No one but Steiner knows what's happened – they don't realize it until Eiko approaches Steiner and looks up to the Man.
"I should have realized," she whispers. He looks down to her and offers a smile – frightening, yes, but more sympathetic than anything.
"You could not have realized. He could not tell you – he did not even know."
The group is approaching and Steiner clutches Beatrix to him tightly, hiding her from view.
"Steiner," Eiko says quietly, "You have to let go."
The knight doesn't respond and Eiko closes her eyes, allowing him his moment. They have to leave but there's nothing she can do to make him do anything.
Lani approaches, slowly, and rasps, "Steiner..."
"Get away!" the knight shrieks, turning his head and glaring so hatefully at the bounty huntress that she draws back in shock, "Stay away, or I will cut you down!"
Amarant is whispering hoarsely to Garnet, whose eyes widen as the situation sinks in.
"No," she murmurs, dropping to her knees.
They stand there in thick silence for a good long time – Eiko is surprised the Eidolon beside her isn't growing impatient at their fear and pain. Most Eidolons don't understand it.
He seems to be waiting.
A bright light flashes at the mouth of the cave and all of them, barring Steiner, turn to watch as Ramuh comes walking towards them, in the softer shape of an old mage instead of the god of thunder.
"I thought you might come, Ramuh. What divine punishment might you have in store for me this millennium?"
Ramuh looks up at the Man idly, raising an eyebrow. "Punishment, Gilgamesh? Why... This is precisely the moment you were waiting for." A smirk graces the old man's lips, "Sending your container to the summoner... Very smart."
"You could not expect me to sit idly by while my brothers attempted to destroy what we have so long tried to maintain."
Eiko looks up at Gilgamesh and frowns. "Summoner... You – you came to me?"
"My young summoner," Ramuh sighs, "Gilgamesh has been punished for prior transgressions, by being attached to a human's soul. He would have come to anyone who might have granted him freedom."
"But..." The girl suddenly realizes and – oh no! – "What about Jack?"
The two Eidolons look to each other, and Gilgamesh responds, "He is here. Asleep, as I was for so long. He will be safe there – if I so desire, I may call upon him."
"You will have to," Ramuh says suddenly, looking severely at the larger Eidolon, "You may have saved my master but your punishment is one that cannot be set aside."
"Do you think I would give up my freedom so easily?"
Eiko glares up at the Eidolon and shouts, "You've got to! Jack – he's... You need to!"
"I did not come here to decide the fate of some petty thief," Ramuh sighs. "I've come to tell you that you did not stop Odin's plans."
"What?" Amarant growls. "What? We've done just what you've continually asked us to, old man! How could we have fucked up?"
"What was he even planning?" Lani asks, frowning shakily as she glances to Steiner's form.
"You must return home," Ramuh says, looking at them all, "I have miscalculated, lizard, and therefore it is my mistake that has caused such grief to come upon you. I do not know what the full extent of the trouble will be, so I simply ask that you all return to Lindblum. I will be able to tell you more as time goes on."
"Look, old man," Amarant starts, but Garnet grabs his arm and silences him without a glance.
"Knight of Alexandria," Ramuh starts, pacing towards Steiner, "Let go of her. I shall return her to your kingdom, to be given a burial ceremony as your culture dictates."
Steiner doesn't respond, and suddenly Amarant is growling, moving from Garnet and stalking up to the knight.
He grabs the man's stump of an arm and yanks him back, throwing him away from Beatrix's body.
"Damned fucking idiot!" he shrieks, "What in the blazes do you think you're doing?"
Steiner's hand reaches for Beatrix's sword, and then draws away suddenly. "Kill me, then, you filthy creature!"
Amarant moves forward and grabs Save the Queen from the ground, wielding it expertly and pointing it directly at Steiner's throat. "Are you mad? Do you honestly think I'm going to bother killing a pathetic whelp like you? Get a hold of yourself, Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto!" He lifts the blade and points it towards Garnet, sitting behind Steiner with her blind eyes on the floor of the cave, "Do you forget that you have a duty to protect Her Majesty? Do you forget that your wife died to save that little girl over there? Stand up, you coward! I refuse to protect her for you!"
