"That was incredible, Whumpee!" Caretaker shouted as they watched the wave from the river crest over the hill with the invaders. By the time the waters receded, there was no trace of the army that had come to wipe them out. The water retreated back to the river and settled once more, as though nothing had ever happened.
"G-G-Good," Whumpee mumbled as they took a shaking step towards Caretaker.
Caretaker had been planning on proposing a celebration with the rest of the meager force of rebels they had found themself with, but seeing Whumpee's pale sweaty face had them rethinking everything. "What's wrong, Whumpee? What did you do?"
Whumpee's limbs trembled, a fine tremor moving through their whole body. "Wh-Wh-What hhhhhhhad-d-d-d-d t-t-t-t-ooooooo be d-d-d-d-one."
Caretaker reacted without thinking as Whumpee's shaking knees gave out and they collapsed forward. Caretaker caught Whumpee without a second thought. The village's elder had always said magic came with a price. Whumpee had used a lot of magic.
"Talk to me, Whumpee. Tell me what's wrong. Whumpee!" Caretaker urged desperately as Whumpee went completely boneless in their arms. "Whumpee! Say something!"
Whumpee didn't respond to Caretaker's shaking. Didn't respond to Caretaker's shouts and pleas. They lay as a complete dead weight in Caretaker's arms, completely unresponsive to the shouts of triumph and joy around them.
"HELP!" Caretaker roared. "SOMEBODY HELP! GET THE HEALER!" What had been the price of their victory? And what price was Whumpee paying now? "PLEASE!"
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Warnings: Pregnancy, pregnant woman in danger, building collapse
Fandom: Ghostbusters
Pairings: Julian Matthews/Marie Spengler
If you're not familiar, Marie and Julian are OCs in my AU where Cathleen, Egon's wife and Callie's mother, doesn't develop cancer and die. Marie is Egon and Cathleen's youngest child, born at the end of Ghostbusters II. Julian is her love interest and fiancee.
This takes place during "We Get Lost Just Too Be Found," a fic set after the events of Frozen Empire that focuses on Marie's pregnancy, as well as my own lore that I created for my headcanons.
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Even if no one in Julian's blood family had been a Ghostbuster, he had proven himself to be worthy of the job. Sure, he might have only gotten this job because he was dating the youngest daughter of one of the founding Busters and his main ambition was music, but he was still proud that he had the honor of wearing that uniform.
After thirteen years of separation and their reunion in Summerville after Marie's father died, he was proud to answer each call with her.
And he could be completely forgiven if most of his attention wasn't on the spook, but on Marie, at the moment.
He had been shocked when she told him that she was pregnant right after they had defeated Garraka. Not because he didn't want children, though; he had always hoped that one day, he would be a father. Even back in eighth grade, when it all began, the two of them talked about how they wanted to get married and have kids together.
Their original plan when he decided to join her and her family in the city to reopen the Ghostbusters' business was that they would date for a few years. Then, if he still wished, he would propose. His Nanny Hazel's tanzanite and platinum ring never strayed from his person, should a perfect opportunity arise.
But when she had told him, not caring that they were in full view of the television cameras and reporters and Roberta Peck melting down, the shock was very quickly replaced with pure joy.
In addition to their room at the firehouse, they had moved into an apartment of their own together nearby at a building that Winston's company owned after the events of Thanksgiving 2021. There had been a spare room that functioned as a multi-purpose room-- Marie's lab, Julian's music room, whatever it needed to be. Now, it was their baby's nursery.
They had found out that they were having a boy when she was in her eighteenth week. A name hadn't been chosen yet, but they both knew that they wanted to honor Egon.
Callie had managed to sell the majority of Trevor and Phoebe's baby stuff (including the maternity clothes she had worn) without finding out in a cruel twist of fate that she was pregnant again, but she still held onto a few sentimental items that she gave to Marie as gifts. Trevor and Phoebe were excited, even if a part of Phoebe that was still very much a child might have felt a sliver of jealousy towards her unborn cousin. And Cathleen, of course, was thrilled about another grandchild.
Of course, it was all bittersweet with Marie's dad's notable absence.
As for his family, well...
The only ones who had ever shown the Spenglers true kindness was his father, his sister Raquel, and his grandmother. His brothers, the older Graham and the younger Blake, had been prone to go along with the other kids who bullied Marie. And his mother...
Well, considering how well he remembered his mother partook in the gossip surrounding the "Dirt Farmer" and the "Wicked Witch of Summerville's" family, it didn't surprise him how she had reacted after he announced his reconciliation with Marie Spengler (or the "Freak," as she had been called by their classmates) and his intention to move to New York City with her. Any interactions that he had with his mother since were curt yet civil, if she could say nothing at all.
What did surprise him was how quickly his mother had boarded the next plane to New York when he called her to tell her about Marie's pregnancy. At first, he had been hopeful-- maybe a little too optimistic-- that she would learn to see Marie for who she truly was.
But he had been wrong.
