An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 4/6
Fandom: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Characters: Taako (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz (The Adventure Zone)
Additional Tags: Taakitz Week, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Lich Taako, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, well more like Enemies to Oh No He's Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Temporary Character Death, because of lich shenanigans
Series: Part 2 of Taakitz Week 2: Electric Boogaloo
Summary:
Kravitz had dealt with many liches and other undead abominations in his time, and at the core they were all the same. Even those that turned themselves with good intentions eventually succumbed to darkness. He'd been a reaper for a long, long time, and there had never been an exception to that, not with liches.
And yet he was still here, talking to this lich and finding himself wanting to make a deal. Wanting to make an exception.
There was something about Taako that was different, and he wanted to help.
managed to get one more chapter out before nano starts!
Well, heaven forgive him! and forgive us all! Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. - William Shakespeare [Measure for Measure]
I’m not completely satisfied by the composition but I finally have an headcanon for Taako! (And Lich!Taako from my fic to play the fool). Design blatantly inspired by @siobhanrobotnik‘s, who’s been inspired by my description.
A set-up chapter for a AU fanfic I’ve been thinking of.
Read in AO3
“What if Arms Outstreched didn’t happen?”
Taako tried to think. He needed to get Magnus back, no matter what it took. Merle looked just as confused as he did as he tried to talk to ”Magnus” about how they should leave Wonderland. Time was running out and Lydia was just smirking at him. Then he got an idea. It was a stupid idea, but he was desperate.
”I’ve got an fuckin' idea for ya!” Taako shouted and tightened his grip around his umbrastaff.
”Let’s hear it”, Lydia said and took a step closer to Taako.
”Let’s make a deal!” Taako smiled.
”Oh, the wizard want’s to make deal. Well, isn’t that interesting”, Edward said through Magnus’s lips. Taako took a deep breath and looked Merle for some sort of reassurance. The dwarf just looked at him even more confused then before.
” You will return my friends soul back to his fucking body and... and I’ll join you two. Think how much you could advertise this place even more if you could say that Taako from Tv is your new host. I’ll do it. And it would be a win-win situation. You would get my body and soul and a new host to wonderland and I could wear wonderful clothes whole day. You remember that it was the first thing I wished when we arrived here. You’ll let my friends go, and I’ll stay here”, Taako explained. He tried to keep himself steady, holding the umbrastaff even tighter. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run away from this horrible situation. But he could not.
”What heck are you saying?!” Merle shouted and tugged Taako’s hand violently. ”You can’t even possible consider that you would stay in this hellhole! There must be anoth-." Taako tugged his hand from Merle’s grip and turned his gaze back to the elves.
”Hmm… we don’t really have any use for your body”, Edward smirked and looked at Taako from head to toe. ” We don’t want that one day you just die, and oh hey look, we lost our new host-”
”But if you would let us turn you in to lich, then I think that deal could be possible. Think about it. You could be beautiful forever and nothing could hurt you ever again”, Lydia continued in the same overly sweet tune, stroking Taako’s blood covered cheek. Taako wanted to cry, but he kept the tears from flowing down by biting his lip.
”A lich?” Even that word alone made him shiver.
”Taako you stop this now, or-”, Merle argued, tugging the helm of Taako’s shirt.
”I’ll do it. But first. Bring Magnus back” his voice was hoarse but determined. Lydia snapped her fingers and so did Edward, still Magnus's body. Taako could see Edward care-freely stepping out of Magnus’s body, like it was no big deal. Suddenly the large man’s body fell down to floor, face down. Taako was delighted to notice that Magnus's body sprung back to life. Magnus breathed heavily and held his face as he tried to stand up. A puff of that black smoke instantly rose from his mouth as he looked at Taako in disbelief. Edward simply showed Magnus forward towards Merle and started to walk towards Taako. The elf had opened the pocket spa and thrown all his belongings in to it, but with his umbrastaff he hesitated. He just could not let go of it.
” You will not need it here”, Edward whispered in to his ear and yanked the umbrella from Taako’s hands and threw it in to the pocket spa. Taako shrunk the spa back to it’s pocket size.
”Taako what are you doing?” Magnus yelled as Merle helped him get up. Taako threw the spa towards Merle who chaught in his wooden arm.
