Crossover - Cliffton/Meeting of Breccan & Finbar: Not So Divine: Chapter 13
This is a crossover fanfiction of my The Meeting of Breccan & Finbar and n3m3sis43's Cliffton universes. For context, it might help to read n3m3sis43's piece, Everything You Touch.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12
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Keep wondering how I can fucking fix things. Still unable to come up with anything. Got nothing, but in a moment, it doesn't fucking matter. The world around us goes black. Maris, Eric, Wes and I - floating in darkness.
The fuck?
“What did you do?” Maris yells.
“Didn't do anything!” I say.
“You broke reality,” she hisses. “You must have, or else we couldn't be floating in nothingness like this.”
Fuck.
Eric - he's glowing. The glow's blinking in and out like a broken light. The fuck? If I thought I had screwed things up before - fucking nothing compared to now. My heart that doesn't need to beat hammers in my chest. Throat closes up.
“What's wrong with Eric?” Wes asks.
No fucking idea.
Out of fucking nowhere, a green tentacle appears. Fucking wraps itself around Eric.
A booming voice in my mind. The recently revived one is mine. Newlies are so very tasty.
Everything's happening too fucking fast. That monster I thought I saw - must be fucking real. Gotta do something. Can't let Eric be eaten after all I put him through. Try to zap the tentacle with my power. No fucking luck.
"I can't access my magic," Maris mutters.
Want to give into the panic. Can't give into the fucking panic. Maybe I can cut the tentacle? I imagine my power as a fucking sword. No harm in trying, right? A fucking sword made of glowing white light in my hand. Swing it at the tentacle. Cuts right through it.
The loudest scream I ever fucking heard sounds in my mind. With the way everyone's faces are contorted, they heard it, too.
You will regret that! the voice booms.
I hiss, “I decide what I regret, asshole!”
No more tentacles appear. Yet.
Wes breathes, “Wow, you made a Light Sword, just like on Galaxy Wars.”
Almost fucking laugh as the sword vanishes.
Eric's still fucking glowing and flickering. He murmurs, “I - think I'm dying, again. It's probably for the best.”
Don't feel like laughing anymore. Try to float over to him. Fucking hard, but I do it. Grab him by the shoulders. “I don't want you to fucking die, dude.”
“I already did. Really, I shouldn't be alive at all,” he whispers.
Yeah, I get that. Still don't want to see him fucking die again. Hurt enough the first time, okay?
Maris says, “You might want to spend less time angsting and more time preparing for when that thing comes back.”
Almost no time to get my sword back. I create it. And the tentacle returns. This one is fucking bigger. Stand between it and Eric.
The thing fucking goes for Wes.
No, no it can't fucking take him. It races towards Wes. I try to block it. Fucking impossible. Can't float fast enough. Thing wraps itself around Wes. Fucking no, not happening. I can hear his screams. Fucking no. Gotta stop this. Have to fucking stop this.
That voice laughs in my head as it whisks Wes away. In a few days, he'll be tender enough to eat. You really thought you could stop me? I am more powerful than you can imagine, puny god.
Think I can fucking imagine.
“Only one thing can stop it now,” Maris says as the tentacle vanishes.
“What thing?” I ask. “I'll do fucking anything to get Wes back.”
She looks fucking unhappy. “Anything? This isn't some everyday 'everything,' Devin. You would have to give your life to take it down. And it would be a bad idea.”
I'm resolute. “If that's what it takes, I'll do it, bad idea or no.”
Maris smacks her forehead with her palm. “Look how well your last bad idea turned out! To defeat that monster requires touching it with enough divine power to kill the god who's wielding it. But to lose a god could have even worse consequences.”
“I don't care,” I mutter. “It's Wes. I'll do anything for him.”
Eric whispers, “Like you would do anything for me?” Didn't know he was still fucking awake enough to speak.
“Not the same thing as bringing you back.” It's fucking not.
“It is,” he says.
“Eric, it's not like you can just fucking absorb the divine power yourself once I'm dead,” I grumble. “And I don't fucking care - I won't be responsible for Wes' death.”
