Work Text:
“You can’t do this.” Zari chased Charlie down the hall. “You’re the only one he wants. If he gets his hands on you—”
“I appreciate the concern, Z, but it’s the only move we got left.”
Things with Neron had escalated quickly. Somehow, he had gotten people to accept selling their souls to him through a malicious app, and now, if they didn’t act quickly, thousands of people would die.
“He’ll kill you.”
“You’ll save me.” Charlie tried to sound chipper, making themselves seem unbothered when in reality they were scared shitless.
For weeks, Neron had tried to kidnap Charlie. The team didn’t fully know the reason behind it, but they did. If a demon got his hands on the soul of an immortal being, the power he’d get would be endless. He’d be able to literally bring Hell on Earth if he wished, with a soul like theirs. But thankfully, Charlie wasn’t alone anymore, so with the help of the team, they’d managed to tire him out and made him change his focus.
“Please, don’t." Zari stopped.
They sighed. “Listen, if I don’t do this, a lot of people are going to die. I can’t let that happen.”
“We can come up with another plan. Something that doesn’t involve just hoping your soul can get back to your body after we take him down.”
Charlie knew she was right. The plan wasn’t exactly bulletproof, and there was a big chance they wouldn’t see tomorrow, but it was the only one they had. Their soul in exchange for the human ones. It was almost poetic, having a deity sacrifice itself for its people when countless of myths told it the other way.
“No, it’s too risky. He might see through it if we try to trick him. We need to strike him when he’s given out all his souls to get to mine, and not a moment before. That’s when he’ll be at his weakest.”
“And you? What happens to you in all of this?”
Charlie couldn’t help but smile. They didn’t like to see Zari suffer, but they’d never realised how much she cared about them.
“I’ll—I’ll be there, too. Cheering you on. And when it’s time to come back, I’ll come back.”
Charlie looked at the totem lying on Zari’s chest. This moment might be the best and last one they had to do it.
“Do you know how totems come to choose their person?” Charlie started.
Zari shook her head.
“They’re the embodiment of a feeling, a need. I told you that Amaya’s totem was based on my powers, but that wasn’t entirely true. They come from the need to change, adapt. My need to survive.” They looked down before continuing. “And not only Amaya’s totem spawned from me, but all the others, too. Including… yours.”
If Charlie were to tell the whole story, they would be standing there until tomorrow, so they settled for giving her the essentials.
“A long time ago, when humanity was struggling, a witch came to see us. She asked us for permission to use them as vessels for a powerful protection spell that was bound to tip the scales in the right direction.” Charlie chose their words carefully. “They refused. I didn’t, so I went behind their back and helped her. Everything was pretty straightforward. I touched some stone and infused a warrior’s quality in it. Heat, power and passion for fire, flexibility and resilience for water and so on. But when it came to air, I—I struggled. I didn’t know what I was supposed to pass on in there. I was a mere lackey, I couldn’t know what air represented cause I’d never had that feeling. So instead of infusing it with something I had, I infused it with what I desired most: freedom.”
Charlie felt a bit bitter remembering that part. All those lives they had lived, all those worlds they had travelled to, and just now they were understanding what all of it meant.
“And now, the totem chose you.”
Charlie knew all this information was probably hard to assimilate, so they let Zari take a moment. Unfortunately, before she could respond to their confession, Gideon announced Neron was already at Heyworld. They had run out of time.
---
Zari got benched at the worst mission ever. Charlie just dumped a whole lot of information on her in the midst of the end of the world, and she got nothing to do but watch while they put themselves in danger. A hell of a timing that shapeshifter had. Honestly, she didn’t really know what to think of that whole situation. Did that mean they were like, fated to meet?
She lightly touched the totem, and she remembered the first time she’d met Charlie. She’d known she’d felt something, but since they were wearing Amaya’s face, the feelings got mixed up, and she didn’t know which was what anymore. But she didn’t want to think about the past now.
She looked at the screen in the bridge, showing Charlie’s vitals. These past months, Charlie had gone from being a pain in her ass to one of the people she cared about the most, so destiny involved or not, she wasn’t gonna let anything happen to them. Then, their heart stopped.
Zari fought every impulse she had to sprint down there to get to them. The plan, she said to herself. Stick to the plan.
Gideon turned on the video feedback, and Zari saw the whole situation. Charlie was lying down on the floor, and her team members were fighting Nero with everything they had. Finally, Constantine landed the final blow and sent him to Hell. C’mon, Charlie, wake up, Zari put her hands together and prayed. Please, Charlie.
Come back.
“They’re—they’re not breathing. I—I don’t know what to do.” Zari heard Sara say through the screen.
That was the last straw.
“Miss Tomaz, I strongly advise you not to get off the ship. The timeline is settling. If you leave, you won’t be able to—”
“I know, Gideon,” Zari told her, feeling her throat sore. “I know.”
She ran towards Charlie’s body as quickly as she could. Thankfully, by some collective power Zari didn’t care to understand, Charlie came back to life.
“Zari?”
“You—You’re alive,” Zari said, relieved, as she saw Charlie move.
“Yeah, I—But… What—what are you doing here?” Charlie furrowed their eyebrows. “The timeline. You’re going to—”
“It’s okay,” Zari said, with tears of joy in her eyes. “'Cause you’re okay.”
“No, no, no, no.” Charlie didn’t let go of her arms.
“And you’re going to find me again, okay? Please, tell me you’ll come and look for me.”
“Of course. Of course I’ll—”
But she was gone.