.
He closed his eyes and frost began to form over his translucent skin and blue-gray hair.
Shigaraki didn't waste any time in the First Precinct. Dabi wasn't here. He was under trauma, even the most experienced Necromancer wouldn't have found their footing and would have been swept up by the current. His senses were keen and he felt no Dead nearby. Good. He began to wade through the knee-high water as fast as he could without being taken by the current. Mist shrouded the way forward and a novice would have been forced to slow his pace, but Shigaraki was a master.
He reached the First Gate without much difficulty. A waterfall as wide as the horizon through which he had to pass. He uttered the spell to traverse it as he approached and didn't stop as it took effect and made his way down the cliff of water and into the Second Precinct.
The pull of the current of the river of Death was much stronger in the Second Precinct. Shigaraki also had to be aware of the dangerous sinkholes that peppered the river bottom. He had to slow down but he knew the way. Dabi would have had a hard time here. Still trying to get his bearings from the First Gate and with the fast pull of the River, he would have quickly gone through this Precinct as well. But Shigaraki had thought that already. Dabi would have gone quickly through the fast-paced first three Precincts. He hoped to find him in the Fourth.
The Second Gate was troublesome. When Shigaraki felt the current get more aggressive he stopped and released the spell to freeze the whirlpool that was the Second Gate. He hurried down the path he had called. He was on high alert having encountered no Dead yet. That was strange. Normally there were a few Lesser Dead hanging around the Second Precinct. His fingers ran over the polished ebony handles of his Bells, mentally checking all seven of them before he stepped off into the Third Precinct and broke out in a straight sprint.
The Third Precinct was dangerous. It lulled you into a false sense of security with its warm, ebbing, shallow water. It was easy to see around you with no mist to cloud your way. Again, an untrained mage would think they could rest easy here. Which was why Shigaraki was running. He knew that the second he stepped of the path he made in the Second Gate the spell holding back a huge tidal wave would be broken and he would only have a short expanse of time before it caught him and whisked him away into deeper regions of Death. There was only one option, you had to outrun the wave.
Shigaraki heard the rushing of water behind him, gaining on him fast. He saw the wall of mist that made up the Third Gate ahead of him and screamed the spell to part it at the top of his lungs. He bolted through without a second to spare, the wave crashing harmlessly against the mist, and Shigaraki panting on the other side.
Catching his breath he stood up straighter, eyes narrowed. This was the Precinct he hoped to find Dabi in. Though the current was strong here it wasn't particularly dangerous. Dabi would have been able to find his footing by now and could wait out time in the Fourth Precinct. Shigaraki began his search, his senses reaching out of his body to feel for the presence of Death, and, more importantly, for Dabi.
After a while of slow going wading through the rushing water, he did start to feel something tug on his Death sense. It was faint but it excited him. He followed it, walking against the grain of the river, and as he got closer he sensed the strength of the Dead thing. It had power, it very well could be Dabi. He hurried forward, a huge smile on his haggard lips until he was able to see his quarry.
It wasn't Dabi. Shigaraki was disappointed, to put it mildly. The creature turned toward him it looked like a huge rat made out of darkness.
"Ah, a Mordaut then." he thought his fingers releasing the second largest Bell on his bandolier. He took Saraneth in his hand and the Mordaut screeched at him and began to rush toward him. He swung the bell in a practiced figure eight motion. The deep clang of Saraneth, the Binder, echoing across the water. It took a moment but the Mordaut was frozen in its tracks, the magic of Saraneth binding it to Shigaraki's will.
He smiled, too easy.
He replaced Saraneth and drew the fourth and fifth Bells. Dyrim, the Speaker, and Belgaer, the Thinker. He swung them in a complicated pattern that would allow the Mordaut to recall memories and use basic speech. When the ringing stopped echoing he replaced them carefully, particularly Belgaer, who often sought to ring of its own accord.
"A Necromancer passed through here." He said, addressing the Mordaut. "Tall, burned, white of hair. Has he passed through the Fourth Gate?" The Mordaut shuddered before answering him in a scratchy voice.
"Yes."
Shigaraki mentally kicked himself for not getting here faster. That meant Dabi was in the Fifth Precinct or beyond. You didn't come back the same from the Fifth Precinct.
"How long ago?" He asked desperately, even knowing that time basically stood still in Death.
"Not long." was the Mordaut's confused reply.
Shigaraki could have screamed with anger and frustration but instead, he drew the third Bell, Kibeth, the Walker, and rang it true sending the Mordaut walking back toward the Fourth Gate and deep into death where it would meet its final end beyond the Final Gate.
Putting Kibeth away he hastened onward, going with the river to the next Gate. Even if Dabi would be changed by his time in the Fifth Precinct he would still have him back. He could still come back powerful. Shigaraki told himself that was what he wanted, a powerful partner, but he knew it wasn't true.
He just wanted his Love back.
