Note: Nothing belongs to me, everything belongs to Hussie. Anyways, so this fic has some major spoilers for Act 5 and, welp, it also contains character death (le gasp). So, yeah.

Apparently this scene wasn't sad enough, so I jsut had to go ahead and make it worst.

Win or Die Trying

In between fighting winged imps and gigantic ogres, Dave could swear he felt something was wrong. Well, more wrong than things already were, with the obvious prospect of him and the others failing their game, thanks to Bec being prototyped with Jack.

Something kept bothering him on the back of his mind, as if he was supposed to be somewhere else, and not in the middle of a fiery field fighting fiends. A more pressing matter, something way more important…

He tried to pay no mind to that feeling, but it came to a point where that was too strong to ignore. He wasn't supposed to be in LOHAC. He needed to be somewhere else. Maybe…

Breezing through the monsters to find a portal to anywhere else, he ended up on LOWAS. And right off the bat, things were a complete mess.

There was fire everywhere. Green fire. Jack sure acted a whole lot faster than Dave anticipated.

But, strangely enough, the blazing land wasn't really the source of his bad feeling. It was something else.

As if being guided by some sort of energy, Dave suddenly found himself following a path, making a beeline to where he was supposed to be going.

Something was wrong. He didn't know what, yet, but he knew he was about to find out, even if that didn't sound like the most appealing thing. For some reason he was sure that he wouldn't like the end result of his search.

Running as fast as he could through the flaming plains of LOWAS, Dave knew he was getting closer to whatever was his final destination.

When Dave reached a high plateau that seemed to be burning even more than the rest of the places he had been to, there was an unsettling smell in the air, aside from that of smoke and sulfur. A smell he was starting to get used to, without really wanting to.

Taking extra care not to get too close to the flames, Dave wandered around for a while, following that ever growing smell. And that bad feeling at the bottom of his stomach was just getting stronger and stronger. A part of him almost knowing what he was about to uncover. That distinct smell getting even more evident.

Then, there was a body.

Dave could only see part of a foot and a leg from where he was standing, but a gut feeling told him just who was there. And suddenly the fire didn't matter.

Rushing hastily through the flames and swinging his sword to dissipate it, Dave crossed that blazing wall just to come face to face with his brother's body lying seemingly lifeless in a pool of blood, his chest impaled by his own sword.

Despite the fact that he was expecting to be greeted by such a scene, Dave's eyes still grew large behind his shades, as he gave a few hesitant steps towards the body, realization slowly but surely sinking on him, even if a part of him didn't want to believe in it.

When he was just mere feet away from the body, he heard a heavy coughing and wheezing, even if those sounds were being drowned by the crackling of the flames.

His brother was still alive, somehow.

Those hesitant steps became more hurriedly as Dave got closer, unconsciously gripping on his sword as strongly as he could before kneeling down next to his brother, whom tilted his head to the side when he was close enough.

"Look… who's made… it." Bro's voice was almost a whisper against all the sounds surrounding both him and Dave.

"It was Noir, wasn't it?" Dave completely ignored the half condescending, half joking tone on his brother's voice. How could he act like that at such a time?

"There aren't… many options… right?" Another heavy cough escaped from Bro's throat, his lungs getting filled with blood by the second. It was actually a feat how he managed to stay alive for that long.

"I will… I'm going to…" Dave tried to find something, anything he could do. He couldn't just kneel there and wait for his brother to die a slow and painful death. That wasn't how he wanted things to unfold.

"You are… aren't going to… do anything…" Bro's tone grew even weaker for a moment or two, his head getting heavy and foggy. He wasn't going to let himself drift though. Not just yet. There was something he needed to do – or rather, say.

"No! I am. You aren't… you can't say what I can and what I can't do while on the verge of death!" Unintentionally raising his voice, Dave let out a sigh of frustration before continuing. "OK, I… I know what I'll do. I got it." There was a hint of urgency on those words.