Maris sighs. “Eric might actually be able to do that, as he's not a mage. It's risky and stupid, but it's better that letting the divine power disintegrate without even trying to prevent it. Knowing you, you'll sacrifice yourself anyway, so this is our best option.”
He can't fucking believe it. “You want me to take the power? To - become a god? Me? I'm just a kid.”
“Yeah, you, Eric. Better you than me, dude. I make a shitty god.” No denying that.
Maris snorts. “I can't argue with you there, but you aren't quite as insufferable as Egan was.”
“Uh, thanks?” I say.
“No time for thank yous right now. If you want to do this, you need to find that thing,” Maris mutters.
“Okay, I'll start looking now.” No fucking time to waste.
“Aren't you forgetting something?” she asks.
The fuck could I be forgetting?
She fucking glares at me. “Eric. You never asked him if he's okay with this.”
I didn't. Feel all awkward now. How can I fucking ask Eric to do this when he hates Wes because of Wes' family? Didn't think about that.
Gotta try anyway. “Hey, Eric? Will you - will you do this for me? Help me save Wes even though I know you don't fucking like him?”
He's stopped glowing. Wonder if that means he's pissed at me. He says, “I'll do it but only for you, because I'm responsible for what happened with the pendant.”
“You're not -”
Eric shakes his head. “Don't argue with me, Devin. Just don't, okay? We should - get going before I change my mind.”
Just one problem. No idea how to find the fucking thing.
“Use your powers to sense it,” Maris says, like she was reading my fucking mind.
I do. Try and fucking concentrate on the thing. By looking for “serious fucking evil.” I find it. Know which direction to head in.
“Guess this is goodbye, Maris.” Can't even look her in the eye.
“Goodbye, Devin.”
Not gonna start fucking crying. Can't start crying now. Too hard to fucking move, though. Just stand there.
Maris urges, “Get going!”
Float to Eric and take his hand. He still seems too weak to do much on his own. But he's not fucking glowing anymore. We float. For fucking hours. Don't talk to each other. What's there to say when you're about to give your fucking life? Don't have the fucking words.
We find the monster. Or part of it. A huge mass of green tentacles as far as the eye can see. Spot Wes, too. Still fucking wrapped up in a tentacle. He notices us. Eyes widen when he does. Shakes his head, like he thinks we can't or shouldn't save him.
How the fuck do I kill the monster without hurting Wes? No fucking point if Wes dies because of my effort. Fucking think Devin. You're a god. Can fucking do this. I keep holding Eric's hand. Get the strangest feeling I need to keep in contact with him for the power transmission to fucking work. He must trust me enough, because he doesn't let go, either. Or else he's fucking scared. I know I am.
Wish I could say something to Wes. But I fucking can't. If I do, the monster will notice us. I can feel it.
“Goodbye, Wes. I love you,” I whisper, quiet enough the monster shouldn't hear.
This is fucking it. I concentrate. Imagine the monster disintegrating into billions of tiny particles. See it start to fucking flicker. That what an evil monster looks like when it's dying? I keep at it. Feel myself start to fucking disintegrate. I start fucking flickering. Can't stop concentrating now. Gotta keep my hand on Eric's, too. This better fucking work.
“Eric?” I ask, still fucking whispering.
“Yeah?” he says. He gets that he needs to keep his fucking voice down.
“Uh, sorry about everything. Didn't fucking mean for it to turn out this way, dude,” I mumble.
“I know.”
This is fucking hard. “Guess this is goodbye.”
“Guess so.”
I say, “Good luck. You'll kinda need it. May you do a better fucking job than I did with the power, okay?”
“That won't be hard,” he answers.
I almost laugh. “Yeah, it fucking won't. Goodbye, Eric.”
“Goodbye, Devin,” he murmurs.
And it is fucking goodbye. I start flickering so bad I can't even speak. The tentacle monster fucking explodes in a burst of white light. Feel like I'm gonna burst apart. Can fucking feel myself dying. Stay alive just long enough to see Wes in the corner of my vision. He's fucking alive. Relief floods me. See Eric. He's fucking glowing, too. With the power. The transfer fucking worked. Wes and Eric will fucking live.
