#winston is their clairvoyant companion

[unproduciblesmackdown]

as per earlier tag asides:

astronaut winston with an opaque / reflective helmet does a face reveal for merperson taylor, because they’re in love (and then they kiss)

prior art of this au

[thederailedtrain]

The Magic Shop: Chaos [Two]

Teleporting via chaos magic was much different than the kind of transference spells Kira was used to. It was exhilarating, like speeding down the highway in a convertible, but frightening at the same time. There was a kind of intrinsic fear to it; fear that she might just wind up in any corner of the city, maybe even the world. Kira had to actively fight against her instinct to dissipate the spell with her neutral magic.

When they finally landed, Kira blinked the darkness from her eyes. For just a second, she swore she could see New York in ruins, a black mist swirling through the field just like the dream. But then she blinked one more time and her vision cleared to show the Central Park she knew.

There was something eerie about the Great Lawn at night, particularly when it was empty like this. Then again, it probably had something to do with the dark magic that swirled through every corner of the field.

Where are they? A voice whispered in her mind. Many voices, even her own, echoing the same statement. She knew they were there, she could sense them, but for the life of her couldn’t figure out their exact location. And by the time she figured out why, a very familiar laugh echoed through the lawn.

“You’re right on time,” Jasper sing-songed. “Oh, this is going exactly like we planned.”

Instantly, Kira could hear Gus growl on her right and sink into a crouch. His eyes glowed amber in the dark. He wasn’t the only one preparing for a showdown. All kinds of magic swirled around her as each Otherworlder gathered their strength.

“Come on,” He continued, voice somehow coming from everywhere at once. “Why don’t you just give it up now? Fate’s already sealed.”

A sudden swell of chaos magic burst from the trees, barreling towards the group. But just before it could hit, it crashed against an invisible wall. When the dark mist cleared, Kira could see Siobhan standing with a hand outstretched.

“Speaking as a clairvoyant, I wouldn’t be too sure of yourself, dear,” She spoke. The dim light of the park made it hard to see, but Kira could feel the sure grin on her face through the link. “And I’m confident we won’t be the ones on the wrong side of history.”

A laugh came from somewhere nearby, then suddenly it was all around them. That damn Harbinger laugh was never more terrifying than when it was issued by several dozen of them at the same time.

“It’s history! It’s not something that has sides!” Dustin cackled, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

“No, history only has victors, and they’re the ones who get to write it. I think Winston Churchill said that,” Jasper picked up before anyone could. “And tonight, we’ll be the ones making history.”

While Kira braced for another surge of chaos magic from the trees around them, she realized a second too late that her attention was misplaced. Sure, the Harbingers were preparing to loose spells of their own, but worrying about which one might fire on them first distracted her from another upwelling of energy. One that came from the very earth below them. Kira wanted to shout a warning, but she could already feel her panic reaching out to the others in the mental link. She watched several people try to brace themselves, but only Gus had the reflexes to jump out of the way in time.

With a loud crack, the ground split apart. Roots sprung up from tears in the earth, whipping around in every direction. Several people fell to the ground, but Kira and a few others managed to regain their footing. The magic felt familiar, and Cedric hiss of Mill across her mind only confirmed her suspicions. Even though he hadn’t said it aloud, Kira could still feel every ounce of malice in his tone.

Mill’s attack hadn’t really hurt anyone, but it had done exactly what he’d intended. With their formation broken, Harbingers suddenly sprang forwards from the shadows. Suddenly, everyone had broken off into fights against one or more Harbingers. Within seconds, the Great Lawn became a battlefield.

A cloud of chaos magic sailed towards Kira, and she raised a shield on reflex. She’d been fighting Harbingers for so many months now, it was practically instinctual. The realization of what this battle truly was hit her a moment later. They had to reach the Harbinger stronghold and take the grimoire back. This fight was only a distraction and Kira knew it. Even holding a shield here was a taking time she could be using to Belvedere Castle.

