Karlach doesn't respond immediately when Hector calls her name. She's standing stock-still, staring out at the water, except for her shoulders which twitch as if with tears, or with some monstrous effort.
"We did it, soldier," she says softly. "The city's going to be all right." Her voice shakes, cracks painfully. "And so are you."
She turns towards him, meets his eyes steadily, her gaze full of equal parts love and pain. And he realizes what is happening only a millisecond before the flame bursts up around her.
She collapses to her knees with a cry of agony. The engine in her chest is making a terrible grinding whine, and winding tendrils of flame shoot around her body.
He remembers the night in camp so many months ago when the flames almost consumed her, how he struggled to calm her, how he felt the first moment of realization that he could lose her. But that was when they still had hope the engine could be fixed. There is no such hope now, only brutal implacable certainty. There are no words he can give her that will calm the inferno.
How much effort was it taking her, all day, just to ensure that she could hold on until the fight was done and they could say goodbye?
Gods, he thinks, and it is a prayer to which he expects no answer. No, no, no... no... please... I thought we might still have more time... The heavy weight of future grief that has sat with him for so many months becomes a lead ball in his chest.
Unthinking, he barrels towards her, falls on his knees in front of her. The heat is tremendous; sweat pours down his face, into his eyes, blinding him, mixing with the tears.
She forces her eyes open to meet his. "Engine's finally cooked," she whispers. "Held on just long enough."
She tries to smile-- in spite of everything she tries to smile, and gods, he loves her, he loves her so much and he feels like something clawed and monstrous is ripping at his heart. "So...?" she gets out shakily. "H- how'd I do?"
He feels choked with grief and love. He ignores the heat and the way it starts to blister his palms at once, and reaches out to cup her face in both hands, unwilling to spare even a moment's remaining touch. He is crying freely now, no sign of any of his control remaining. Before her he has no secrets left. "You were spectacular," he says, his voice thick. "In every way..."
She manages a strange, shaky laugh that catches and sticks in her throat. "For you..." she groans. She presses her hand against his cheek; he feels the heat sink into him and hisses a breath out between his teeth but doesn't pull away. "And for the city, and for myself, and blah, blah..." she says, and laughs again, just a tinge of hysteria in the sound. "But most of all, for you..."
For you... He clings unashamedly to her, struggling for any words that might articulate what he's feeling. It was always for you too... everything I learned, everything I became, every bit of bravery and hope and struggle, it was all for you, always, for how you made me see this city and this world and myself... gods, please, don't leave me...
Don't leave me alone...
There's another burst of heat around her; the shockwave intensity of it sends him back onto his heels. Her hand drops from his cheek and he feels the pain of the burn her palm left in his skin. "Careful," she chokes out. "Hot..."
She hunches over, her breath coming faster now, the animal panic struggling to overcome her remaining composure. "How'd I do?" she whispers, more to herself than to him. "Spectacular..." Another hoarse laugh. "It's the one thing I can't beat, isn't it. Same below as above..."
The surge eases; she tips her head towards his again, her eyes drifting closed. "I love... you..." she mutters fiercely.
Her eyes open again, fix on his; he sees the flame in her eyes and along her body start to take on the blue hue that rises when the emotion between them is particularly intense. "You. More than anything. I saw-- GODS!"
She screams, spasms with the rush of pain, and the agony on her face feels like a knife in his own chest.
She tries to lift her head again, and it takes more visible effort this time. The tears and sweat on her face rise in a burst of steam. "Goodbye, sun..." she whispers. "Goodbye, sea. Goodbye..."
He feels empty. Hollow. Unreal, as if he's watching the moment from a distance. He can't bear it; he wants to scream, to rage, to tear apart reality if it will keep her with him a little longer. But he can't move. He can only watch as the flame begins to consume her.
An unexpected voice breaks the moment from behind him.
"No. Stop. I won't allow this."
Wyll has moved up to Hector's side. His eyes are full of pain and sudden urgency. "Karlach," he says emphatically. "You're coming with me - back to Avernus." He turns his head, meeting Hector's eyes; Hector can barely see him through the haze of grief and tears. "We can't let her die," the Blade insists. "Not like this. Not now."
Hope stabs through him suddenly - hope, indomitable in spite of everything that stands against it. Hope he learned from her.
Karlach has always insisted that she cannot go back to the Hells, that it would be worse than death, and it has been so important to him that he honor that, so important that he hasn't even considered other options, not really. He would have been ready to go back to Avernus with her, if that was what she chose... he decided that before they even left the Shadowlands.
But it was never on the table, because she was convinced that Zariel would be on her in an instant, that she would be taken back into slavery in the devil's army, and she would rather die.
But the last time they talked about it was months ago. Surely... with how far he's come, and with Wyll going to the hells as well... surely between them they could see to it that Karlach remains free and lives...
And Wyll would not be alone in his new life as a hunter of devils, he would have friends at his side...
And perhaps one day Zariel would fall to their combined might, and Avernus be truly free of her cruelty...
Surely...
Surely death can't be better than that hope?
Karlach struggles to inhale a hoarse, sobbing breath. "You can't. You..."
He reaches out through the flame again, takes her hand, holds it tightly. "Enough, Karlach," he says softly. "The three of us will make a new life in Avernus... together..."
"So what do you say?" Wyll asks. "Die here, now, or live on with people who love you?" He crouches at Hector's side, reaches out a hand to her. "Zariel won't touch you. I swear it, Karlach."
Come with me, please... please... Hector thinks desperately. I will follow you into damnation if only you will lead me there. I will carry Selune's light into that burning place and be at peace. Just please... come with me...
If she denies it again, he will not fight it. He will stand here and watch while she lets the flames consume her. He will honor whatever she decides in this moment, however much it might kill him to do so.
But she doesn't fight it. Her eyes open-- and he sees his own hope reflected in her gaze. Maybe it is that she sees, as he does, that there are new possibilities now, with how powerful they have all grown and with the city once again safe behind them, or perhaps in this moment of truth she has simply realized that she is not ready to die.
But whatever it is... she agrees.
"All right. All right..." she gasps out hoarsely. "But we have to go. NOW. I can't hold on much longer."
If the grief and pain were tremendous, the relief that shoots through him now is so staggering that he feels dizzy. His heart clenches painfully and the tears do not stop, and he reaches out and takes her hand in both of his, pulling her to her feet.
"Thank the gods you've seen sense," Wyll says excitedly. Hector suspects he's almost as relieved to have friends coming at his side to Avernus as he is to see that Karlach will live - although Wyll is even more selfless than Hector himself, and Karlach's fate is the only thing top of mind for him at present. "Come! To Avernus we go. Our next adventure awaits."
Their goodbyes to the others are fumbled and hasty. They will find some other way to do it properly when Karlach is safe. There's only one thing on Hector's mind now - the portal in the Devil's Fee, the gold it will take to get Helsik to open a path... and the hope of calm on the other side.
He is no fool - what they are deciding to do in this moment is to abandon the hope of rest and celebration and go to a new war, almost at once. But he does not care. It is more than he ever dared to hope for.
He kisses her fiercely, ignoring the heat burning through her, and they all break into a run.
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