Filled with fucking joy now. Yeah, I might be dying, but it means my friends will live. If that's how it has to fucking be, the thing is I wouldn't have it any other way.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Tentacles" & writerverse Table of Doom Alpha #13. End Line: "The thing is I wouldn't have it any other way."
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12
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Keep wondering how I can fucking fix things. Still unable to come up with anything. Got nothing, but in a moment, it doesn't fucking matter. The world around us goes black. Maris, Eric, Wes and I - floating in darkness.
The fuck?
“What did you do?” Maris yells.
“Didn't do anything!” I say.
“You broke reality,” she hisses. “You must have, or else we couldn't be floating in nothingness like this.”
Fuck.
Eric - he's glowing. The glow's blinking in and out like a broken light. The fuck? If I thought I had screwed things up before - fucking nothing compared to now. My heart that doesn't need to beat hammers in my chest. Throat closes up.
“What's wrong with Eric?” Wes asks.
No fucking idea.
Out of fucking nowhere, a green tentacle appears. Fucking wraps itself around Eric.
A booming voice in my mind. The recently revived one is mine. Newlies are so very tasty.
Everything's happening too fucking fast. That monster I thought I saw - must be fucking real. Gotta do something. Can't let Eric be eaten after all I put him through. Try to zap the tentacle with my power. No fucking luck.
"I can't access my magic," Maris mutters.
Want to give into the panic. Can't give into the fucking panic. Maybe I can cut the tentacle? I imagine my power as a fucking sword. No harm in trying, right? A fucking sword made of glowing white light in my hand. Swing it at the tentacle. Cuts right through it.
The loudest scream I ever fucking heard sounds in my mind. With the way everyone's faces are contorted, they heard it, too.
You will regret that! the voice booms.
I hiss, “I decide what I regret, asshole!”
No more tentacles appear. Yet.
Wes breathes, “Wow, you made a Light Sword, just like on Galaxy Wars.”
Almost fucking laugh as the sword vanishes.
Eric's still fucking glowing and flickering. He murmurs, “I - think I'm dying, again. It's probably for the best.”
Don't feel like laughing anymore. Try to float over to him. Fucking hard, but I do it. Grab him by the shoulders. “I don't want you to fucking die, dude.”
“I already did. Really, I shouldn't be alive at all,” he whispers.
Yeah, I get that. Still don't want to see him fucking die again. Hurt enough the first time, okay?
Maris says, “You might want to spend less time angsting and more time preparing for when that thing comes back.”
Almost no time to get my sword back. I create it. And the tentacle returns. This one is fucking bigger. Stand between it and Eric.
The thing fucking goes for Wes.
No, no it can't fucking take him. It races towards Wes. I try to block it. Fucking impossible. Can't float fast enough. Thing wraps itself around Wes. Fucking no, not happening. I can hear his screams. Fucking no. Gotta stop this. Have to fucking stop this.
That voice laughs in my head as it whisks Wes away. In a few days, he'll be tender enough to eat. You really thought you could stop me? I am more powerful than you can imagine, puny god.
Think I can fucking imagine.
“Only one thing can stop it now,” Maris says as the tentacle vanishes.
“What thing?” I ask. “I'll do fucking anything to get Wes back.”
She looks fucking unhappy. “Anything? This isn't some everyday 'everything,' Devin. You would have to give your life to take it down. And it would be a bad idea.”
I'm resolute. “If that's what it takes, I'll do it, bad idea or no.”
Maris smacks her forehead with her palm. “Look how well your last bad idea turned out! To defeat that monster requires touching it with enough divine power to kill the god who's wielding it. But to lose a god could have even worse consequences.”
“I don't care,” I mutter. “It's Wes. I'll do anything for him.”
Eric whispers, “Like you would do anything for me?” Didn't know he was still fucking awake enough to speak.
“Not the same thing as bringing you back.” It's fucking not.
“It is,” he says.
“Eric, it's not like you can just fucking absorb the divine power yourself once I'm dead,” I grumble. “And I don't fucking care - I won't be responsible for Wes' death.”
Maris sighs. “Eric might actually be able to do that, as he's not a mage. It's risky and stupid, but it's better that letting the divine power disintegrate without even trying to prevent it. Knowing you, you'll sacrifice yourself anyway, so this is our best option.”
