Heart to Heart

Chapter 31

Stepping back into Avernus, I took in a deep breath of the smoke, ash, and thick polluted air. There were imps already flying and turned their heads towards me. Raising my axe, I bared my teeth at them.

"Come at me, you fuckers! Let Zariel know I'm back, but not for her!"

The imps screeched and flew towards me. Swinging, I took out three at a time. There were more of them, but they were stupid fighters. Sure there was a lot of them, but if I got through them quickly, I would be heading to Zariel's palace sooner. Mincing them like they were nothing, I headed off towards her palace. Reaching the place I dreaded the most, I took in a deep breath. For the first time in years, the rate of my heart was beating faster than I remembered. It felt odd to have Y/N's heart in here, but it was better than that blasted engine. Heading towards Zariel's palace, I was immediately met with her and her troops.

"My Champion has returned," Zariel spoke.

"I am not here because of you," I said.

"I gave you everything, Karlach."

"You didn't give me shit. You gave me a fucking infernal engine for a heart!"

"I take it that's the reason why you're back? That you were unable to withstand its power outside of Avernus? I would have thought you'd die before coming back here."

"I wanted to. I would have liked for that blasted thing to combust and take me with it, but someone had other ideas."

"And what of Y/N? Of course you're the reason as to why she was no longer in Avernus when I needed her."

"She gave me something I could never repay back," I whispered, unconsciously placing my hand over my heart, feeling the beat of her heart. "Now, I am here to take what was stolen from me."

"I'm surprised it took her that long to tell you that I do in fact still have your heart. It is in suspended motion, but once it is placed back inside your chest, it will return to its normal function after the spell is removed."

There was hope. I could revive Y/N with my heart and we could live together, happily outside of Avernus.

"Does it have to be my chest?"

"No. Any chest will do."

"That's all I need to hear," I said, gripping the handle of my axe tightly.

She wasn't going to let me in without a fight. And fighting demons was my forte. And none of these demons looked like they could hold a candle to some of the other demons I fought.

"Get her," Zariel whispered before she turned, heading back into the palace.

"NOT ONE STEP, ZARIEL!" I yelled, reaching out to grab her.

I missed by a few inches, ripping some feathers from her wings. She whisked around, fire ablaze in her eyes, but it did not match to the fire blazing in my heart right now, even without the engine, it burned brighter than before.

"Who gave you the right to speak to me like that?"

"I am not your puppet anymore, Zariel. I freed myself from you."

"And yet you're back here. Where it all started."

"Because I need my heart! The very thing you stole from me! The very thing Gortash let you take from me!"

"You're going to have to fight your way to get to what you need," Zariel said, flying upwards into the air and disappearing.

I assumed she was going to go after my heart and make sure I wouldn't get it. But first, I need to get through these demons, which wasn't too bad. I take it the Blood Wars was finally over and now these demons no longer required to fight, aside from maybe for getting land or other jobs. But what was worse was that there were just swarms of them now. It was wave after wave and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up my strength if I continued to let this happen and the demons knew it. They all jumped on me, pulling me down to the ground. I will not go out like this. Not while I have Y/N's heart beating in my chest and the drive to bring her back to life. To live together. To finally be together. To hold one another and to touch one another.

"Heads up!"

The mass of demons that were on me were removed and standing before me was the tiefling that Zariel used to help heal other creatures down here. A smile formed on my face as they reached their hand out. Grabbing it, they helped me up and now it was just us two facing off a hoard of demons.

"Nice to see you're back, Champion."

"Karlach is fine. I hope you're doing well."

"Doing the best I can. Ever since the Blood Wars stopped and I was no longer needed to heal, I decided to learn how to fight."

"Respectable, but doesn't it go against what a doctor means?"

"In a sense, yes, but after what I saw you and Y/N go through, how can I not help out a fellow tiefling?"

I smiled once more, "Thank you. How can I repay you?"

"Take me wherever you're going after this."

"Of course. I'd never leave a fellow tiefling behind."

The two of us were able to take care of the demons that were preventing us from getting into Zariel's palace. But more just kept on coming. So much so that the tiefling who was with me created an opening for me to get into the palace. Running down the halls, I reached the room where Zariel had performed that experiment on me. Opening the door, I was expecting her to be there, to prevent me from taking it. But I guess her arrogance led her to believe that the demons could get me. Stepping into the room, I walked towards the back. There was a door that was closed and upon grabbing the handle, I twisted it. Pushing the door open, I was met with jars and jars of disembodied limbs and even organs. A jar with purple lettering swirled around it, capturing my attention. Grabbing to examine it, I knew this was my heart. About to turn to exit the room, Zariel was standing before me.

"I cannot let you leave," she said, holding out her sword.

"Too fucking bad," I said, a portal opening up behind me.

"I will find you."

"And when you do, I will have friends to help take you down."

Zariel shook her head, "Goodbye for now, Champion."

"Suck it," I snarled, flipping her off as I walked backwards through the portal.

Before leaving Avernus, I opened another portal to where that tiefling was. They jumped through and together, we appeared at the pier of Baldur's Gate. They took in a deep breath and relished in the fresh, clean air.

"This is where you've been for so long," they turned towards me.

I nodded my head, "I've made a lot of friends along the way. But right now." Looking down at the jar in my hands, I let out a sigh of relief. "Right now one needs saving."

Heading towards the inn we stayed at, I found the room they were in and opened the door, stepping inside. Everyone was surrounding Y/N's body. Gale had placed a suspended motion spell on Y/N, even though it took a while for the body to decay, he just wanted to be sure.

"Did you get it?" Shadowheart asked.

"I did. I brought a friend along the way," I said and gestured towards the other tiefling. "I never got your name."

"You can just call me Doc," they said.

"Doc. Has a nice ring to it. Alright, let's get this over with."

Since the room had become a bit cramped, everyone left aside from Gale, Shadowheart, and Doc, as they were to provide aid if I needed it. But I was just putting the heart back into where it needed to be. Removing the lid, I grabbed the heart and held it tightly in my hands. Taking in a shaky breath, I moved to where it hovered above her chest.

"You've given me your heart, Y/N. Now, I give you mine."

I placed it in her chest and the spell was removed automatically. The heart started to beat and Shadowheart sealed the wound in her chest. Now we bore matching scars. Gale removed the suspended motion spell on Y/N and now it was just a matter of time before she woke. The others got up and left, letting me sit here alone while I waited for her to wake up.