Some friends on tumblr demanded some Gaol/Magnus, so I am here to fulfill. A lot of this is headcanon because only bits and pieces of info are even out about the two. Here is what is known/I have heard:
-Magnus and Gaol are childhood friends (allegedly revealed from Gaol's idol).
-They were a part of the same mercenary band.
-Magnus lost a child.
-Gaol was doing reconnaissance to see how strong the Underworld Army was, but was captured and forced to wear cursed armor that sapped away her will.
-After Pit and Magnus freed Gaol from the army, Magnus and Gaol probably hung out since Dyntos asked the two of them to fight together to test Pit.
-Gaol doesn't seem to wear clothes under that armor. Sexy times?
They called her brave for this operation. The objective was simple enough, but there was major risk in infiltrating the Underworld Army. It was near suicide for normal humans. But Gaol is not a normal human.
"Gaol."
She turns around to see Magnus. She can see the dark bags under his eyes. His shoulders sag as he closes the flap of her tent. He knows he can't hold up his tough façade, not in front of her. He sits on her cot, which protests loudly at his weight.
"I'm almost done with my preparations." She informs him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
She is scared. She doesn't want to go, but someone had to do it. She is the only one who can possibly complete the mission. She turns away from his gaze, pretending to busy herself with preparations
"Would you trust anyone else with the job?" She asks.
"You got me there." The cot gasps with relief as he stands up. "Gaol."
"If I got into trouble, an angel will probably save me."
Magnus laughs. It had been twenty-five years since they were fatefully saved by an angel from the Underworld Army. They had been kids, bravely venturing out to forage for food. Even then, Gaol had been clever, knowing what was rotten and poisonous and how to get at what was safe and delicious. Magnus had insisted on going with her to protect her from monsters. Hiding had bored the young boy, leaving him with nothing but training to occupy his time. It had only taken one misstep for an Underworld monster to spot the pair. Gaol had taken many maneuvers to outsmart the monster, but there were too many on their trail. Magnus did his best to defend her, but they were simply stronger. A Mick easily knocked him aside, leaving Gaol vulnerable until an arrow pierced its side. They immediately swarmed the perpetrator who dispatched them with ease.
"Are you okay?" He asked. Gaol weakly nodded, still too scared to open her eyes. But when she did, she saw white feathers and a winged boy leaving. To her side, he left her a cup of a strange liquid. She sniffed it and cautiously took a sip. It was bitter, but reenergized her, and she immediately realized it was the famed Water of Life. She quickly poured it down Magnus' throat, who gagged but drank the revitalizing liquid.
"Gaol!" He exclaimed. He looked around, confused that the monsters were gone.
"An angel saved us." She said. She helped him up and quickly went to gather the pure white feathers.
"I could have saved us." Magnus pouted. "Just one more moment and I would have gotten those stupid monsters!" Gaol giggled and placed a feather in his shirt.
"Next time I'm in trouble, you'll beat that angel in saving me, right?"
"It's a promise!"
Twenty-five years was a long time. Those days had been forgotten when the Goddess Palutena returned. Only a few monsters roamed the land, and they were much easier to handle than the Underworld Army. Gaol wonders if Magnus even remembers the childish promise. He probably forgot, she bitterly thinks to herself. They both grew up, but only Magnus fell in love with another while Gaol sank to the side. She watched him confess his love to another woman, get married, father a child, and lose the love of his life. Through those twenty-five years, she had been his best friend, and nothing else.
"Right, the Goddess will send an angel just for you."
It is clear to Gaol that Magnus lost his faith in the Goddess and angels. He lost that when he lost his child, and all that was left for the so-called protector of humanity was bitterness and resentment. Gaol is the same. She resents the Goddess for putting her so close to a man who will never love her way she loves him. At the same time, she hates herself for being unable to move on.
"I'm not a kid anymore Magnus. I'm not going to sit and cry if a monster chases me, I'm going to punch it in the face and make it regret it thought I was dinner."
"Heh, you're right. Sorry I sounded like I doubted you. Just be careful out there."
She turns to face him. His body language expresses relief and just a little bit of happiness. She can't help but smile.
"It's a promise."
"Alright, I'll get out of your way now."
He lumbers out of her tent, leaving her alone. When she is certain he is out of earshot, she punches her pillow, trying to hold back the tears. Like her name, she is a prison, locking up all of her emotions. None are allowed to leave, even in front of Magnus. While he can't pretend in front of her, she has a perfect mask in front of him. But the stresses of watching him and remaining in the sidelines threatens a jailbreak. It breaks her heart seeing all of his sorrow and knowing she can't do a thing to help. That's why she takes the biggest risk she can take. If her impregnable fortress falls, she'll fall with it.
