Chapter Text
Maybe it could have been in another life, in another world. One where the wind had been a bit stronger, where the Lampmaster's attack had angled differently. Maybe Lune's attack had eroded just the right stone, maybe one of Sciel's cards had gotten stuck on the wall, maybe Gustave had gone a little overboard with an overcharge.
It doesn't matter how, what matters is how easy it is to dream of a world where Verso for some reason or another couldn't hide anymore. Maybe his father's attack had backfired, or maybe he thought Maelle had seen him.
What matters is that there's a world - even if only in dreams - where Gustave lives. It must be a nice world, a kinder world. Or maybe one could think of it as a crueler world - one that cannot be reached, so close and yet so far, tempting us with a reality that will never come to be.
In the world we know Maelle screams and cries in Sciel's arms, Gustave never to be returned to them, all while in this world of dreams Maelle cries silently, unblinkingly staring as Gustave's chest weakly rose and fell, Lune doing everything in her power to keep him alive.
It's unlikely for Gustave to make the night, but this is a life of dreams, is it not? What's wrong with a miracle? It's not too hard to believe that sweat, tears, and chroma had allowed him to live another day.
It's so easy to fall into the fantasy, a life built only on dreams. Where brown eyes will open to see yet another day, where a broken girl will be allowed to sob into his shoulder once more as she thanked every god - real or not - for allowing him to live.
Maybe it's unrealistic to think that one man can change the world, but what's wrong with dreams? With hope? Maybe kindness and ingenuity are truly enough to change the world. Maybe the choices made by a clever man are more than enough.
Gustave wakes up.
The world swirls around him and his stomach threatens to empty itself. He immediately closes his eyes once more and lets out a pained groan. The taste of bile was unmistakable, it seems his stomach had already done as such.
"Gustave!" Maelle screams as she runs to his side, embracing him as tightly as she could, sobbing into his shoulder. He returns the embrace as best he could, noting his missing prosthesis as he is forced to hold her with only one arm.
He felt awful, almost as bad as he had felt after the accident that took his arm. But, as Maelle silently sobs into his sore chest, he can't help but smile. Nothing of that mattered when he was alive.
Lune shoos Maelle away, telling her to allow him some rest. He is given some water and something light to eat before being sent back to sleep. One part of him doesn't wish to, fearing he wouldn't wake up again, but his body has other ideas as the next thing he knows is that he is waking up once more.
He doesn't know if it's hours or days later, but this time around he feels much better. The pain in his chest was still there but at least this time his head seems to be functioning properly.
"Properly. I don't think your head has ever functioned properly, seeing as you stayed to fight against the white haired man!" Lune scolds him.
Sciel laughs loudly as she finishes dinner, passing it around the expeditioners, all four of them falling into a comfortable silence as they ate, just enjoying the fact that they all were still here, alive.
And it's at that moment when someone walks into their camp.
Maelle is the first to stand up and summon her weapon, not doubting for a moment to leave Gustave's side to point it at the newcomer.
The stranger raises his arms in a peace offering, the fire illuminating his scarred face.
"You are…" Gustave says as he studies the man before them. Black hair with white highlights, an old expeditioner uniform with a furred coat. He saw this man at the cliffs, standing between them and the white haired man.
"Thought you would want this." The man says, throwing Gustave's beaten up prosthesis towards him.
Gustave's eyes illuminate. "Thank you." He was fearing he would be a dead weight in battle without it.
"Why do you have that?" Maelle says, glaring at the stranger.
"Well, your friend there left it at the cliffs. Cannot imagine why." The man jokes, gaining a smirk from Sciel. "If you want to reach the Monolith, best way is through the quarry up north."
"Who are you?" "And where did you get that expeditioner uniform?" "You were the one who saved us." Lune, Sciel and Gustave all spoke over each other.
The stranger stares at the trio in confusion. "I hope that's your way of saying thank you."
The man explains that not only is he an expeditioner - expedition zero! - but that he is immortal. He explains that the man at the beach had been Renoir, the commander of expedition zero and that he believed that their immortality was a gift from the Paintress, explaining - to some extent - why he would do such a horrible thing at the beach.
The thing is, it doesn't sit right with Gustave. He had been somewhat out of it thanks to the blood loss, but he is sure that the white haired man - Renoir - had said some strange things to Maelle, something about family and some nonsense about kindness…
"You want to join us?" Lune asks as Gustave ponders.
"If you don't mind the company… yes."