"What are… just…" Bro's mind went even hazier for a while, his vision blurring for a moment or two before he could rearrange his mind again and focus his eyes on his little brother. "Don't… be hasty…"

"No. I know. I'm going back and… and then I'll tell you not to do… not to… do whatever the fuck you were trying to do just what the hell were you thinking anyway? Damn… No, I'll go back and then I'll ask just what your 'mighty plan' was, really." Dave quickly got up, turning on his heels to leave and go back in time, but he was held by the shin before he could give the first step. He shot a somewhat angry glance at his brother, silently asking him what was that all about.

"You are going to stay put." Bro's voice grew a lot steadier and louder for a moment, but then he let go of Dave's shin and coughed heavily a couple of times, his voice growing quiet again. He definitely used his last shot of energy to do that. "I don't… want… bodies of you… piling up next to me."

"B-But…" There was hesitance on Dave's voice. It had been a while since that happened. So much, he had to stay quiet for a moment, hands shaking in an almost unperceivable way. He knew his brother could tell he was actually freaking out on the inside for not being able to do anything. And, hell, how did that guy know about his doomed versions anyway?

"Look… I don't… I'm going to make this… quick." Bro tried to get his voice as stable as he could, even with his mind back to fogging up. "You… have things… you always had things to do. I've always… knew it." He gasped for air for a second, as Dave kneeled next to him again. "The 'mighty plan'… it was… not let him get you. You are… more valuable here… than I am."

"That's the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard! Don't you think that both of us would be more useful than only me? I mean, what the fuck have I done until now? I've just been hopping like a bunny on crack from timeline to timeline running shitty errands to gather money and grit, and… and…" Dave felt a stinging pain on his chest, trying his best to stop his eyes from swelling up with tears.

"S-shut up and listen to… to me." Bro's voice was a little shaky for a moment, but he did his best to correct that. "You are… important. And I won't… let you go into this kamikaze shana… shine… shit just to save me." He could feel his eyes getting somewhat heavy. Damn, he needed to make that quicker. "And there's… one last thing."

"What?" Dave leaned somewhat closer, as if in anticipation of what was about to come.

"I raised you… I know… I know you can… do everything on your own. I know I don't… need to be around… You'll handle it… After all you…" There was more coughing, as Bro felt his body as heavy as ever, his thoughts slowly dissipating and sounds getting more and more distant and dampened. "You are… a… Strider. You don't… back up… to no one. You fight… and you… win. That's… how it works…"

"You win or you die trying, hm?" Dave closed his eyes, a smiled forming on the corner of his mouth as his fingers latched on his sword as strongly as he could.

"Heh… I… guess… you… you are… right… Dave…" Bro tried his best to put up a smile as well. Going with a frown didn't seem right.

"I… guess I'll miss you." Dave's small smile vanished completely, but his eyes remained closed, as he was unsure if he wanted to open them.

He patiently waited for his brother's next sluggish and quiet sentence, but it never came. He didn't need to open his eyes or anything to know the reason. Dave just kind of hoped he got to listen to that last phrase.

Quietly getting up and opening his eyes, Dave still felt angry, still felt disappointed, but he didn't have much time to think about that, as a sudden strong gust of wind blow thorough, putting out the flames and scattering the clouds blocking the sky.

He glanced up for a moment, the wind still blowing strong. The stars beyond that veil of clouds were shinning bright against a pitch black sky. If Dave's feelings weren't so blunted at the moment, he would certainly regard that was one of the most impressive sights he ever witnessed. He would even crack a smile at that. But he really didn't feel like it.

When the wind subdued, the clouds quickly covered the sky once again.

Dave looked around briefly, realizing that not even a spark was still ignited after that strange event. That certainly would make it easier for him to leave that place.

About to turn around and not really bother with looking down at the body lying at his feet, he stopped for a second, eyes drifting to the ground. Crouching down slightly, he reached for his brother's cap, the only thing that Noir didn't steal from his dying relative, and decided to take it with him.

Promising to himself he wasn't going to disobey his brother's words by going back and doing something clearly suicidal, he put it away and left in silence, but not without noticing the water filling up his eyes.

That was the last time he would let himself cry though.

He was not only a knight, and not only a time traveler.

He was a Strider.

And, by God, was he going to make them know that.

Even if that killed him.