nottingham walked down the hall of that semi abandoned building, wave after wave of beagle boys rushing to attack him, all met the same finale, a couple punches and a long nap, but nottingham was not the same young chap he was, suddenly, his heart started fighting back...against him.
kida noticed it, and helping the wolf with a healing spell, she asked the question, -you never got that shard removed from your heart...did you?!- nottingham looked at kida, the queen of prime atlantis instantly knew the truth, -WHY? THAT THING IS HURTING YOUR HEART...WHY HAVEN'T YOU...-. -BECAUSE THERE IS LITERALLY FIFTY FIFTY CHANCE TO SURVIVE IT, OK?!- kida and nottingham stayed in silence for a while, until the wolf spoke, -if i die...i don't care, god knows i've done things that earned me a place on whatever hell we go after death...but, HE NEEDS ME!-, kida understood instantly, there was no way she would convince that stubborn wolf friend of hers to do anything.
nottingham recovered his breath and got up.
the wolf detective arrived to the main room, and kicked the door down, gun in hand, and by instinct pulled out his gun and shot a flaming skull that rushed towards him, -LAST CHANCE, MERLOCK! I AM HERE TO TALK, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS I AM SURE YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR AT LEAST HALF OF THEM!- and then, a shockwave threw nottingham to the wall behind him, -I AM NOT A BAD GUY ANYMORE, NOTTINGHAM! I PAID MY TIME IN HELL, I PAID MY DEBT WITH MY SOUL, SO...LEAVE!, OR FORCE ME TO DESTROY YOU!, whatever you choose...I AM NOT GOING BACK TO PRISON BECAUSE I DID NOTHING WRONG THIS TIME!- nottingham got up, aiming his gun at merlock, who appeared, covered on a magic shield, wearing a purple apron, jeans and a shirt, certainly not the most intimidating clothes, but his magic was still intact, he even learned actual spells and magic on his time in the afterlife, so he had no more need of amulets and books, he was the speel book now.
-only you would be so stupid to bring a gun to a warlock fight, nottingham!- claimed merlock as he used his magic to grab nottingham with two big energy hands, the wolf was helpless in the grasp of those energy hands.
-I TRIED TO MAKE A NEW LIFE IN DUCKBURG...BUT NOOOO! scrooge mc duck wasn't happy with killing me...BECAUSE THAT HE DID!- merlock, accidentally perhaps, caused the hands to grasp tighter on nottingham, who was barely able to breath -HE TOOK MY TALISMAN FROM ME! HE KNEW I'D TRANSFORM TO MY ORIGINAL FORM...THAT BASTARD KILLED ME!!- merlock's rage made him lose control over the energy hands spells, releasing nottingham, merlock was on a rage, screaming and cursing, possibly a form of ptsd induced attack, he was not able to stop the water construct that held him tightly, kida entered the room, merlock's eyes opened wide in terror, he knew kida.
-YOU! SO IT'S YOU! YOU CAME BACK, TO TAKE REVENGE FROM ME, PRINCESS KIDA!- , -i am not here for revenge, merlock...though we both know that the crimes you committed against atlantis, the spells you stole...AND THE VERY TALISMAN THAT CAUSED YOUR DEMISE WHEN YOU LOST IT are relics and words that belong to my people, and revenge would be justified in the name of those you maimed to obtain them, but i am not here for that...i am here to help a friend!- kida released merlock, who stood there, trying to make sense of what was happening.
-four days ago, queen forest was murdered.- said nottingham, - whoever did it, used a hellfire round, forged by hades' forgers in hell, and the list of people with access to such a favor is tremendously short.- said nottingham, walking slowly towards merlock, - ursula, claude frollo, hades...and you- merlock sent a shiver run down his spine as he prepared a spell, it was an act of reflexes, but the wolf were faster and pushed merlock to a wall, restraining merlock with an arm and cocking the hammer of his revolver, -ENOUGH WITH THE TRICKS, MERLOCK! we know the rules of resurrection, only one ride per customer, right?- said nottingham while aiming at merlock's face with his gun, -so, if i turn your head into a hole big enough to pass a brick through, there's no coming back, RIGHT?!- merlock was trembling, as cold sweat ran down his forehead, kida noticed something different on merlock, something she never saw before on him...fear.