Steiner twists his head and stares at Garnet for a long moment. Eiko almost reaches out to grab Amarant's wrist but pulls back – this is... necessary.
He gets to his feet slowly, and then stumbles to his queen, falling to his knees beside her and pulling her into a tight hug; Garnet lets out a sound between a sob and a wail, crying, "It isn't true!"
Ramuh picks up Beatrix's body carefully, looking over his shoulder at the queen and her knight.
"I will see you all as soon as I can discern the warnings I have received. Dear summoner," he says to Eiko, "You are the only one who may do anything for Gilgamesh, be it judgment or freedom. He cannot lie to you – and for that matter, he most likely would not want to."
"I see that for all my indiscretions against you, old man, you still trust me. Interesting facts."
Gilgamesh smirks and Ramuh turns away, starting for the entrance once more. "And I see, Gilgamesh, that you've been with humans for too long. I will see you all again."
He is gone in a burst of light, and with him goes Beatrix. Steiner watches until the lights fade once more and then ducks his head over Garnet's, quieting her sobs as best he can.
Eiko looks up at the Eidolon beside her, and he looks down.
"You wish for me to return the human, little summoner?"
She nods, "You... you have to. But – does that mean you have to go away? He didn't know about you before... will he know now?"
Gilgamesh contemplates these questions for a moment, finally responding, "I have never been separate from the human's soul. I have managed to speak to him – though no doubt he assumed he was going mad. It will be difficult to rouse him, without discussing what has transpired here; if you wish, I may reshape his memories so that he does not remember me."
"I..." Eiko looks at the ground and realizes that she's deciding Jack's fate. It's a calm, cool realization and she's more shocked at her reaction than the actual matter at hand. "I think... I think he deserves to know. Please – don't make him forget. You two might be able to... work together? I don't know. Eidolons are..."
Gilgamesh kneels, still having to look down to the girl but not so drastically as before, and offers a grin. "We are indeed strange creatures – no less complex than humans. You receive the best of both worlds, little summoner. Now then. You have made your choice?"
"...Bring Jack back. Don't make him forget what he already knows. He doesn't deserve that."
"Very well, my young master. I shall do my best."
Amarant makes a noise from behind them, and Lani says, "Why couldn't that damned old geezer take us with him to Alexandria? We have to go all the way home by boat?"
"Eidolons run differently, Lani," Eiko sighs, "He moves through planes that we can't even begin to comprehend. That's why he could only..."
She looks at Steiner and Garnet, unable to finish her sentence.
"No matter. Let's get back to Esto Gaza," Amarant grunts, "Before the rat gets distressed and bails on us."
"Hold on, Amarant!" Eiko exclaims, dashing past Gilgamesh, who is now frowning in concentration, "We have to wait until Gilgamesh calls Jack."
"Why bother?" Lani snaps, "Jack is a waste of space."
"Silence that tongue, hunter. My container is far from useless."
Lani falls silent under the deep baritone of Gilgamesh's voice.
Amarant sighs and crosses his arms. "How long is this going to take?"
Eiko wishes she could tell him.
It is time you woke up, Jack.
...where...
This is the subconscious of our combined existence. I am the Eidolon Gilgamesh. Do you recognize me as your counterpoint?
...i...cold. i don't want to go back there.
Jack. You must recognize me or I will not be able to do what I wish to do. I have been existing as an appendage to your soul, and I wish to make it easier for the both of us to-
you made all that pain.
...
it'll hurt, back there. 's comfy here. don't want to leave.
...The young summoner. ...Eiko. She requests that you return. And I too wish for you to return. This is not your place. Jack. Wake up.
's cold there! too much chaos. nothin' worth it there. don't...
Your name, as mine, has been Gilgamesh. You have changed your name to the humans, but I know you for who you were born as. Wake up, human, and I will try to help you as best I can. I do not wish to force you, as that may lead to unnecessary mental trauma, but I will do it. Eiko requests you return. She is a dead child – will you deny her last wishes on this plane?
...t...the old guy's right. you've been around humans too long. blackmail is my thing... all right.
let me go.