Across a haze of smoke and magic, Kira’s eyes met Cedric’s. She wasn’t sure if it was a subconscious message he’d sent through the link, or if had been hers. All she knew was that she didn’t a telepathy spell to understand what his look was trying to tell her.

Go, Cedric’s eyes said, I can take care of things here.

That was all the invitation Kira needed to drop her shield and begin running towards the other end of the lawn. Gus was at her side a second later, along with Salazar.

It didn’t take long for the Harbingers to catch on. Some followed after her, hurling all kinds of magic in her direction. Before Kira could summon up her shield once more, Salazar’s voice carried through her thoughts. Let me handle these guys, he told her.

As much as she wanted to protest - Salazar was supposed to be the one they were protecting, not the other way around - it took five seconds of watching him fight to realize that he was probably right. He could channel neutral magic much faster than Kira, dispelling blasts of energy before they got halfway to them. At one point, Salazar made a complex hand motion, then thrust his palm outward. His spell took no visible form, but Kira watched as it pierced through each of the Harbinger’s spells like the blade of a lance.

The power of the spell both awed Kira, and made her a little wary, a nervousness she soon attributed to her fear for Salazar’s wellbeing. She could sense the slight increase in his heartbeat through the link, and when she turned his way, she could see tendrils of black peaking out from under his jacket and slowly crawling up the side of his neck.

This was the power of the Mark of Mixba’al, Kira knew instinctively. And then another thought came to her before she could stop it. Don’t burn yourself out, Kira warned. The way Salazar’s knowledge of the Mark bled into hers only served to increase her worry for him. He shouldn’t be drawing so much from it this early into the battle. They still needed him to neutralize whatever ritual the Harbingers had already started. There was no way Kira could do it on her own.

I’ll be fine, Salazar tried to assure her, shooting her a breezy smile. This is nothing. But it was impossible for him to completely hide his feelings when their thoughts were linked like this.

Kira was so deep in her thoughts, in Salazar’s thoughts, she nearly missed the shadows materializing in front of her. She stopped short, throwing up a shield as she did. Half a second later, three different spells crashed into it at once. The Harbinger’s magic was already growing stronger, drawing from the chaos of the fight, and Kira need a second hand to maintain the shield against their next volley.

Once there was a moment of pause, Kira dropped the spell. It felt like she’d been holding her breath and she was finally able to inhale again. Kira sincerely hoped that was due to all the running. She refused to entertain the other option.

Standing on the other side of the dark magic cloud was a Dustin, two other Harbingers at his sides. He laughed as he sized up the group before him, particularly when he noticed Kira’s heavy breathing.

“Come on! The party’s just started and you’re already ghosting?” Dustin cried.

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Salazar spoke up. For someone in the midst of a battle that could decide the fate of the entire magical community, he seemed surprisingly unfazed. “Forgive me, I’m an octogenarian. Keeping up with the hip lingo gets harder when you’re this old.”

For once, it looked like Dustin had absolutely no idea what to say. He just kind of stared at Salazar like he couldn’t figure out if he was lying. Taking advantage of his lapse in concentration, Salazar fired off a spell. It managed to push Dustin back several feet, but he remained standing.

But that might be enough, Kira realized. She looked to both Gus and Salazar and understood that they were on the same page. A quick glance ahead told Kira they were only almost halfway to the castle. If they could just keep pushing forward, they could keep getting closer to their end goal.

“Oh, you’re a tricky old bastard, aren’t you?” Dustin shook a finger at him, then suddenly launched an attack on Salazar. The look on his face was no longer a smirk, but a brutal grimace.

His companions didn’t waste any time joining the fray. The girl facing off against Kira was unusually fast at teleportation, which she used to fire off quick spells before dodging Kira’s. Thankfully, that meant most of her attacks were weak, and Kira was a quick caster herself. It was easy to defend against, but difficult to launch a counterattack. She wasn’t going to get any nearer to the castle like this.

If only she could figure out where the Harbinger would show up next. It wasn’t like there was any pattern to her movement, and Kira couldn’t exactly guess randomly without potentially hitting one of her allies...But she could look into where the Harbinger might wind up. Her clairvoyance - she’d never used it in battle before, but now seemed as good a time as any.