He can't fucking believe it. “You want me to take the power? To - become a god? Me? I'm just a kid.”
“Yeah, you, Eric. Better you than me, dude. I make a shitty god.” No denying that.
Maris snorts. “I can't argue with you there, but you aren't quite as insufferable as Egan was.”
“Uh, thanks?” I say.
“No time for thank yous right now. If you want to do this, you need to find that thing,” Maris mutters.
“Okay, I'll start looking now.” No fucking time to waste.
“Aren't you forgetting something?” she asks.
The fuck could I be forgetting?
She fucking glares at me. “Eric. You never asked him if he's okay with this.”
I didn't. Feel all awkward now. How can I fucking ask Eric to do this when he hates Wes because of Wes' family? Didn't think about that.
Gotta try anyway. “Hey, Eric? Will you - will you do this for me? Help me save Wes even though I know you don't fucking like him?”
He's stopped glowing. Wonder if that means he's pissed at me. He says, “I'll do it but only for you, because I'm responsible for what happened with the pendant.”
“You're not -”
Eric shakes his head. “Don't argue with me, Devin. Just don't, okay? We should - get going before I change my mind.”
Just one problem. No idea how to find the fucking thing.
“Use your powers to sense it,” Maris says, like she was reading my fucking mind.
I do. Try and fucking concentrate on the thing. By looking for “serious fucking evil.” I find it. Know which direction to head in.
“Guess this is goodbye, Maris.” Can't even look her in the eye.
“Goodbye, Devin.”
Not gonna start fucking crying. Can't start crying now. Too hard to fucking move, though. Just stand there.
Maris urges, “Get going!”
Float to Eric and take his hand. He still seems too weak to do much on his own. But he's not fucking glowing anymore. We float. For fucking hours. Don't talk to each other. What's there to say when you're about to give your fucking life? Don't have the fucking words.
We find the monster. Or part of it. A huge mass of green tentacles as far as the eye can see. Spot Wes, too. Still fucking wrapped up in a tentacle. He notices us. Eyes widen when he does. Shakes his head, like he thinks we can't or shouldn't save him.
How the fuck do I kill the monster without hurting Wes? No fucking point if Wes dies because of my effort. Fucking think Devin. You're a god. Can fucking do this. I keep holding Eric's hand. Get the strangest feeling I need to keep in contact with him for the power transmission to fucking work. He must trust me enough, because he doesn't let go, either. Or else he's fucking scared. I know I am.
Wish I could say something to Wes. But I fucking can't. If I do, the monster will notice us. I can feel it.
“Goodbye, Wes. I love you,” I whisper, quiet enough the monster shouldn't hear.
This is fucking it. I concentrate. Imagine the monster disintegrating into billions of tiny particles. See it start to fucking flicker. That what an evil monster looks like when it's dying? I keep at it. Feel myself start to fucking disintegrate. I start fucking flickering. Can't stop concentrating now. Gotta keep my hand on Eric's, too. This better fucking work.
“Eric?” I ask, still fucking whispering.
“Yeah?” he says. He gets that he needs to keep his fucking voice down.
“Uh, sorry about everything. Didn't fucking mean for it to turn out this way, dude,” I mumble.
“I know.”
This is fucking hard. “Guess this is goodbye.”
“Guess so.”
I say, “Good luck. You'll kinda need it. May you do a better fucking job than I did with the power, okay?”
“That won't be hard,” he answers.
I almost laugh. “Yeah, it fucking won't. Goodbye, Eric.”
“Goodbye, Devin,” he murmurs.
And it is fucking goodbye. I start flickering so bad I can't even speak. The tentacle monster fucking explodes in a burst of white light. Feel like I'm gonna burst apart. Can fucking feel myself dying. Stay alive just long enough to see Wes in the corner of my vision. He's fucking alive. Relief floods me. See Eric. He's fucking glowing, too. With the power. The transfer fucking worked. Wes and Eric will fucking live.
Filled with fucking joy now. Yeah, I might be dying, but it means my friends will live. If that's how it has to fucking be, the thing is I wouldn't have it any other way.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Tentacles" & writerverse Table of Doom Alpha #13. End Line: "The thing is I wouldn't have it any other way."