Swan Song

Hearts Ablaze, Banners High Part 3

When Lock and Ted arrived in Camelot, the first one to bar their path was non other than Robin.

"Changed sides once more, huh?" Lock asked, dismounting his dragon. "If you're looking to ally yourself with me again, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. All offers are now off the table."

Robin glanced up into the air, hair swaying in the breeze. "You won't win. He has taken precautions."

"I have a new way of dealing with Vanitas," Lock replied. "He no longer holds the particular advantage he's always had on me."

The girl looked at him sadly. "Wish that were true of me."

"Why do you follow him, anyway?" Ted asked, equally ready to fight and bolt. "He cares nothing, if at all, for any of you, and you don't seem that interested in him, either. So why? Why be his puppet?"

A soft smile made its way unto Robin's face as she reached beneath her shirt, then lifted it slightly. "Puppet," she echoed, revealing a symbol branded into her skin. "Ancient magic. Can't break it."

Lock used some of Samael's power to create a lance made of bone. "I see. It seems there's only one option left for both of us." He pointed it at Robin, who nodded, pulling out her daggers.

Underground, Vanitas opened the cell, and was surprised to see Merlin on the other side. "What is this?"

The old sorcerer didn't open his eyes. "It is as you see."

"I sense the air elemental in here, and I know you're not him. Explain yourself, and I'll kill you quickly."

An image of another Merlin flickered between the two, and Vanitas chuckled.

"Of course. That one was a double all along." He narrowed his green eyes, and black, thorny vines started coming out of the floor. "Ruling an entire city with Arthur as the figurehead, all while keeping your real body safe? How many generations have you done this?" The vines crept toward Merlin, covering the entire room on their way there.

"I've done nothing of the sort," the elemental replied, standing up. "All I've ever wanted was to help Uther's son become what he was meant to become. Arthur can do it. He is the chosen one - I'm sure of it. You and Lock and I can play our games, but Arthur will be the one to win in the end. Of this, I am sure."

"Like you were sure of Morgan's great power?" Vanitas sneered. "She died, you know. Titania as well. The earth one fell rather easily. Only you and Nimue remain, and Azteca will fall. Once I'm reunited with that much of my darkness, good luck stopping me."

Merlin looked down at himself. "The time spent here has certainly left my body weakened." The vines were almost touching him. "I doubt I could do much other than stall you if we fought."

"Then you might as well tell me where Arthur is right now," the angel hissed. "You know you can't win. Why cling to hope? It's the cruelest of emotions, second only to love."

"You were great once," Merlin said. "The greatest angel in all of Eden. And you let the others strip away what made you so special. Lock is similar to that. The difference is that he is stripping himself of his positive attributes. There will be no victor in the war you're fighting. Once all is said and done, Arthur will remain standing - the once and future king."

One of the vines wrapped around his leg as Vanitas snarled. "He isn't even a candidate for the chosen one, you simpering simpleton. Ramble on if you wish, but the boy king is no threat to me. None of you are." Malice glinted in his eyes. "If you beg for it right now, I might revive you in the next universe, and give you a good life. Your boy king, too."