Word Count: 1,538
II: What You See is What You Get
On the dawn of June 5th, Marius Pontmercy awoke from a nightmare, or from what he thought was certainly one.
As in his dream, Courfeyrac greeted him with an invitation to join them in the funeral procession. This time he agreed, and as he remembered the riot from his nightmare, he took with him the two pistols Inspector Javert gave him before the Gorbeau robbery.
At the Rue de l'Ouest, a boy with a triggerless pistol joined them. It was the little Thénardier, Gavroche, he remembered, and along with his recollection of the gamin's name was that vision of his broken, bloodied body lying wide-eyed on the street. Marius tried to convince the boy to leave, but to no avail. Instead, Gavroche asked him for one of his pistols, "since he had one during the '30 revolution." Marius reluctantly obliged, if only to give the boy something resembling protection.
Courfeyrac laughed at this scene, and when it had ended, he went and patted Marius on the shoulder. "That's Gavroche for you, Monsieur L'Abbé. Don't worry about him, he's a fine shot."
Their ragged band augmented at every moment. On the Rue des Billettes, a man of lofty stature, whose face Marius did not clearly see, joined them. Gavroche, who was preoccupied with toying about Marius' pistol, and singing vulgar ditties of his own creation, took no notice of the newcomer's arrival.
When they reached the Rue de la Verrerie, Courfeyrac took his leave of them, as he had forgotten his purse and lost his hat again. Marius, who remembered that in his dream, Éponine was waiting for him in their lodgings, volunteered to fetch the said articles for his friend.
The dream, of course, was right. As Marius descended from the steps, hat and purse in his arms, Mother Veuvain halted him to say that he had a guest waiting for his return. It was Éponine, wearing a worker's clothing, no doubt exchanged with the first man she saw. It was ill-fitting, but the change in clothing suited her much better than her old rags.
Marius' conversation with the gamine had gone the same way as it had in his dream. Only, instead of making her stay with the portress, Marius asked Éponine to deliver his letter to Cosette. Éponine's face fell at this request. Nevertheless, she agreed, and she left with Marius' letter stashed in one of the pockets of her oversized coat. Marius had shouted his gratitude to her slowly disappearing figure, but whether Éponine heard him or not, she gave no indication.
When Marius returned to Courfeyrac's side, he noticed that M. Mabeuf had joined their number. Surprised, Marius approached the octogenarian.
"M. Mabeuf, please go home."
"Why, M. Marius!"
"M. Mabeuf, go home. There is to be a row."
"That is fine, M. Marius."
"There will be a shooting, M. Mabeuf."
"That is well."
"They will fire cannons."
"That is alright. But, pray tell me, where are the rest of you going, M. Marius?"
"We are going to overthrow the government, M. Mabeuf."
"That is good."
It was the end of the matter. M. Mabeuf had set out to join them, and no amount of persuasion from Marius would prevent him from doing so.
As their group saw M. Mabeuf joining their march, a rumour soon spread among the students that an old member of the Convention had joined them. This, of course, was false, and anyone who knew the octogenarian could testify to this.
A mob does not go where it originally intends to. A gust of wind blows it away to a new direction. Thus Marius' group skipped Saint-Merry, and instead found itself building a barricade at the Rue de la Chanvrerie, on Bossuet's suggestion.
The Rue Saint-Denis was in fact a place most suited to have built a barricade. Its entrances widened out on one side and on the other, narrowed into a pocket without an exit. The Corinthe created an obstacle, the Rue Mondetour barricaded on the right, and no attack was possible except from the Rue Saint-Denis, that is to say, from the front.
Mother Hucheloup was indignant at the students building a barricade around her establishment, but that didn't stop them from including her tables and chairs to their barricade. The poor woman merely threw her hands up the air in defeat. Meanwhile, the inebriated Grantaire was left with the table on which he was sleeping off the alcohol in his system, Enjolras having judged said table too small to be of use to the barricade.
