#and then proceeded to kill ketheric twice over

[mumms-the-word]

(Im)possible Odds

Day 10 of the BG3 Fic February Challenge

So.....I have always sort of thought that Gale's little scene when he sees the Elder Brain in Moonrise was rushed as hell. Especially if you romance him. Man does a 180 so fast it's a wonder he doesn't start the fight Dazed or Off Balance.

So I thought I'd fix that a little.

For dramatic purposes you are welcome to either imagine companions in the background being like "GET A ROOM" or pretend they have slunk off to get a different vantage point for the fight, leaving Gale and Dani conveniently alone to be dramatic as they please

Check out my masterlist of BG3 fics!

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10. A tearful, hard kiss before battle. Bonus points if it’s a confessional kiss!

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Dani hid herself behind a structure of mixed stone and flesh, watching with growing horror as the elder brain rose slowly into the air, dripping brine from the green pool below. An elder brain, extremely powerful and dangerous, lashed to control by the three figures that stood below it. 

How could they possibly fight something like that? Maybe if they had weeks to plan, to prepare, maybe if she had twelve kingdoms worth of explosives, or an army of her own, maybe—but a handful of them? Even she couldn’t fool herself.

Dani was not a fighter, or at least, she wasn’t a good fighter. In the shadow of that thing, she felt small. Insignificant. She’d never felt so tiny in her life. Her heart started to race and her vision grew fuzzy. She reached out a hand to grip the stone next to her, not even noticing when her fingers gripped into fleshy illithid matter instead.

“Look at that crown,” Gale whispered. She turned her head to find him standing practically at her shoulder, his gaze fixed solidly on the brain. He looked…awed. Enthralled. “It radiates with power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. To have it…to hold…” He shook his head slightly. “If only I could…”

A new fear gripped her chest, warring with the panic that was threatening to choke her from the presence of the elder brain. There was a look in his eyes that she did not like. 

Hunger.

“Gale…?”

He didn’t seem to hear her. He stared at the brain for another several seconds before closing his eyes tightly. “No. I can’t. I…” 

He paused, his expression almost pained. Then he opened his eyes to meet her gaze. “This is it. The moment we’ve…I’ve…been waiting for. I must do as Mystra commands.”

There was no fighting the panic that welled up in Dani then. What he was suggesting—no. The orb? Here? It wouldn’t just kill the brain, it would kill him—and her, and everyone within a city-wide radius. Yes, defeating the brain right now felt insurmountable but to resort to the orb…

“You can’t,” she whispered hoarsely. She shook her head and took a step closer to him. “Gale, no, you can’t. You can’t condemn all of us like that. We’ll find another way, we’ll think of something else, we—“

“What other choice do we have?” Gale interrupted. He flung out a hand toward the brain and the figures controlling it. “Do you see the size of that thing? Do realize what’s controlling it, what is giving it that kind of power? More than just a goddess counts on my courage in this moment, Dani. Whole worlds hang in the balance.”

“We’ll find another way,” Dani said, but even she could hear the desperation in her voice. The clock was ticking. She could feel the waves of power emanating off the brain, a mix of illithid power that felt all too familiar and some sort of sick, twisted magic that threatened to buckle her knees if she let it. She couldn’t let him use the orb but she didn’t know what else to do either.

She reached out a trembling hand and gripped the front of his robe. “Gale. Please. Don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“Another way to fight an elder brain? Dani.” He took her shoulders in her hands, gripping them tightly. “I don’t want to do this. But what choice do we have? It could be over. Just like that. If you get a head start—you have spells that can get you safety. I’ll stay here, and—“

“No!” She shook him using her hold on his robe. Gods, she wanted to slap him, hoping he’d see sense, but she knew that was just her panic fueling her head with terrible ideas. “Stop it. Please.”

Her voice broke on the last word, tears welling up into her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. She ignored them, tightening her hold on his robe and giving him another little shake.

“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t care what Mystra ordered. I don’t care that I’m terrified of that thing out there. You can’t do this.”

He stared at her, taken aback. It was the first time he’d seen her cry, she realized, the first time she’d admitted to being truly, genuinely frightened of something. She swallowed, reaching out to grip his robe with both of her hands. 

“Choose me instead,” she said, blinking away the next wave of tears. “The one who loves you. Choose me. We’ll find another way. We’ll figure something out.”

He swallowed hard, his hands still on her shoulders. “Dani…”

“Please, Gale. I love you.”

