jeredu:

Jade leans forward to whisper, “This is my mess. Our mess, and it falls to us to clean it up, rather than leave it to these children.”

Van begins a low, ugly laugh, before leaning in and mirroring Jade to hiss,   “Then I’ll be sure not to leave any trash lingering behind!”

And for emphasis, on the word ‘trash,’ he TWISTS the blade, wrenching it as he staggers backward.  Van doesn’t go over the edge, though.  Instead, he falls heavily onto his back, dislodging the spear.

Jade stumbles back and sinks to his knees. He won’t be walking away from this. Jade does manage to say “Did you… think I was joking when I said ‘over my dead body’?”   Not that he’d planned this. More like “if that was what it would take to end this”   But he’s too close to the edge, and before anyone can stop him, he falls.

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AU in which Jade kills Van at the Absorption Gate, is mortally wounded, and falls into the core himself.   The story doesn’t end there.

Welcome to the [ Eleventh Hour ] AU.