At least now, the two of them could get through the last trimester without any personal stress. But considering a few small issues that Marie had, Cathleen had gotten Winston to invoke his power and put Marie on what was the Ghostbusters equivalent of desk duty last month. But she had been insistent on coming on this call when Phoebe brought up the possibility that Ariadne was responsible.
Phoebe's hunch had been correct, seeing as this ghost was able to deflect the proton streams easily. The ghost lifted its arm to dodge the stream from Marie's proton pack, and it hit the stone ceiling. Julian saw the cracks beginning to form in the stone, the first small pebble hitting the floor.
"MARIE, WATCH OUT!"
Suddenly, he leapt towards her to try to shield her as that half of the building began to collapse around the two of them.
"MARIE!" he heard Callie's voice cry out.
It was the last thing that the both of them heard before the darkness claimed them.
Hi! I really like your ocs, Darius and Mianu! I binge-read everything I could find about them last night. I was wondering (if it's ok to ask): there's this one short story called "collapse" and what would be Darius' pov of that?
Hi hello this is the greatest ask I have ever received!! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you've enjoyed my writing!
(And thank you for getting me out of my writing slump for these boys lol)
For context, this is the drabble mentioned. And now... we have Darius' POV!
CW for magical exhaustion, collapse, vague descriptions of a magical battle, brief mentions of fire/lava.
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Darius was trained for things like this. But that didn’t make it come any easier. Especially when magic was involved. He still knew so little about it.
Not that his lack of knowledge had stopped him from joining Mianu on this latest quest. The moment Mianu had heard tell of a sorcerer encroaching on the edges of his kingdom, threatening his people, Mianu had rushed to take care of the matter. He hadn’t even taken any guards or soldiers or other magic-users along with him.
As reckless and stubborn as always. Darius couldn’t help but admire that.
But it still made him all the more determined to stay right by Mianu’s side. To make sure nothing terrible happened to him. All Darius wanted was to keep Mianu safe. The young prince had more than earned that.
And yet, once again, Mianu had been the one to save him.
The sorcerer had been simply too powerful for Darius to handle alone. As much as part of him had wanted to. They could create monsters, creatures of fire and stone and pure, destructive rage. It was all too much for just a simple knight with only a sword.
But Mianu’s power was far stronger than the sorcerer’s. The sorcerer was all showy blasts of light and fire and roars of rocky beasts. Mianu’s power was drawn from the shadows. The very same shadows that the sorcerer’s light cast.
The fact that using so much magic was bound to cause almost as much damage to Mianu as it would to the sorcerer apparently didn’t cross the prince’s mind.
Darius had done his best to make Mianu’s job easier. Mostly by protecting him. He’d kept the sorcerer distracted, had done his best to make sure there wasn’t a single curse that touched his prince. Not again.
Through all the chaos, Darius only had to avoid the sorcerer’s curses. Mianu’s spells, even the shadowy creatures he unleashed, never once went near him.
At last, the sorcerer fell. Just as every monster the villain had summoned fell before them. Mianu kept unleashing his magic. Kept up his spellwork. Kept allowing his shadows to lash out.
Darius shouted for him to stop.
He would never know if it was because of that shout, or because Mianu simply had nothing left in him. But finally, finally, Mianu allowed his magic to fade.
The shadows drifted, dissipating into little more than mist. The air grew warmer. A bit of light peeked through the clouds. Their battleground was torn and ragged, the crumbling, melting creatures the sorcerer had summoned scattered in endless pieces. It was a grim sight.
But Darius only saw Mianu.
The prince’s eyes burned. His chest heaved, every breath a battle. Shadows writhed around his arm like a living beast.
“Mianu!” Darius called. He dropped out of his fighting stance, his sword dangling loosely from his hand. “Mianu, are you alright? They didn’t hit you, did they?”
Gods, if he had been hit, Darius would never forgive himself.
He took a small step closer, waiting for an answer. But Mianu said nothing. Slowly, the mass of shadow around his arm started to dissipate. Darius winced in sympathy. After using that much magic… he was sure Mianu was going to be in a lot of pain. If he wasn’t already.
“Come on,” Darius said gently. “You need rest. I’m sure we can find somewhere to…”
He trailed off. Mianu hadn’t moved an inch. His gaze was still distant, his normally beautiful emerald eyes still darkened by the force of his magic.
Carefully, Darius put himself right in Mianu’s line of vision.
“Mianu…?”
Mianu still didn’t look at him. Not quite. But he finally spoke.
“Are they gone?”
His voice was choked. Rough as sand. Darius hardly understood the words.
Darius frowned. “What do you…?”
“The monsters.” Mianu still didn’t have the strength to look up. “The sorcerer. Are they gone?”
Darius blinked. He glanced quickly behind him, needlessly confirming that everything was, in fact, over. His gaze immediately returned to Mianu. The prince was still tormented. Still caught in the grip of his own magic.
Darius’ heart felt like it was going to burst.