Jack feels only dull pain in his shoulders as his body contorts back into his original shape, bones merging, shrinking, and twisting as Gilgamesh sinks deeper into their mind. All he feels right now is numb and freezing – he's so cold –
Eiko bounds forward and kneels next to Jack, who is lying on the frosted ground in the shreds of fur left from his coat. "Jack!"
He's shivering madly and she hears Amarant sigh, looking up to see him shrugging off his coat and tossing it to her.
"Let's go," he tells her as she grabs the coat and pulls it over the thief beside her, "I don't want to wait for that damned horse to show up again."
"Can't we wait – just a little longer, Amarant?" Eiko asks quietly, "This probably is the safest place to be."
Amarant swears under his breath and stalks to the entrance. "I'll be waiting."
Even as Amarant leaves the cave, Eiko knows that he won't go anywhere without them – at least, not without Garnet.
Looking at the shuddering Jack, trying to regain his internal equilibrium, and the two Alexandrians huddled together for comfort, Eiko decides that Amarant's probably going to be waiting for a long time.
The sun is just rising over the horizon by the time they begin their trek back to Esto Gaza. Garnet is still holding tightly to Steiner's good arm, blind eyes staring at the ground – Steiner is only occasionally looking up, making sure they aren't about to go over a cliff... even though it looks as though he would love to do nothing better.
Eiko leads, as she always does, the only one looking sure about anything at the moment. Even Amarant, in front of the stumbling and shuddering Jack, is casting everything about him a suspicious, wary look, as though waiting for something to leap out at them. Lani trails behind, arms crossed and eyes looking up to the slowly brightening sky, darting between fading stars and faded knights.
Jack can't hear anything in his head right now, and wonders if Gilgamesh is... even there. If he's asleep, or just watching him, or what. He's not sure what the Eidolon could do inside his head – must be boring.
The path narrows slowly around them, forcing them into a single-file line down the steep slope. Jack pulls Amarant's jacket closer around him and shivers, wondering how cold the bounty hunter must be now, wearing no fur in the light snowfall. It's freezing out here... but he won't complain, won't say anything at all; no one's in the mood for chatting.
He looks up to the sky and tracks a slowly moving star, thinking about planets and destinies.
An Eidolon, huh? Boy, that'd be something to tell the family.
Not that he has any family. Definitely not now.
Rock crumbles underfoot and Jack is suddenly very aware of the open air above him, as the smooth soles of his boots fail to keep hold on the icy rock path. Gilgamesh is his only fleeting thought before he tilts out, over the edge of a sheer cliff.
Amarant pays only enough attention to see Jack slip and not enough to realize that Jack's momentum and the force of gravity are still more than his own sheer weight – he reaches out and grabs the thief's wrist, soft-soled boots sliding along ice and snow and shit, Amarant thinks, This was stupid.
They go over as one and Amarant tugs Jack into his arms, sliding through air; Jack squeezes his eyes shut because he knows that this is definitely all there is to it –
Amarant's back hits the soft snow at the bottom of an eighty-foot drop with a thick crack; his eye rolls for a moment as he tries to explain to himself just what happened. Jack's head has knocked so sharply against Amarant's ribcage that he's sure something's broken but he can still breathe so –
Pressure builds on his body and he can't believe this is happening now, right this moment –
"Get off!" he shouts, shoving at the thief even as gravity presses down on them, but the Eidolon-in-disguise just grabs his shirt and glares at him defiantly, blood coming from his nose and his eyes, with gravity coming down in a force that Amarant's sure will kill them both. Heavier than ever before, he can feel the ground below cracking and can feel his broken spine bending in the most dangerous ways –
The pressure lightens, just slightly, just enough to keep him from losing his legs. Jack's eyes are milking over, pale and shaded in white, and he growls in a different voice, "What have you done?"
Amarant can't believe the other can even talk with all this weight – if he were to open his mouth his jaw would bite through his tongue –
The pressure slides away, like always, and Jack stares at him and asks again, "What have you done?"
"I-"
"Amarant!"
Jack blinks away the white film and they both turn their heads to see Eiko half-floating, half-skidding down the cliff, eyes wide with tears and hands grabbing at the air.