He looked from her to the brain behind her, eyes momentarily watching whatever the figures were doing in the distance. Then he nodded and looked back down at her. “I love you too. Much more than myself. More even than Mystra.”

He closed his eyes again, as if fighting briefly with his decision. But when he met her gaze again, there was determination in his dark eyes. His hold on her shoulders tightened.

“I choose you,” he said softly. “Whether I condemn this world or not. I choose you.”

His hands cradled her face and he bent his head, bringing his lips to hers in a crushing kiss that took her breath away and sent her reeling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, forcing him to shift his hold on her but never breaking the kiss. She parted his lips with her tongue, deepening the kiss, feeling him shiver when her sharp teeth briefly caught his bottom lip.

If this was the last kiss she would share with this man she would damn well make it worth it.

They parted for air, breathless, their gazes locked. As he reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks, she brushed her thumb against the magic-darkened veins that trailed from his left eye down toward his neck. 

“I hope you realize I don’t have a plan for fighting that thing out there,” she said, before she could think better of it. “We could both die anyway and make everything worse. Not that I want you to change your mind but—“

“But a chance with you is better than guaranteed death at Mystra’s command,” he said. He kissed her again and she suppressed the urge to hold him to her and kiss him for another five minutes straight. “I chose you. I love you. I’m not going to change my mind.”

“You’re with me, then?” she breathed. “Whatever happens down there, whatever we have to fight?”

He nodded. “I’m with you. All the way, Dani.”

“Good. I—good.” She hesitated, wanting to say more, but coming up with nothing. So she just kissed him one last time.

“For luck,” she said. “Call it bardic inspiration.”

A smile flickered on his lips, even as she pulled away, out of his embrace. “Consider me more than inspired…my love.”

Together they turned to set their eyes on the elder brain, and prepare for whatever would come next. Dani wound her fingers with his, squeezing tightly. Whatever happened, they would do this together. Not Mystra’s way.

Her way.

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BONUS: an endgame scene for you friendlies.

Dani paused at the base of the Netherbrain’s stem, clutching a stitch at her side, trying to catch her breath from their sprint up the crumbling ruins of High Hall. Gods. Did the brain have to be so stupidly high up?

Gale was at her side, barely out of breath having misty-stepped his way through. Together they craned their heads up to look at the brain.

“The brain,” he said. “It’s high above the city now—far away from any innocents.”

Dani straightened and looked at him, setting her hands on her hips as she caught her breath. They had fought their way through and still had a big fight ahead, but she was feeling confident. Perhaps over-confident. They had an army of allies at their call and a dozen boons and blessings to strengthen them in the battle. She didn’t want to say victory was assured, but it was looking damn near possible.

“I hope you realize that I don’t have a plan for fighting that thing up there,” she said.

He smiled slightly and looked skyward. “You always think best on your feet, my love.” He paused, his expression shifting, growing grave. “I…you know I can end this now. Stop the Absolute and spare the city.”

She looked sidelong at him and crossed her arms. “Gale.”

“I mean it, Dani. The stage is set for my final act.”

She tilted her head, a little exasperated. They had just talked about this. “Gale.”

“You’ve brought me right where I need to be—“

“Gale.” She reached out and took hold of his robe, pulling him into a deep, lingering kiss. Silencing all his words, all his logic, all his lingering doubts. When she pulled away, he looked a little dazed.

“I’m not letting you get away that easily,” she said softly. “Choose me, Gale. The one who loves you.”

“I…but…”

“We can do this.” She cupped his cheek in her hand. “Do you remember what you told me, when we first saw the elder brain in Moonrise? When you chose me then?”

He nodded slowly. “A chance with you is better than guaranteed death at Mystra’s command.” He looked back up at the brain, and then once more to her. “Dani, if you’re mistaken, this could be the end of everything. We will be failing, right as the last hurdle.”

“Fail? Us?” She grinned. “When have you ever known us to fail?”

“I shall avoid answering that with what I know to be an entire catalogue of anecdotes but…” He returned her grin with a soft smile of his own. “I know I have only made it this far thanks to you. So who am I to question such sterling guidance now?”

She tilted her head, smoothing the wrinkles she’d made in his robe. “Good. So. A kiss for luck?”

“Always, my love.” He leaned in and kissed her, soft and sweet and lingering. 

She ruined it with a smile, whispering against his lips, “A little bardic inspiration to get you through.” 

She pulled away and took a step back, indicting the brain stem with her head. “Now. Let’s go kick some massive cerebral ass.”