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Fabian Aramais Seacaster, despite what he likes to say about himself, is not always confident. Of course, he’s his father’s son, he doesn’t get scared, but as he leaves a knocked-out Adaine behind the food tables in the gym, the rest of his party equally unconcious (or worse , a treacherous part of his mind helpfully points out), Fabian can’t help but feel… worried.
Almost everyone is down. Ragh is…trying, Jawbone and Gorthalax might be helping, but it isn’t enough. It isn’t even close to enough.
Goldenhoard- Kalvaxus- isn’t even badly hurt. Kalvaxus isn’t even badly hurt and all of Fabian’s best friends are dying.
He thinks, at this exact moment, he understands where Gorgug’s rage comes from. Something beats in his chest below his heart and knots in his stomach, and Fabian sees red. He will not let anyone else die today.
“Hey! Goldendick!” Fabian taunts, twisting the Hangman around as fast as he can in the relatively small space of the gym. “Why don’t you come fight me like a man, motherfucker!”
A well-aimed crossbow bolt solidifies his challenge. If there’s one thing he knows he inherited from his father, it’s the ability to piss off authority figures.
Kalvaxus roars, and Fabian lets a manic grin cross his face, the adrenaline somewhat (barely) muting the pain from pulling at his still-fresh wound. He revs the Hangman’s engine.
Before he fully turns, he makes eye contact with Gorthalax. He really hopes that he’s able to successfully communicate that he should try and get the others up. Fabian is just the distraction.
He just has to keep this fucker busy.
As he crashes through the doors of the gym, he can hear Kalvaxus following him. Ha! As the Hangman speeds outside, though, Fabian realises he has very little idea what to do beyond that. Luring the dragon away from his unconscious-maybe-dead friends was pretty much the only part of the plan, and he can practically hear The Ball scolding him for that recklessness.
Fabian barely makes it to the street before Kalvaxus catches up, the distance covered by the Hangman barely a few steps for a dragon of his size.
He is made aware of this when both he and the Hangman are sent flying by a powerful hit from Kalvaxus’ tail, Fabian’s only warning being Sire! I believe he is- shoved into his mind by their mental connection.
Fabian goes flying, skidding across asphalt. His ears are ringing, his missing eye burning with agony from where it hit against the ground, but- he can’t give up. Papá would probably disown him on the spot for that, if he was alive.
His father is dead. Kalvaxus did that too, even if it was indirectly. The Hangman is motionless somewhere nearby. Everyone he loves, because he does love his friends, as new and strange as it is, has been hurt by this fucking dragon and Fabian won’t let it keep happening.
His arms tremble with the effort of pushing himself up, body heavier than it’s ever felt. The pain forces an involuntary sob from deep within his chest, as through a haze of spinning vision and tears he sees Kalvaxus turn back towards him.
But Fabian does get up, stumbling with the Sword of the Seacasters clutched in his shaking hand and fury and fear burning deep in his chest in equal measure.
“And what do you think you’re going to do against me , boy?” Kalvaxus’ voice rings in Fabian’s ears. “There’s just one of you now, your friends are dying or dead, you have no other allies. Your father certainly isn’t going to help you, is he?”
Fabian can feel his breath falter, for a moment. A moment of terror, of run go go go get away he’s going to kill me I will die here that fades just as quickly, pushed away by the layer of magic attached to his father’s eyepatch. A Fear spell.
He allows himself to let out a single bark of laughter and immediately regrets it as the heavy taste of blood hits his tongue.
“Oh, fuck you! You think I’m going to give up because of that? I’m Fabian Aramais fucking Seacaster!” The bravado, the courage, the mocking tone, feel good to hide behind. It feels good to swallow the rising terror and grief alongside the blood in his mouth, in favour of the confidence and fearlessness he has been taught to use as a shield.
With that, Fabian runs at Kalvaxus on unsteady feet, sword at his side and fury mixed with terror buried in his chest.
-
Fabian struggles to his feet. Again. He’s almost entirely leaning on his sword to hold his weight, the freshly blood-splattered blade scraping against the ground. His breaths are coming in wheezing gasps, each one bringing a sharp spike of pain from his probably-broken ribs, and he’s pretty sure that one more hit would kill him.
But he refuses to give up. No one else has emerged from the gym yet, but he just has to keep Kalvaxus busy. They’ll figure something out. He believes in his friends.
But do you? They’re dead. You know they’re dead. No one there can heal them. That small, scared voice pipes up again. Fabian can’t quite bring himself to find a counterpoint. Because there isn’t one, it tells him.
“You are a stubborn one, aren’t you?” Kalvaxus laughs, deep and booming and amused. This is barely a challenge to him, Fabian knows, the damage that one already injured teenager can do barely noticeable.
“I think it’s about time I get on with the rest of my plan, something more important than fighting you - though I would hardly call this a fight!” Fabian can’t bring himself to say anything. He probably couldn’t even if he tried.
Through an unfocused eye Fabian watched Kalvaxus take a deep breath in, leaning back slightly where he towers above.