” Give my hat to Kravitz and tell him that I love that dork. And pat Angus in a back for me. And try to continue adventuring without me”, Taako smiled painfully as his voice started to crack.
”Taako don’t fuck around! Come back here!” Merle shouted holding the pocket spa tightly in his hands.
”And you will let them out of this place?” Taako asked one more time, as Edward and Lydia both offered their glowed hands to Taako.
”Would we lie to you?” The elves said in unison.
” Taako!” Magnus screamed, trying to run towards the elves, but Lydia simply snapping her fingers stopped him with some kind of force field. More black smoke emitted from Magnus as he ran head first in to the force field.
”Sorry boys, but turning somebody in to a lich can be a bit messy, we wouldn’t want any outsiders to get hurt”, Edward laughed. Taako’s breath was now getting faster and faster as he now felt nothing but fear. But at least his friends were safe. His cheek hurt as a salty tear met the deep cut in it.
”Oh come on Taako, there is no need to cry. You’ll love it here”, Lydia reassurred him, lifting Taako’s chin so that she got to see the terror in Taako’s face, that he so desperetly tried to hide.
”Come on now, sooner we start, the sooner it’s over!” Edward smirked and offered his hand more eagerly.
”Taako listen to yourself! Taako! Taako!” Magnus yelled in desperation as he tried to push through the force field that surrounded the elves. He swung the Railsplitter again and again,but could not do any kind of damage to it. Merle was doing his best, too, trying to cast at least some kind of spell. The black smoke surrounded them at soon it became hard to even see Taako.
” I love you guys”, the elf wept quietly to himself and took a final look of his friends before he offered his shaking hands to the two Vogue elves who were smiling widely as they gripped Taako’s blood covered hands tightly.
”Let’s start!” Taako laughed.
” NO!” Merle and Magnus yelled as they saw a screaming, redrobed figure rise from Taako’s now empty body. Merle could feel the pocket spa trembling in his pocket as the figure flew aimlessly around. Red sparks scattered all over the catwalk as Magnus and Merle just watched helplessly as the redrobed figure screamed in pain as it was forced back to Taako’s body by the two liches. Taako’s body, which had just hanged limply on the arms of Edward and Lydia, suddenly woke up again, coughing loudly, letting out a cloud of black smoke.
”Thank you for taking part of Wonderland! We hope to see you again soon!” Edward and Lydia gleefully announced as they held the crying Taako up. Two liches snapped their fingers and both them and Taako disappeared, leaving behind only a door, with a bright green, glowing letters that read ”EXIT” on it.
Magnus and Merle were now on the empty catwalk, surrounded by the lifeless mannequins. Magnus was just broken, crying on the floor, trying to make sense of all that had happened. But nothing of it made sense. One by one, the lights on the catwalk dimmed, until the only source of light was the sign on the door. They had failed. They had no bell and no Taako. Merle quietly walked to the fighter and patted the broken man in the back.
”We’ll get him back. We got you back, so there must be a way to get him back too”, Merle said as he tried to sprinkle some hope to the situation. Magnus tried to look for that redrobed figure that had helped him on their way through Wonderland, but it was nowhere to be seen.
”Where are you going?” Magnus asked as Merle approached the green door.
”We can’t save him alone. I think it’s best if go back to Moonbase, maybe ask Killian and Carey to come with us”, Merle explained, with a sad tone. Magnus looked at him disappointed as he tried to stand up with his weak knees.
”We need to save Taako! And we don’t even have that fucking bell, we were sent to get!” Magnus argued.
”You almost died a moment ago! Your fucking soul was knocked out of your body! I know I can’t survive another minute here! I have no powers and the wound in my shoulder is probably getting infected soon! And your wounds are no better either! If you have any sense left in your head you know that we are going to die here! And who is going to save Taako then!?” The cleric was getting worked up. Magnus could see that his eye was getting teary too. He sighed and opened the door.
” C’moon”, Merle whispered. Magnus started to take reluctant step towards the door, as he saw that it lead back to the Felicity wilds.
” How are we going to explain this to The Director?" Magnus sighed and walked out of Wonderland. Merle took a deep breath of the fresh air.
”We’ll tell what happened. We lost the final round.”