"Fine by me." Maelle declares, a hateful frown appearing on her face. "We will need all the help we can get to stop the Paintress so we can kill that man."
Gutave brings his hand to his chest, where Renoir had left his mark.
"What's your name?" Gustave asks.
The man looks at him with a profound emotion in his eyes, one Gustave doubts he will ever be able to understand. "Verso."
Gustave looks surprised at him. That's it! The name that has been following them all this time. Noco, the gestrals, and Esquire had all spoken about him. It's him!
But he knew the name from somewhere else. Expedition zero he said, Gustave had known those names for years, Renoir and- "Verso Dessendre."
Everyone turns to look at Gustave before turning towards Verso once more.
Oh, he said that outloud.
Something flashes on Verso's face, it's almost like fear, but it's gone so fast that Gustave isn't even sure he saw it. "How do you know that?"
"You and your father built the dome!" Gustave says with a wide smile, surprising Verso. "It's incredible what you accomplished in such a short time after the Fracture. I was in charge of the dome upgrade project, but really, there was not much to do… apart from the manuals, of course, the handwriting was barely readable."
Verso looks somewhat offended at that.
Maelle offers Verso a mischievous smile. "Oh! I remember! You showed some of those to me! I have seen four year olds with better handwriting than those notes!"
"My handwriting is perfectly readable, thank you very much." Verso says.
Sciel bursts into laughter and even Lune seems to relax.
"Well, good thing there's no need for written notes here in the continent, you might be a detriment to the group otherwise." Maelle teases.
Verso grumbles and shakes his head, preferring to go in search of Esquie, the legendary creature joyous at seeing his best friend once more.
"You think we can trust him?" Lune asks as Esquie embraces Verso.
Sciel shrugs. "Esquie likes him."
"I don't know," Gustave looks at his beaten up prosthesis, "but we could use the extra help, seeing as I won't be of much use in battle for the time being."
Sciel sits down next to him and bumps their shoulders together. Gustave offers her a smile, thankful for the comfort.
"That's true." Lune says, deep in thought. "We should ask any gestral merchant we find if they could help us obtain some spare pieces to repair it."
Gustave sighs as he waves his prosthesis around, sad to see it in such a state. "Let's hope so."
A yawn escapes Maelle.
"Well, seems it's time to call it for the night." Sciel says, standing up.
"Mind if I take the first watch?" Lune asks.
Gustave turns towards Verso who seems engrossed in his chat with Esquie. "Are you going to interrogate him?"
"Of course." She says as a matter of fact. Gustave huffs fondly.
"Fine by me." Sciel says.
Gustave turns towards Sciel. "I can take sec-"
"Oh, no, you won't." Lune declares with a glare. "You almost died. You will rest whether you want it or not."
Gustave raises his arm in a peace offering. "Alright, alright."
Sciel groans. "Does that mean I'm taking second?"
"Of course." Lune says as a matter of fact.
Maelle crosses her arms. "I could take-"
"No." All three adults say in unison.
Maelle glares at them and swears under her breath as she leaves in search of her bedroll.
Sciel looks wishfully towards Verso. "Can't he take second watch?"
"I'm not trusting him, not just yet." Lune says.
Sciel sights dramatically as she also leaves to try to catch some rest.
"Don't terrorize him too much." Gustave says as he stretches, immediately regretting it when pain shots through his chest.
Lune frowns "Don't doubt in waking me up if you need anything."
Gustave sighs. "I won't…" he says as he slowly lowers himself on his bedroll.
Lune stands up, about to leave, when Gustave stops her. "Wait, Lune…"
She turns around.
"Thank you."
She smiles at him. "I'm glad you are still with us, Gustave."
He returns the smile.
The next morning, after some breakfast and a thorough examination from Lune, Gustave is deemed to be well enough to travel. Still, he was forced to watch as everyone else packed up camp, still feeling sore and tired.
After everyone is ready to go, they embark on Esquie, Gustave making sure to distract Sciel throughout the journey. They reminisce about Aquafarm 3 until it somehow devolves into Sciel telling Verso of all the shameful things Gustave had done.
The man chuckles as Sciel finishes recounting the terrible story of the time Gustave's tinkering had damaged the irrigation system, completely drenching him in an explosion.
But Verso wouldn't laugh for long, as Esquie happily joins the chatter, making sure to recount in extreme detail the time Verso got stuck on the prongs of the giant nevron near the Endless Tower.
The expeditioners laugh at their newest member's misfortune and Gustave can't help but think of another world, where instead of joy and laughter there was only crushing silence, a world where Verso didn't make it in time to save Gustave… to save him from his own father.