Breath attack, probably, he thinks through the haze of pain.
He sees Kalvaxus move to make the attack, and he can’t move. He is going to die here, before he even finished his first year of high school.
…Time seems to slow around him, as Kalvaxus suddenly… stops. He isn’t preparing his attack, he isn’t giving another stupid monolouge, he’s just… stopped.
He just isn’t moving.
Fabian’s trembling legs finally give out and he hits the ground hard, sword clattering to the ground next to him, deafeningly loud in this newly still and silent world.
He should get up. He has to get up, he has to check on his friends, see what’s happening, find a fucking adult who can help him, but he can’t move. It hurts .
He can’t quite keep his eye open.
His consciousness fades. As it does, he could swear he hears someone yelling from somewhere far away.
-
Fabian comes to slowly, along with the faint smell of popcorn that he associates with Kristen’s healing.
He’s being held by someone, he thinks, in their lap, propped up against their chest with arms wrapped gently around him as support.
It’s nice. They’re warm, and comforting, and he hasn’t been held in a while. He leans into them a little more, and they pull him closer.
They’re speaking, too, gentle vibrations reverberating through him. Probably not to him though, because he’s… something. Not dead, probably. He hopes not.
He should… open his eyes. Eye. He only has the one, now, and isn’t that an unpleasant reminder. Maybe he’ll look more like his Papá now- he always took more after his mother.
Fabian groans softly as someone taps him on the shoulder, and then shakes him gently. It’s an unhelpful reminder that actually, everything hurts. A lot. They’re speaking to him now, he thinks.
Opening his eyes, no, eye, takes far more energy than it should. He bets his Papá wouldn’t struggle this much with such a simple task. He does manage, though.
The talking halts as he peels his eye open to see… Kristen, staring back at him. She looks a lot better than she did-no longer unconscious, for one. Riz is there too, just behind Kristen, and he sees Adaine and Fig move over into his field of vision. The one holding him is probably Gorgug, then.
They’re alive. They’re safe, it seems, and his friends are alive and he doesn’t know what bullshit they pulled to manage it but they’re alive. Much to his embarrassment, he isn’t able to push away tears welling up in his eye. He feels Gorgug shift behind him and suddenly they’re all looking even more worried.
Riz shuffles closer and leans into Fabian’s arm.
“You’re- you’re so fucking stupid, man! What the fuck were you thinking?” Is the first thing to come out of Riz’s mouth, and everyone seems to agree with him. Rude. But Fabian can hear the undercurrent of worry and fear in his voice.
Words are difficult. He’s so tired.
“I- I was… I had t’get him away from… you. Thought you were all dead, needed a distraction to… do… somethin’. An’ I wanted to beat him up a little. A lot.” Fabian slumps into Gorgug a little more. It’s embarrassing, sure, but he’s exhausted and Gorgug is warm. Sue him. Gorgug doesn’t seem to mind though, as he shifts his position slightly to hold Fabian more securely.
“I… didn’t wan’ anyone else to die.” Fabian admits, in what is barely a whisper. Riz’s expression softens, as does everyone else’s. It’s scary, to be vulnerable. But he’s far too exhausted to care, and he knows they don’t either.
“Well! I think your distraction worked out pretty well! I just created a new god, I think! And brought Arthur Auguefort back from heaven? I don’t really know what’s going on, I think I need like, at least a week to process all this information. Maybe a month. But Auguefort used his pocket-watch thing to stop time, so we have twelve hours to rest up!” Kristen claps her hands and gives two enthusiastic thumbs-up with a bright grin that doesn’t really hide the stress.
“Eleven-and-a-half hours now, actually.” Adaine cuts in. “It took us a little while to get out here, and get everyone up. I think we should probably rest, and eat, and get our spells and heal up a little more, so we have time to plan before time restarts. Also, Fabian looks like he’s about to fall asleep, again, and I think I’m about the same.” She smiles gently at him.
Everyone mumbles their agreement, and Gorgug gently lies Fabian down on the ground. The grass, actually, as it seems like they relocated him to the grassy area just outside the academy entrance while he was out of it.
He mourns the loss of contact, for a moment, before Riz flops into the grass beside him and curls up right beside him. Before long, Gorgug lies down by him too, quickly joined by Fig lying directly over the three of them, nearly kicking Riz in the face while she’s at it. Kristen and Adaine are swiftly absorbed into the pile as well.
Riz curls closer into Fabian, adjusting so he’s closer to his ear.
“It was really fucking scary, you know, being healed and seeing that you and Kalvaxus were both gone. We thought you were really, properly dead when we got to you.” Riz says, with a soft tremble to his voice Fabian hasn’t really heard before. “What you did was still really stupid, and reckless, and you clearly didn’t think anything through. But I get why you did it.”
Fabian can’t find the energy to give a full response. Instead, he hums an affirmation and moves his heavy arm around Riz next to him.
In eleven-and-a-half hours, they’re going to have to fight Kalvaxus again, and probably get hurt some more, and it’ll probably suck. But at least he won’t be alone, this time.