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Chapter Text

“I just don’t understand what they were thinking?” Lucien repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “I mean, come on. Am I missing something? We’ve waited all this time, and Lune wants us to stall the landing till morning? We’ve all been looking forward to this! Especially Maelle! Why did she vote against it?”

It was strange. Especially since it hadn’t happened last time. Gustave knew Lune had been just as excited about the landing as the rest of them. 

And it was because Gustave recalled the last time around that he was probably the most surprised of everyone when Lune suddenly made her requests just as Gustave’s senses returned to him.

Lune had approached Alan just moments ago and asked that they wait till morning to land, and that they drop anchor for the night. Alan had been just as caught off guard by Lune’s request as everyone else had, but ultimately decided to bring it to a vote. 

Lune was outvoted drastically, with only three other people on her side.

“You sided with Lune,” Catherine voiced, cutting off Lucien’s continued rant as she looked to Gustave. “What were your thoughts on waiting till morning? Other than the fact Maelle voted with Lune.”

Gustave huffed in mock offense, though unable to stop the fond smile creeping up his face. 

“Believe it or not, Maelle doesn’t dictate my every move. Just most of them.”

That at least got an amused hum from Catherine and a snort from Lucien.

“So he admits it-!”

“Visibility,” Gustave answered Catherine’s question. “We’re landing on a beach we know nothing about with an oncoming eclipse hanging over our heads. We have no way of knowing what the condition will be like on the beach, or if we’ll be able to see the threats lurking there.”

“Come on, Gustave,” Lucien threw an arm around Gustave’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

If only that were true, my friend. If only this wasn’t the last night we see each other.

But what could Gustave do, alone. His attempts to follow after Lune, Sciel, and Maelle had been thwarted two-fold. First by Lune telling him to back off, then by Lucien dragging him away to complain his ear off. 

It couldn’t be a coincidence that the four of them remembered. 

“He does raise good points, Lucien,” Catherine mused, staring between the coming shore and the eclipse threatening their survival. “Too late now, I suppose. We’ll just have to be ready for anything.”

“Yeah. Right,” Gustave nodded solemnly. “Like Nevrons. Or weird old men.”

“Weird old men?” Lucien scoffed. “Come off it, Gustave! Now you’re just telling ghost stories.”

Yeah. Ghost stories. The stuff of waking nightmares. 

Unable to keep staring at the horizon and their approaching doom, Gustave turned to look out over the ship, taking in the faces of those he lost the last time around. A perfectly timed action as that was when Lune, Sciel, and Maelle had emerged from wherever they had disappeared below deck. 

“Excuse me, my friends,” Gustave said quickly, pulling away from Lucien and Catherine to make a bee-line for the three. “Lune! Sciel! Maelle!”

Lune paused, something in her body going tense as she heard his voice, eventually turning around to look at him with a shuttered off glare. Sciel at least had the decency to face him as she gave him a nervous smile that came off like a grimace, glancing between Gustave and Maelle. 

Maelle wouldn’t look at him at all.

“Maelle,” Gustave called gently to his daughter/sister. They really needed to figure that out, didn’t they? “Are you upset with me? Have I done something wrong?”

“Now isn’t the time, Gustave,” Lune tried to cut him off.

“Perhaps we should have this conversation somewhere else,” Sciel attempted to grab his arm and guide him away. 

“Is it because I took too long picking the rock? Or because I failed to keep my promise on the Cliff?”

It was easy to see Lune and Sciel’s reaction to his question because they’re facing him. Both seem to jolt upright, their eyes widening as their mouths’ dropped open. Lune actually seemed to lose her balance for a moment, stumbling back before catching herself with expert ease. 

“Wha-what?” Lune asked, pressed, pleaded. All three at one. “Gustave, you-?”

It was harder to gauge Maelle’s reaction because she was facing away from him. But to Gustave, who had spent so much time learning her tells, he could see the shock set in. First her body tensed, shoulders hunching up. Her arms came up for a moment as if to wrap around herself, or a stuffed animal that was long gone. Her breathing stopped for a moment, too, with an audible hitch that broke Gustave’s heart.