Closing her eyes, Kira built a shield around herself. If she wanted to do this, she was going to have to block out everything. That meant the sounds of battle both nearby and far away. The dozens of other people’s thoughts swirling around her head. The small bursts of magical energy ricocheting off her shield.

It all faded out until Kira was left with nothing but her thoughts. But all she found waiting in her mind was darkness. Searching around, she spotted a glimmer that could’ve been something. However, the harder she concentrated on it, the less she saw, like an afterimage of looking into a bright light.

No, Kira reminded herself, that wasn’t how divination magics worked. She faced away from the glimmer, let it tell her what to do. Slowly, she could feel her free arm raising of its own volition. The timing on this needed to be perfect - or close to it.

Unconsciously, Kira felt herself release the shield, turning at the same moment and loosing the spell from her other hand. Only then did Kira open her eyes to find that her attack had struck true. The female Harbinger lay on the ground, groaning, and Kira threw a quick sleep spell at her before she could shrug off the hit. Okay, that was one down, now she just needed to get back to the task at hand.

A stream of thought that was cut off a second later by a searing pain in her shoulder. No, not her shoulder - this was someone else’s pain she was feeling. It was Gus’s pain. His cry reached her ears a second later, and she turned to watch him tumble across the grass before suddenly digging his claws in the ground to correct his posture. He turned from the Harbinger he had been fighting to hiss a warning at whoever decided to attack him while his back was turned.

That hiss turned into a full-blown growl when he spotted just who it was. Of course it was Bryce. Who else?

The bastard laughed as he strode forwards, waving his hands like a professor indicating to the class to sit. “Down, boy,” Bryce taunted, prompting another growl from Gus. “Ooh, a display of aggression. Going raise your hackles at me next? Because you could probably stand to make yourself look bigger.”

Gus actually balked at him, holding a hand up. “Do you lot all share an insult book or something? That’s gotta be the sixth time one of you’s tried making dog jokes at me.”

“They are a little tired, I’ll give you that,” Bryce shrugged, his look slowly fading into a smirk. “But, hey, isn’t your girlfriend’s degree in animal behavior? I’m sure I could just ask-”

A pulse of anger ripped through Gus, hot and violent, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out. “Don’t you dare threaten Sophie!” Gus’s voice was so gravelly, he almost didn’t recognize it as his own. It took him a few breaths to reign himself back, and even then, he could feel that rage bubbling just beneath the surface.

Far from looking threatened, or even a little intimidated, Bryce just seemed pleased. “Ooh, so you really are a werewolf,” He feigned mild surprise. “I was beginning to wonder.”

“There isn’t an eclipse to hold me back this time,” Gus warned.

A sudden wave of fire passed over Gus’s head, stopping him from saying whatever was going to come out of his mouth next. He turned in the direction of the magic, already knowing what he was going to see. It was Kira, gaze locked onto something beyond his shoulder. The Harbinger he’d been fighting earlier, if he was understanding her thoughts correctly. Apparently the guy had tried to go after him while he was focused on Bryce. Sounded about right.

Don’t worry about me, Gus tried to tell her. Kira said nothing, and Gus was almost worried he hadn’t gotten through. Still, he could see her worry for him - he could feel it. She cared about his well being, that part was obvious, but she couldn’t hide her apprehension about his control. No doubt his best friend had caught that surge of animalistic rage earlier. But this was bigger than him, and Kira had to understand that. Besides, Gus went on. You’re the one with the more important mission here.

At that, Kira’s gaze flickered over to the castle. He could see it through her eyes. The massive structure hadn’t gotten any closer since the last time she’d looked at it.

Are you sure? Kira’s voice finally reached his mind and he grinned his assurance. Without another word whispered across their minds, she looked to Salazar. They both nodded once before running ahead once more.

Just trust me, Gus told her as she ran off. He finally turned back to Bryce, his grin widening into a proper snarl. I’ve got it handled.