It's late evening when they reach land, a clearing right before an impressive looking gate and grounded ships as far as the eye could see.
"We should make camp. I need to check on you." Lune says as she looks at Gustave.
They rapidly set camp as Lune makes sure Gustave wouldn't drop dead on them. Happy with his progress, she lets him be, only reminding him to not do anything stupid.
"When have I-?" Gustave tries, but it's immediately stopped by the glare both Lune and Maelle send his way, Sciel laughing at the expression he makes.
He shakes his head and turns around, not wanting to look at them. It lets him catch as Verso walks away from camp, finding a tree to climb over.
Gustave's eyes keep drifting towards Verso as night falls. He can't help but think of the fact that he was yet to reveal to the group that Renoir had not only been his commander, but his father as well.
He considers his options. It might be best to inform Lune and the others of who Renoir is to Verso, but the thought doesn't sit well with him. Gustave distrusts Verso to some extent, but not completely. He saved them at the cliffs, saved Lumiére 67 years ago, and had brought Gustave's prosthesis back. Not to say that Esquie seemed to adore the man.
Verso had not been completely transparent with them, but would Gustave have been if he was put in the same position? Completely alone on the continent, with no other company but that of a father who seemed so eager to disregard the life of others?
Gustave lets out a deep sigh as he passes his hand through his greasy curls. Maybe he was too soft.
He turns towards the others and finds Lune and Sciel discussing with each other while Maelle seems happy to climb up Esquie's back. He can't help but allow for a smile to escape his lips before standing up and walking towards Verso.
The immortal is still sitting on the tree, looking towards the Monolith with a profound melancholy. Gustave can't help but stare at him in silence, noticing for the first time how similar his eyes are to Maelle's.
"Something the matter?" Verso asks when he notices him.
"Well-no… yes? You see…"
Verso raises an eyebrow, clearly finding Gustave's inability to finish sentences very amusing.
Gustave exhales. "I guess I shouldn't beat around the bush. Renoir is your father, is he not?"
Verso seems surprised for a moment until something occurs to him. "I take it you learned that from the dome's manuals."
Gustave nods. "As well as old expedition journals."
"I imagine you told the others?"
Gustave shakes his head, "I wanted to discuss it with you first."
Verso frowns. "Why?"
"There must be a reason why you didn't tell us."
Verso looks away, deep in thought. "Family is… complicated."
Gustave can't help but chuckle. "That sounds like an understatement."
"You have no idea."
"I remember, on the cliffs… he said something to you." Gustave closes his eyes, trying to remember. "Something about walking away."
"I'm surprised you were conscious enough to hear that."
"I'm just as surprised as you."
Verso scratches the nape of his neck. "That is the gist of it. I walked away when I learned the extent of his confrontations with expeditioners."
Gustave face falls. "So he has attacked more expeditions than just ours…"
"He has been doing it for some time, but this is the first time he has made a point to hunt you down as soon as you touched land."
Gustave sees the pain in Verso's eyes and freezes. "How do you know about the beach?"
Verso looks away. "I was there. I had gone to take a look at the newest arrivals just to find I wasn't the first one to reach you."
Gustave feels bile rise up his throat, remembering the horrors at the beach. He can't help but think of Alan, of Tristan and Catherine and Lucien. Of Maelle's prone body….
Gustave opens his eyes wide and looks up at Verso in awe. "It was you. You saved Maelle."
Verso stays quiet, his face neutral.
"Thank you."
Verso seems surprised at that.
"I don't know… I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her."
Verso stares at Gustave, an unknown emotion reflected in his eyes.
"Why did you not show yourself earlier?"
"I'm not used to expeditioners trusting me so easily." A shadow passes before Verso's eyes and Gustave shudders at the darkness hidden behind the words. It seems it's not just age that makes Verso aware that he is immortal.
"Well, it will take Lune some time to trust you, but at least for now, you have my trust."
Verso stares at him, his face unreadable, Gustave wonders what's passing through his mind. He knows he shouldn't trust Verso this easily, but how could he not? He saved him, saved Maelle, protected Lumière.
"Thank you." Verso murmurs clippedly, looking away from Gustave.
He huffs, a sad smile appearing on his face. "Don't stay up too late, let's enjoy our time before being forced to join the watch rotation." Gustave jokes before he starts to walk back to the campfire, already thinking of what he would write in his journal.
He doesn't notice as Verso's eyes follow him into the night, eyes full of sorrow and guilt.