Enjolras, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac were directing everything, and the barricades they have constructed looked exactly like the ones Marius saw in his dream.
The tall man who had joined them in the Rue des Billettes was now making himself useful by helping in the construction of the smaller barricade.
Gavroche was helping in the construction of the larger barricade. The workers grumbled when Gavroche told them to place a glass door at the front of the barricade, but they still did so. This having been accomplished, Gavroche merrily skipped to the heart of the Corinthe to help the men in their manufacture of ammunition.
Enjolras had apparently not judged Bahorel to be cautious around a gun, and instead delegated him in the press' productions.
Marius had not noticed Éponine slip inside the blockade. She did not expect him to do so, and she hid herself behind the men producing ammunition. Marius himself was helping in the construction of the larger barricade.
After they are satisfied that their barricade will hold out an assault, they rest. Jehan Prouvaire has taken to reciting his verses, with his friends as an audience. It is the same one he recited in his dream, Marius realised.
Enjolras did not join them, however, and is standing at the top of the barricade, keeping watch like the archangel going to war.
The man who joined them at the Rue des Billettes passed in front of Marius, and in a flash, Marius recognised him as Inspector Javert, the very man who gave him the two pistols. He had no doubt that the inspector was a spy. This he told Courfeyrac, who quickly passed it on to Enjolras. His cover having been blown, Inspector Javert struggled before he is disarmed by the students, and tied to a post, his fate to be judged later.
The first part of the battle started soon after the scuffle with the Inspector. This time, Bahorel is not the first to fall. Feuilly who was one of those defending the top of the barricade, falls off it, arms locked together with a National Guard who tried to shoot Gavroche. Shots ring in the air when they hit the ground, and neither of them climb back up. Gavroche, wide-eyed, is dragged back to the safety of the wine shop by Courfeyrac.
There are other differences. It is Joly whom the soldiers capture and execute. The words "Vive la France" are heard before the tell-tale shot. Bossuet, reckless with grief, followed his friend soon after when he is stabbed in the back with a bayonet.
M. Mabeuf died in an attempt to put up the flag, as in Marius' dream. Marius shudders when the old man who loved peace and introduced him to his father falls.
Marius once again tried to hold off the attack with gunpowder, but this time Éponine is not shot by the bullet meant for him, as none of the soldiers saw him preparing the gunpowder.
The assault on the barricade ended soon after Marius made his threat, and they are left with peace for the rest of the night. They knew, however, that this peace would not last, and that for most of them, it will be their last night. Courfeyrac, hiding his grief beneath his usual smile, started the song of their camaraderie, for unlike in Marius' dream, Grantaire is asleep on his little table at the corner of the café to start it. Courfeyrac passes a bottle of wine to Bahorel after he finishes a line of song and soon, everyone joined in the chorus and the mood of their little band lightened.
M. Fauchelevent arrived once more with the fifth uniform, and they manage to save five men from death. In gratitude, Enjolras granted him his request to have Javert. Marius' blood ran cold when he hears the shot.
Dawn came hand in hand with death a few hours later, and everyone welcomed her with open arms. Gavroche is not the only one to die in the attempt to recover ammunition. Courfeyrac ran after the boy who was so much like a little brother to him, and he dies in the attempt to shield the gamin from the bullets. Bahorel and Prouvaire die fighting side by side when their barricade is overrun. Combeferre and Enjolras were the last to die, having been identified as leaders of the insurgents, and they died while bravely waving the tricolour.
Grantaire does not wake up on time, and he is left searching for the still-warm bodies of his comrades, cursing himself at every step.
A/N: So apparently three days of power outages can do wonders with your productivity. Also, believe me when I say I felt positively sick writing his chapter.
A little explanation: The chapter number corresponds to the timeloop number. The Brick is considered Loop 0, hence the previous chapter which happened right after it is Loop 1.