She leaves in the dead of the night. It's a long journey to her destination. Rumors say that Underworld monsters have been spawning around an abandoned castle. If they are true, then Gaol can see and warn everyone how doomed they all are. She travels throughout the day when the roads are safe from monsters and arrives the following night. It's eerily silent. Gaol stealthily makes her way inside. She uses her small body to her advantage, hiding in tight nooks and crannies to avoid Monoeye guards. She finally makes it to what used to be the throne room, now inhabited by monsters. Gaol peers in
"Phew, this is getting BORING!" a big green djinn on the throne complains. "Say Pandora, can't you just visit for a while? The Reapers got your freaky deaky labyrinth all jammed up and stuff."
"For the last time Thanatos, I'm not interested in redecorating this castle." A voice booms from a mirror. "Its location is terrible; no one's going to want to buy a place in that kind of neighborhood."
Gaol rolls her eyes. She remembers that Pandora is the Goddess of Calamity and Deceit, leaving Thanatos as the former Tanatos, the God of Death. Magnus did have the right idea in losing faith in the gods.
"You better get back to work." Pandora warns.
"I know, I know!" Thanatos dismisses. "I have a guest to entertain!"
Before Gaol can think, she feels tentacles wrap around her arms. While she was distracted, two Monoeyes flank her from the sides and drag her into the throne room. She struggles to no avail.
"Lookie lookie, a human!" Thanatos cheers. "Tell me giiiiirl, what's your name? And how did you get your hair to be so bouncy and shiny? It's beau-ti-ful!"
"The name is Gainas." She lies without batting her eyes. "And it's naturally like that."
"Ooh, I like this one." Pandora says. She suddenly pushes through the mirror and floats before Gaol. "A compulsive liar to others and herself. Fills me up with so much glee, I could just break out in song."
"What do you know?" Gaol demands.
"Honey, I'm the Goddess of Deceit. I'm practically your patron Goddess!"
Gaol glares at the fiery Goddess. Pandora orbits around, getting a good look at her.
"She is strong." She comments. "And smart, and her heart is very weak. We can use her."
The blood freezes in her veins. Use her? The worst case scenario was that she would be killed on this mission. That's what everyone thought. That's what she thought. She begins to struggle against the Monoeyes harder. Thanatos snaps his fingers, and Skuttlers suddenly swarm her, grabbing all of her limbs.
"I have just the thing!" The djinn exclaims. He snaps his fingers again. This time the Skuttlers appear with parts of a suit of armor. It is a bluish purple with many horns and veins protruding from the surface. Gaol can feel the evil energy radiating from it. "I found this in the Seafloor Palace. I would have worn it myself, but it just doesn't go with my complexion."
"What a pity." Pandora scoffs. "Cursed armor of a dark lord is so hard to find these days."
Gaol continues to struggle and begins to scream. The Skuttlers set the armor on her one piece at a time, and she can feel her own will disappear. She desperately hopes for Magnus to appear, for the angel, for anyone. As the Skuttlers place the helmet on her, despair swallows her up and locks the rest of her away in her own prison.
"Tell us your name now, sweetie." Thanatos commands.
"…Gaol."
"From now on, you will be known as Dark Lord Gaol! You will serve her Goddessness Medusa and crush all humans!"
"No problem. They're all ants."
Thanatos hops around in joy. "Take care of this castle then! I gotta run back to the Seafloor Palace."
"Indeed." Pandora sighs. "I better get going too before Medusa gets her panties in a twist by this brief visit. I'll be seeing you around, Dark Lord Gaol!"
Dark Lord Gaol ignores the two Gods as they disappear. She only focuses on her mission.
"Gather the forces." She commands the remaining Skuttlers and Monoeyes. "We wage war against the humans starting this moment."
Magnus cannot believe what he hears. Not only is the Underworld Army waging war, but one of their commanders is a Dark Lord Gaol. What exactly happened to Gaol? She was crafty, able to use words to get what she wanted, but she wasn't evil. She couldn't possibly have betrayed them; she couldn't possibly have betrayed him. There was no way of knowing for sure, other than invading the bastion of the Dark Lord. He lifts up his club like sword and sets out. Word has it, the nearby kingdom is sending an army to eliminate the Dark Lord. Magnus can't afford to let them harm Gaol.