“Yes, Mianu,” he said gently. “They’re gone. We’re safe now.”
Slowly, Mianu blinked. And his eyes returned to normal.
Darius almost sighed with relief. But that relief was immediately drowned out by the sigh Mianu gave. It was long and low, a sound of pure exhaustion.
“Good…” Mianu murmured.
And then he simply tipped forwards. Mianu dropped like a puppet with strings cut.
Darius cried out in shock. His sword hit the dirt. He didn’t notice. He simply rushed to catch Mianu before he fully fell to the ground.
Mianu slumped against him. Darius wrapped his arms around the prince, holding him as tightly as he dared.
“I’ve got you, Mianu,” he whispered. “It’s alright now. You can rest. I’ll take care of things, I promise.”
Even as he murmured the words, so soft that if anyone else had been around, they wouldn’t have heard, he started lowering Mianu carefully to the ground. It was the safest way to change his grip. And he couldn’t just pick Mianu up in a bear hug and go running off like that, yelling for help. Even if his instincts practically screamed for him to do just that.
He had to do this right.
Mianu didn’t so much as budge when Darius finally got him properly situated in his arms. He didn’t stir when Darius got to his feet, pulling Mianu along with him. That alone was cause for alarm, as far as Darius was concerned.
Mianu must have been completely and utterly exhausted. Otherwise he would have done something stupid. Like pretend that he didn’t want or need to be carried.
And he definitely needed to be carried.
There was still so much to do. They had won the battle, but had left an utter mess behind them. There were people to talk to. Things to rebuild. Patrols to set up, to make sure something like this didn’t happen again. And that would mean going all the way back to the castle itself, which felt almost impossibly far away at this point.
But to Darius, none of that mattered. Not just then.
First he had to get Mianu somewhere safe and comfortable, so he could sleep this off. And so they could patch up anything that needed to be patched up. Then… well, then they could figure out the rest.
As soon as Mianu was awake. As soon as he was okay.
Darius was a knight of the realm. But he was Mianu’s knight above all else.
And he would do anything for his prince.
Including carry him to whatever little house in the nearby village happened to be willing to spare a bed.
The media is sickening. The fact that they couldn't have the decency to turn off the camaras the minute they knew things were serious. The fact that they filmed his wife, crying. I just.... how fucking insensitive can you be. His teammates were crying for God's sake and they couldn't even be afraid in peace. No, they had to protect Christian's privacy from vultures like them. Shame on the entire football media. Shame on the broadcasting stations and shame on the news channels that keep replaying this horrible incident. Shame on all of them. This is a man's life we're talking about. Not some sensationalistic headline. Fuck you.
Cw: collapse, injury, exhaustion, crying, bleeding, past abuse, implied torture
Whumpee’s face contorted in pain, beads of sweat dripping down their forehead as the deep exhaustion rooted in their bones only grew. Welted bug bites along their limbs stung and itched, but the discomfort had faded to the back of their mind a long while ago.
Their legs were as stiff as lead beneath them, feeling just as heavy, each step draining away at their already scarce energy levels. Their footsteps were heavy and clumsy, eyes barely cracked open as they stumbled forwards. Their extremities had long since gone numb, a faint trail of blood left behind from the cracked soles of their feet.
They had long since stopped trying to avoid the rocks.
The world swayed around them, the stretches of forests blurring together until trees were nothing but imperceptible streaks of browns and greens.
It was no surprise they didn’t see the tree root, snaking it’s way across their path, hidden under a layer of dead leaves and moss.
A small sob slipped from Whumpee’s lips as they crashed to the ground, their body slipping out of their control, succumbing to the exhaustion.
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Elita: The first thing Lyra did was get down next to him, and check he was still breathing, he was thankfully his chest expanding up and down gently.
Lyra: Guy! Please answer me. Guy! Come on Guy, talk to me.
Elita: Lyra was trying not to panic, but it wasn’t working. She had had to pick up Judith and Lysa off the floor a few times but never Guy… Till now.
***
Lyra: Unh… come on, roll over… Unh… heave ho Guy! HEAVE!
Elita: With a near superhuman effort Guy was rolled over by Lyra to she could check his airway was totally clear, I dunno, I’m not a CPR expert, so maybe what she did wasn’t quite perfect, but… try to understand, this is her baby lay there in front of her. She might be a drug addled mess, but this was her baby, her son and she was as close to freaking out as it gets.
***
Elita: When Guy was on his back, Lyra checked his airways and found he was breathing normally thankfully. Tears began to stream down her face as all sorts of scenarios flashed through her head. She slapped him on the face gently, she knew she couldn’t move him alone.
Lyra: Guy please… Please don’t lie down there like this! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Please Guy, do something! Say something! Honey I can’t lift you up, I’m too weak… I’m too gods damned weak…
Elita: We know what she means. Lyra’s guilt her pain and regret all of it was culminating right now in this moment. Seeing Guy down there, was just the very shock she needed.