-nottingham, enough!- ordered kida, -release him, he will cooperate, right, merlock?- merlock nodded, and the wolf released merlock, who rubbed his neck to relief the pain, -yes, someone sent a box with hellfire rounds through one of my old portals in agrabah...one i used back when i had my genie and my lamp...but after my...death, i---i ---i lost the link with all of my portals, all 45 of them!- kida noticed merlock's trembling, and helped him sit down on a chair.
- after all the things i did...you still care about me, princess?- , - now i am queen, merlock, queen of prime atlantis, and as i said before, i am not here in the name of vengeance, but in the name of justice, you seem to already carry a heavy load over you, your personal demons and ghosts are enough punishment- , merlock laughed lightly, - "demons" you call them..."ghosts" you call them, my doctor calls them POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND STRESS INDUCED PANIC ATTACKS...- merlock stood up the chair and walked to a shelf, on the shelf, there was 3 medicine bottles, merlock took one of them, opened it, and put two pills from the bottle on his hand, then closed the bottle and placed it back on the shelf, merlock stared at the pills on his hand, - i was immortal, i commanded armies, conquered realms, destroyed civilizations, my name was whispered in fear, i had the power to rule the universe...now all i have is panic attacks, cold sweats and nightmares where i fall endlessly...that is all i have left, queen...that is all i am now. an old man who needs pills not piss his pants when fear is too much to handle.- merlock swallowed both pills, then walked to the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge.
- the beagle boys you met when you arrived, they live here, they let me stay here, sometimes i help them with healing spells, minor ones, bruises, broken teeth, sore butts...you know, the kind of injuries you get when you cross guys darkwing duck or the rescuers, they bowed to protect me, god bless them for their kind intentions and their lack of brains.- said merlock before taking a long zip of water from the bottle. there was a small but very awkward silence.
- so...you have no idea who used your portal to bring the hellfire rounds to earth?- asked nottingham, trying to break the silence. - no, sorry, detective. as i said before, i have no link to my portals, and can't get close to them, whoever stole them from me, created a spell that rejects me.-
-who could create such spell?- asked kida, merlock looked at her before responding, - if you ask me...i'd say, jafar- nottingham and kida looked at each other in surprise, nottingham totally forgot about him, - he had access to genie magic, the same one the genie that was my servant had, and that spell reeks of genie magic, and before you ask...no, i have no idea where jafar is, his sister, nasira, came to see me shortly after i was reborn, she tried to make me join a sort of cabal she was creating, i gently asked to go frack herself, and never seen her again.- merlock took another zip of water, - now, if you excuse me, i'll kindly ask you to leave me alone, these meds have the unwanted secondary effect of making me terribly sleepy, and grouchy.- kida and nottingham were walking towards the exit, when merlock suddenly spoke again, - I AM SORRY FOR ALL THE THINGS I DID TO YOUR KINGDOM...AND YOUR PEOPLE...queen kida...- kida looked at merlock, and sensing the truth in them, replied, - no need to apologize anymore, merlock, whatever crimes you committed in your past life, death itself punished you for them...now, try to live your new life without carrying the burden of your old faults.-
kida and nottingham left, and then merlock was alone, again.
still playing with this story, let's see where it takes me.
Keywords
male
1,207,644,
female
1,097,895,
wolf
195,096,
dog
174,471,
human
109,707,
boys
11,475,
alternate universe
2,292,
beagle
1,718,
sheriff of nottingham
103,
atlantis
79,
kida
20,
merlock
4
Details
Published:
2 months, 3 weeks ago
05 Mar 2025 04:16 CET
Initial: 27ed29f58a954c7ae67cf52da33e84aa
Full Size: 1fe7c184c4b84be7514965db017b9af5
Large: 110959cc2112dd48ebdcfd0b4c75b4af
Small: ec8f08ab0db9e7f28d51ad25f0f760d5
Stats
43 views
10 favorites
0 comments
