The statue was a poor likeness. Klaus studied it for what was probably the hundredth time but he still couldn't pick out the flaw. Each individual feature was perfect, completely accurate – they should be, Klaus oversaw the construction himself – however the sum total failed to properly capture Gilgamesh. Yet insufficient or not, it was all he had now.
"Son." The statue didn't answer. Then again he didn't expect it to. "I apologize for being remiss in visiting you lately. There were certain matters I had to take care of while the opportunity was there. The Heterodyne girl is finally dead. I know you thought you loved her but she was just using you. If you'd only listened to me when I told you that. You refused to see it. She didn't care about you. She didn't even bother to show her face for more than six months after you died. And even then it was only because my attacks finally made it past her damnable castle." He paused, taking a deep breath. What was done was in the past and he refused to dwell on that girl here.
I miss you. Like always, the words stuck in his throat before he could get them out. "I'll fix things. It won't bring you back but I'll make sure everything that took you away is wiped out."
He stood there for a long time, gazing at the imperfect image of his son. He never knew what to say. If Gil had still been there he would have had something to say back, given Klaus something to correct, something to teach him. The statue never answered. Not that he expected it to.
Klaus felt cold. It wasn't that bad today, almost warm according to some. In spite of that Klaus felt like the world was made of ice. He resisted the urge to shiver, unwilling to show such weakness even completely alone as he was.
I miss you. The words still refused to come. The statue did not speak. Klaus turned to leave.
He made it several meters before he realized that the sound of footfalls wasn't solely because of him. He didn't know what possessed him to slip behind the small corpse of trees nearby. It's his son's grave. He was not ashamed of visiting it. If anything this stranger should be.
The stranger rounded the last bend and Klaus could finally see who it was.
Tarvek Sturmvoraus.
That wasn't possible. The man had been dead for ages. Panic seized Klaus's throat. If Sturmvoraus was alive then could –
No. He'd handled the destruction of her body personally. She was dead and there was no bringing her back. He supposed it was possible for Sturmvoraus to have survived but not her. She was dead.
Surmvoraus continued along the path, apparently completely oblivious to Klaus's presence. He was wrapped in a long cloak, holding something tucked against his side. There was a limp that hadn't been there the last time Klaus had seen him. A glint of silver flashed as he moved, though whether weapon or prosthetic he didn't know.
When he reached the statue he stopped, staring up at it. "Dear Lord is that statue hideous. It looks nothing like you." He fiddled with something inside his cloak, juggling his mysterious bundle with one hand until he pulled out a small, golden locket. The Heterodyne girl had been missing hers when she'd faced him. Apparently this is where it had gone. Sturmvoraus flipped the catch and set the open locket at the statue's feet. "There. Not perfect but it looks more like you than that. At least in it you're smiling." Then he sat himself on the ground, like had a right to be there. He smiled down at the locket. "Hi Gil. Sorry I haven't come sooner. Other things had to come first. You know how it is."
He took a long moment readjusting his seat. It hardly took a genius to see the stalling tactic in play. "Gil…" he finally said, "Gil, Agatha's dead. Klaus killed her. She's dead, Gil." He ducked his head, breathing in sharply through his nose.
He shifted the parcel on his lap. "Agatha told me that you knew before you left. But I think we'll wait until everyone's fully present before we begin introductions."
Someone else was coming? Klaus shifted further back into the trees, wishing he didn't always insist on visiting Gil's grave by himself. Anyone who associated themselves with Sturmvoraus would be bound to be dangerous. He'd need the element of surprise on his side to cut them both down without letting a fight break out.
"You left, Gil. You knew and you left. I know I was injured but you knew, you knew how stupid of an idea that was. One of us should have been with you. To pull you back. To keep you safe. We work best as a team, Gil. But no, you just had to go out there by yourself. I can't even tell you how much of an uproar I raised when I woke up and learned that you were – that you –" Sturmvoraus let out a cut off sob. Klaus could almost believe the snake was capable of feeling something. "You always were an idiot, Gil.
"I miss you. We didn't get enough time. We wasted so much of it. Fighting, convincing ourselves we hated each other. Not that it ever worked. I never hated you, Gil. I never could. And believe me, I tried when we were younger. Oh, did I try. Eventually I gave up trying. You, being the stubborn idiot that you are, took forever to catch up. We'd finally gotten each other back. And then you had to go and leave."