He came to the Fourth Gate with a heavy heart. It looked deceiving, as a weak waterfall with a short fall. But, as with most things in Death, its looks were not to be believed. One wrong step could have you falling a great distance into the treacherous Fifth Precinct. It was impossible to traverse the Fifth Precinct in the River. It was too deep and too strong. The waters of the Fifth Precinct fundamentally changed the makeup of a person and played tricks on your mind if you entered its water. The only way across was a spell that created the Dark Bridge, which you let you pass over the Fourth Gate and the Fifth Precinct below.
The Dark Bridge was a narrow path of shadow that was hazardous itself. Once summoned, Dead could try and cross it themselves, knocking the Necromancer who called it off and consuming their spark of Life to give them the stamina to reach the portal back to Life. But Shigaraki summoned it all the same.
He started across, going slowly so as not to lose his balance. About halfway across his Death sense pinged as he felt a presence approaching from the other side of the bridge. He stopped. Better to stand his ground than walk right into the Dead thing. There were powerful Dead in this area and this one was brimming with power.
His hands went to his Bells as the Dead thing approached, instinctively drawing out Saraneth. He saw it approach in a haze of azure blue light. He couldn't tell what it was at first. It was in the shape of a tall man with purple skin. His hair was a shock of black and his eyes glowed the same azure blue as his aura.
Shigaraki began to ring Saraneth but the Dead man whistled a melodic note that immediately counteracted the Bell's effect. Shigaraki's eyes bulged from his head. That was Necromancer training. All Necromancers were musical should they ever be without their Bells. This wasn't a Dead creature it was a Dead Necromancer. A Dead Necromancer that, as he got closer, Shigaraki could see the faint glint of silver running through his purple skin, just like the stitches on Dabi's physical body.
Shigaraki would have run to him if he could.
"Dabi!" He called, holding the clapper of Saraneth still, "I've come for you!"
Dabi said nothing, he raised his hand and released a stream of blue fire towards Shigaraki. It took every ounce of dexterity and athleticism that Shigaraki possessed to drop to the bridge, keep a hold of Saraneth, and avoid the flames. That was a power of the Greater Dead, undead Necromancers who used their arcane knowledge and will to gain power beyond Death. He struggled to his feet, Saraneth at the ready.
"Dabi, Dabi, it's me! It's Shigaraki! Let me take you back to Life!" He pleaded. Dabi was only a few arms lengths away now with his hands burning with blue flames.
"I know. I don't need you anymore, Shigaraki. I'm more powerful than when I started, I don't need a sidekick." He leered, raising his hand to shoot another blast at him. But Shigaraki was quick on his feet and rang Saraneth in a wide arch. Dabi stopped and his fire went out. Shigaraki choked back tears. Dabi's time in the Fifth Precinct had changed not only his appearance but his perception as well. Death had taken his love for Shigaraki and discarded it like trash.
But he couldn't leave him here. He couldn't send him walking to the Ninth Gate as he had with the Mordaut. Shigaraki may have been willing to look up at the stars of Death himself to save Dabi, but he wasn't willing for Dabi to do the same. He rang Saraneth again, tightening his binding on Dabi, he knew that if his hold wasn't strong enough Dabi could break it and he would kill him. All the Greater Dead wanted was the rule of Death.
He pulled Kibeth from its holster and rang it in concert with Saraneth forcing Dabi to walk with him as he turned and headed back to the Fourth Precinct. Dabi followed him all the way back to the portal to Life. They encountered no other Dead, the presence of a Greater Dead and an extremely powerful Necromancer was enough to deter the weaker Dead that populated the first Four Precincts. When they returned to the portal Shigaraki pushed Dabi through into life.
Icicles snapped off Shigaraki's eyelashes as he opened his eyes and returned to his frozen body. He looked a Dabi next to him, he looked the same even though he knew the spirit he had brought back from Death had returned to it. He took a moment for his grief. His tears finally flowed and he sobbed into his hands.
He had been too slow. He had been so confident in his stupid plan and his Dabi was gone. He had killed Dabi. Things would never be the same again.
His sobs came freely and drew the attention of Glasha and Gorgmar who were marking a perimeter around their bodies. Shigaraki quickly pulled himself together. Showing weakness in front of bound Free Magic creatures was not a good idea. It would lessen his hold on them. He stood, ice cracking off his body and looked down at the deformed face of Dabi on the moss at his feet, remembering the things he had loved about him. The things he had lost.
With trembling fingers, he pulled the favored bell of Necromancers out of his bandolier. Mosrael, the Waker. He swung it in a lively jig and Dabi's body opened its eyes and rose to its feet. Shigaraki had the power to give the bound Greater Dead its mind and voice but he wasn't ready to just yet.
"He is powerful!" Glasha said. "He will be a valuable weapon in the war to come! But he is not the same. He is better now."
Better now.
"Things have all gone to shit." Shigaraki thought miserably.
He just wanted his Love back.