"Jack!"
She hits the ground running and smells like magic; with a small cry, she lands at their side and falls to her knees. "Hold on, hold on, please!"
Amarant wants to ask why she's so frightened but his jaw isn't –
Oh.
He tries to move an arm, but –
Oh.
Jack slides back and half-straddles him, holding his neck particularly tight between his upper hands.
Eiko holds her hands out and grabs Amarant's arm, cracking broken visible bone back into place under his skin – he manages a grunt, well, as best he can with his jaw broken wide open – and she starts pulling magic in to heal him.
She does the same with his jaw, causing another horrible snap, and then slides her hand under his head and he feels her touching something –
White magic seeps into his brain and its fine, now; he can't feel her hand there.
She sighs and reaches out, hands sliding under the strange bend in his spine, and snap he can feel his legs again, though they're numb and kind of –
Eiko finally reaches out and covers Jack's hands with her own, feeling through stretched muscles and easing them back.
"That was..."
Eiko tries not to look either man in the eyes, pulling her hands into her lap and dropping her chin to her chest, but Amarant can tell she needs to say it.
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done in your entire life Amarant and if you ever do anything like that again-!"
He cuts her off, back cracking a little as he sits up and grabs her, pulling her into a reluctantly comforting half-hug.
"Shut up, brat."
Jack slides back towards the cliff and asks himself, What just happened?
Gilgamesh's voice responds, soft and almost caring, He has done something very foolish. You and I just saved his life. And as for you... please, try not to fall off another cliff, until this is finished?
Jack groans quietly and wishes he didn't have a voice in his head.
When they return to Esto Gaza, they find the high priest waiting for them at the gate, accompanied by three Burmecians – Eumol, Kal, and Kal's wife – and some dazed looking little girl in flowing robes. Something about the Burmecians makes Amarant feel angry, violent really... He holds it back because Jack keeps looking at him like he's going to explode, and he sure as hell doesn't want the damned thief to be right about anything.
"You've returned," the priest says, "Successful, if the steed's solitary departure last night is any indication."
"She heeded my warning," the girl adds, quite loftily, turning and pacing away with a creepy sort of fluid grace.
"What does she...? Oracles," Kal grumbles at the girl's retreat.
Eumol looks over them and his ears twitch backwards slightly. "Where is General Beatrix?"
Amarant is struck suddenly with the notion that Eumol can't see what's happened to his first mate.
The silence is heavy until Lani breaks it, stepping forward and looking at the Burmecian carefully, assessing the situation. "...Come on, rat. We better go secure supplies for the trip back to Lindblum."
"Lindblum – but – no!" Eumol shouts, drawing himself away from Lani's reaching hand, "No! You can't – I'm not – I demand to be told the truth! I am – I have just as much stock in this journey as you all and – and I refuse to be left behind and left in the dark! Where's General Beatrix?"
"Eumol," Lani says again, voice low against Garnet's sudden hiccupping, "Let's go get supplies."
"Stop-"
"Damn it, rat!" Amarant snarls, "Look around and put it together, you stupid Burmecian!"
The Burmecian sailor recoils now from Amarant's tone and his ears flatten against his skull. "I... But – how – it... I don't believe..."
Lani sighs and grabs his arm. "Come on, rat," she says slowly, pulling him with her, away from the group. They're nearly out of sight when the Burmecian, still visibly trembling, nearly collapses, held up only by one of Lani's hands and no soothing words of comfort.
Amarant feels better, just a little, seeing someone else in pain, and that makes him feel sick. Just like when he fought with Beatrix in the Village – just like when he fought Steiner, just like when he thought that Garnet was going to –
"Amarant?"
He looks to Eiko and nods slightly, letting her lead him and Jack away from the priest, Garnet, and Steiner.
He has a feeling that they need the priest more than he does.
The priests of Esto Gaza send prayers with them when they leave. Eumol can't stand it. How dare they just send prayers, and act as though that will make everything better? How dare they assume that their faith and their compassion will work for everyone – that it will fix what's happened?