Sturmvoraus screwed his eyes shut, breathing heavily. For a second it looked like he might start sobbing for real. Klaus didn't know whom he was trying to convince. As far as Sturmvoraus knew he was alone.
"We've got some breathing room to plan with," he said, refolding the edges of his cloak around the mystery item within. "It certainly helps that Klaus believes me to be dead. And he doesn't know about her at all." Her? Did that mean whomever he was meeting was a woman? Sturmvoraus gave a wry grin. "The man never was good at seeing what he didn't expect to be there." Klaus couldn't believe it. The worm had only just been pretending to cry over Gilgamesh's grave and now he was gloating. Klaus gripped the nearest branch hard enough to crack the wood. The only thing that kept him from moving was the thought that killing Sturmvoraus now might scare off whomever he was supposed to be meeting.
The grin slid from Sturmvoraus's face. "It's not going to be enough. The Castle's not safe right now. It – God. It was supposed to be safe. Do you remember how many ways we almost died fixing it? Klaus broke it this time. Then again I suppose 'fixed' was never his preference for it, was it? So much harder to control everyone when they have a place they can regroup and fight back from. I pray that I get a chance to kill that man. I know he's your father but Gil he deserves it. He killed Agatha, Gil. He killed her."
He adjusted whatever he'd brought with him again. "Don't worry. I don't plan on hunting him down or even actively trying to kill him. I have much more important responsibilities now.
"Zeetha's looking for a way back to Skifander."
Zeetha. He hadn't been sure whether or not his daughter had survived the attack. He hadn't wanted her to die but he'd never been able to pull her away from the Heterodyne girl's sway. Maybe now that she was dead, his daughter could escape. She could go back to Skifander, far away from her corruption.
"She should be safe there. I have to believe your mother will grant her protection. I'm not actually certain how warm my welcome be though. But that doesn't matter. All that matters is her safety." That wasn't right. Sturmvoraus wouldn't care that much about Zeetha. The only person he'd ever cared that much about was –
No.
She. Was. Dead.
Not that that had ever stopped Aaronev.
Was Sturmvoraus trying to resurrect her? Or was her consciousness stored somewhere like Lucrezia's had been?
"We should have taken you up on your suggestion when you first made it that night. Piled into a dirigible, flown to a little town, found the nearest church –" he broke off again. "I'm going to tell everyone we did. One of the few lies I plan to tell.
"I can practically hear you yelling at me from wherever you and Agatha are. You can stop. I would never do what Klaus and Barry did. I'll tell her the truth, all of it. The good, the bad, your tendency to lose track of which little gadgets were which, Agatha's Jäger-like habit of stealing clothes, all of it. I'll tell her everything."
Tell who? Who was he supposed to be meeting? Who would Sturmvoraus pretend to trust with his secrets?
"However, for the rest of the world… She'll need the legitimacy." So he was trying to resurrect the Heterodyne girl. And he thought he could secure the empire for her by claiming she'd been married to Gil. "She'll need every advantage she can get. She's going to have enough enemies as it is. And as soon as Klaus finds out…"
Sturmvoraus sunk into himself, folding around whatever it was he'd brought with him. "I don't know what I'm doing, Gil. It was supposed to be the three of us. We just don't work on our own. We needed all three of us to balance each other out. I can't do this without you. All I know is that you and Agatha are gone and I'm alone and I miss you both so much." He curled in tighter and began crying. Klaus stood hidden in his spot, watching Sturmvoraus's tears stain the edges of his cloak. He wanted to rip him away before they could likewise stain Gil's grave.
Then the buddle Sturmvoraus had brought with him moved.
Sturmvoraus unfolded slightly, forcing his hitching breathes to slow. The buddle kept shifting, moving even more. Sturmvoraus moved aside the layers of fabric, smiling at it. "Finally awake I see." Then he lifted out a baby from inside his cloak.
The girl couldn't be more than a month or two old, with wispy, light brown hair and eyes that had already darkened from baby blue to the same shade as Zantabraxis. Klaus couldn't breathe.
He set her on his lap facing Gil's statue. She reached out for the locket at the base of it, gurgling happily.
"Gil, I would like you to meet Lily. Lily, I want you to meet your father."