She is his best friend since childhood. She has been by his side by then, helped him with his marriage, his child, and comforted him when he lost it all. She knows him well, and he suddenly feels guilty for being unable to read her. He wonders if she had been scared and confused the night she left, but that doesn't matter now. He can only go forward now.
He leaves during the day as soon as he can. He avoids the army preparations and arrives at the castle the following night. He is alone in infiltrating the castle. The army is too much of an obvious target for the Underworld Army, so they head for them first, leaving him alone until he charges in. The Skuttlers are surprised by his appearance and are barely able to call for assistance. He decimates them like the small fry they are and heads further inside the prison like structure. A mob of monsters suddenly ambush him, but it's nothing he can't handle. To his annoyance, a loud angel appears. A twenty-five year old memory resurfaces, but he pushes it away. The angel blathers on, to both him and himself. Magnus can't help but give him and his goddess a piece of his mind. It is childish, but so was the promise he made twenty-five years ago.
With the angel's help, he stands before the throne room where Gaol supposedly is. Though the one greeting them is heavily armored with a distorted voice, he knows deep down that it is his beloved childhood friend. He is afraid she has indeed betrayed him; she still banters with him like she normally would. But her jerky movements tell him otherwise. He knows the way Gaol moves, and Gaol does not glide around so clunky. Still, it anguishes him to hear her grunt in pain every time he hits her. He knows she won't die so easily, but the thought of hurting her burdens his heart more than he likes to acknowledge.
With the angel's help, Magnus defeats her quickly. He watches as she stumbles and falls, the armor shattering upon impact. Relief sweeps through him as he sets his sword on the ground and kneels in front of her unconscious form. She is unscathed, a surprising miracle considering how many times the angel shot her in face. He hears the angel warp away, and only gives him a fleeting glance. Once he is certain he is gone, he starts to remove the armor that stubbornly confines Gaol. He immediately turns red and throws the fallen cloak over her bare body. He vaguely wonders when she developed those curves as he pulls off the rest of the armor. He hears the human army break into the castle and hastily wraps the cloak around her. She stirs against Magnus' chest, moaning softly. He can't help but notice the length of her eyelashes and the plumpness of her lips; was she always this beautiful? With Gaol in his arms, he escapes the castle and heads back to camp as the army ransacks the gloomy castle.
Gaol thrashes, screaming desperately, and immediately stops. She is in the medical tent and unrestrained. She wipes the cold sweat from her brow and scans the tent.
"You're awake."
Magnus enters the tent, the bags under his eyes darker than they've ever been. He sits by her cot, ignoring the wheeze of the chair. She feels herself unable to meet his gaze and forces herself to look at her hands.
"You should have let them kill me." She says quietly. "I did terrible things wearing that armor, I…!"
"It wasn't you." Magnus says firmly. "That armor was cursed, wasn't it? I saw all that energy leave it when angelface and I beat you."
She clenches the bed sheets.
"I still submitted myself to it. I wanted to die-I was so ready to die, but… a part of me wasn't."
Gaol is glad she doesn't see Magnus' face contort in rage.
"You wanted to die!" He shouts angrily. "Do you have any idea what your dying would have done to this group? What it would have done to me! I've already lost so much, I can't lose my best friend too!"
Something inside of her snaps. She feels the roof cave in on her emotional prison and the truth coming out, but she cannot stop it. "Do you have any idea what it's like to never be able to have something in front of you? Do you know how hard it is to put the pieces of your heart back together every day because you know the man you love will never return those feelings!"
Magnus is stunned by the raw emotion in Gaol's voice. He has never heard it before. Panic quickly replaces his awe when she begins crying.
"Gaol, I…"
He is at a loss for words. He thinks hard about her words. Who could she possibly be in love with right now? He can't think of anyone in their mercenary band. They are all rowdy and he knows she expresses disgust for their behavior. They don't see the same merchants enough for her to be heartbroken every day, so who did that leave? Who did she see enough and didn't get on her nerves? Who…
He looks at her, the tears sliding silently down her cheeks. He can see the sadness in her eyes and the tension in her hands. For the first time in twenty-five years, he is able read her. On impulse, he reaches over and touches her cheek. She looks at him in surprise, her cheeks flaming up, and he suddenly knows.
He meets her halfway.
Holy crap this is like… the first time in forever I've written full blown het. It's difficult writing while on Gaol because there is almost nothing on her character at all.
The entire fic feels weird too, since most of it is in present tense. I wanted to give it an "in the moment" feeling, so I hope that's what came out. Anyway, thanks for bearing through this. I hope more come out on these two.
One last thing for you Fire Emblem nerds: If Magnus is like Ike, what would that make Gaol?