The cabin is empty, save for himself, and it's giving him too much time to himself – too much time to think. No one will tell him exactly what happened up at the top of the mountain; the only thing that he's been told is that Beatrix gave her life while fighting to defend her queen. Eumol had, at first, felt something akin to loathing for Garnet, when Lani had first told him the news, but now he only feels repulsed at himself for hating her. It isn't her fault. This is how Beatrix would want it to be, he supposes. It isn't as though he knew her well, personally, but...
He is a royal guard as well, no matter where he is. He knows what it's like, to be willing to die to protect someone.
He wonders what the other Burmecians are doing, and he wonders what they'll do once this is all over. What will become of Burmecia as a kingdom? There aren't enough of them to properly constitute as a kingdom, are there? Or perhaps...
Eumol shakes his head violently, temporarily dislodging the thoughts in his head. He doesn't have time to think about these things – for now, he has to focus on sailing their ship, on getting them home. Back to the Mist Continent. It will be a bittersweet return, but he still can't wait for it to come.
Jack can't sleep. It's been nearly four days since they left the Lost Continent, and the Burmecian has said that it will probably take another three days before they finally reach Lindblum; Jack can't wait. He wants nothing more than to go home and put all of this behind him; he wants to go back to how it used to be.
He can feel the other presence within him and he knows that nothing will be how it used to be.
You should rest, Jack. The Eidolon's voice is soft and placating, but Jack can't find it in him to follow its suggestion.
"What is it going to be like, staying like this forever?" He feels silly, talking to himself, but at least no one on the boat is going to think he's crazy. "I mean – how can I keep going, the way that I have been, with you here...?"
I have always been here, Gilgamesh responds, still in that soft tone, And I will always be here. It is my punishment, of sorts, and yet – it seems to have become less a penalty and more a chance at redemption.
"I don't care about that," Jack grouses, crossing both sets of arms and looking up at the moons, "I mean about all of my... hobbies."
I do not care if you steal, the other responds mildly, sounding amused, and it has never been an issue for me. You are not so different from your previous incarnations, and I do not think you will be much different from future ones.
"...What – I've always been a thief?"
That's a little depressing.
Yes. It has never been an issue. This is a good soul that you carry, and in the end, that is all that matters. You are not a bloodthirsty criminal – I saw to that from the moment I was attached to you, so many cycles ago.
"Oh, yeah," Jack mutters, closing his eyes as he slumps against the ground, "Real good. Couldn't even let go in time for you to help-"
What happened was destined to happen. The lady general's soul has always been meant to be released in battle; she was glad to have it happen when it did. There's a pause, and Gilgamesh adds, You should not blame yourself. There is only so much I may do to influence you, and once you let go of control, you become a wonderfully good avatar for me to work through.
"Avatar." The word is foreign to Jack – he's never been much for religious stories and he's never worried much over the fate of his soul. Knowing now that he's always been like this, Jack figures there's no reason to start worrying now.
It has been many, many ages since I've had an avatar, Gilgamesh says, And I can only assume that it is by the little summoner's wishes alone that I am allowed to keep you now.
"Why's that?" Jack asks, opening his eyes to look at the stars again, "Did you get put in time-out or something?"
...Of sorts.
"...Great." Jack lets out a hoarse chuckle and hits his head against the wall behind him. "We're both delinquents."
The Eidolon laughs and it echoes throughout the thief's head pleasantly, causing him to laugh a bit more earnestly himself.
We are both... Special.
Eiko's voice suddenly cuts through Gilgamesh's thoughts, and Jack turns to look at the little girl standing in front of him. "You're going to have to figure out a better way to talk to yourself, you know."
"Yeah," he says, reaching up to run a hand through his hair in mild embarrassment. "I know."
"I wanted to thank you. You and Gilgamesh, I mean," the girl continues blithely, grinning at him. "For helping out my big brother."
"Uh – I didn't do anything. He wouldn't have..."
The hunter has done something incredibly stupid, Gilgamesh cuts in, causing Jack to trail off. We prevented him from dying. If you had not fallen, it would have still happened. Tell her she is welcome.
"...It was no big deal," Jack finally tells Eiko, who smiles and walks away.