“I am… sorry,” Gustave forced out. “I am so, so sorry, Maelle. It was just. We were on the cliff. My blood was all over your face. He was going to kill us both. I had to- I needed to-. I wasn’t going to let him hurt you, Maelle.”

Maelle was trembling now, shaking in a way that had Gustave’s heart pounding too hard in his chest. She must have been in so much pain after his sacrifice. Abandoning her as so many others had before him. He’d never forgive himself for the pain he caused her. 

Stepping forward, Gustave rested a hand on her shoulder. “Maelle, I- oof!”

The second his hand brushed her shoulder, Maelle spun around, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around him in a vice. Gustave’s arms immediately flew around Maelle, pulling her close. 

“I’m sorry, Maelle,” he whispered into her hair.

Maelle shook her head, pulling away just enough to look him in the eyes. To the ever growing pain in his heart, she was crying, but there was a relieved, warm smile on her face.

“I’m not mad at you,” Maelle promised. “I know why you did it, but I don’t ever want you to do that again.”

“Maelle-”

“And you’re sure this wasn’t you?” Lune cut in quickly, eyeing Maelle somewhat warily and with a little too much intrigue.

Maelle’s brow pinched as she looked at Lune, then Sciel, and then finally back at Gustave, as she seemed to contemplate the strange question. At least Maelle seemed to understand what Lune was asking

“I don’t… I don’t think so,” Maelle shook her head, looking back to Lune. “But everything is kind of fuzzy right now. I don’t know…”

Maelle pursed her lips, thumping her head back against Gustave’s chest with a grumble, like she was fighting off a bad drunken headache. Except Gustave knew Maelle hated any sort of wine or alcohol, so that couldn’t possibly be the case. 

“What is it you think Maelle has done?” Gustave pressed a hand gently to the back of her head, massaging gently.

She leaned into the touch, but there was still a pinched thing to her face. Gustave turned his attention away from Maelle to look at Lune and Sciel. Lune was frowning in that contemplative way of hers, and Sciel was gazing out towards the water with a pointed frown.

“What?” Gustave asked.

“We don’t have enough time to catch you up on everything,” Lune finally decided to say. “Which means you’re going to have to survive the beach again, Gustave. We’ll meet up at the Indigo Tree as planned, and then go from there.”

“But the others-”

“We’re going to try and save as many as we can,” Sciel spoke up quickly. “When we get off the boat, gather as many people to you as possible, and then we’ll use our collective knowledge to get as many people away from the beach as possible and away from those creepy Noir Nevrons. If by chance we can’t make it to the Indigo Tree, we’ll meet at the Gestral Village.”

“But the old man-”

“I’ll be taking care of Renoir,” came the response from Maelle.

Gustave thought his heart might have stopped.

“What?” he pulled back, looking into Maelle’s eyes to find a determined fire there. “Maelle-”

“Maelle stands the best chance against Renoir,” Lune said firmly. “We don’t have time to explain everything right now, but we will. There is so much we have to tell you, and I’d prefer not to keep explaining over and over again.”

“But the old man-”

“I’m not fighting him alone,” Maelle said quickly. “The man who saved me on the beach, Verso, he’ll be there. He won’t let Renoir hurt me. And I certainly won’t make it easy for Renoir, either.”

“How can you be sure?” Gustave pressed, feeling a little hysterical. 

Man on the beach? Verso? Make it easy for Renoir? What was she saying?

“How can you be sure things will play out the way they did last time?” Gustave pressed. “What if something goes wrong? Or-or there is some deviant you don’t expect? Or-?”

“Gustave,” Sciel reached a hand out to rest on his shoulder, drawing his gaze to her. “We understand your concern, and that this situation is less than ideal. But Maelle is right. We are going to have to split the team up if we want to save as many of our friends as possible. We know Verso will be most likely to help Maelle, so Maelle will face Renoir and we will rally our friends to face the Noirs.”

“We don’t have enough time to make a proper plan, or to explain why we need a proper plan,” Lune stated bitterly, still glaring at the approaching shore. “If we had more time, maybe we could save the whole team. Instead we’re walking into a death trap mostly unprepared and banking on training and protocol to save lives.”

“I thought you liked protocol,” Gustave attempted to jest.

Lune whipped around to glare at him, but that glare quickly melted as she released a pent up breath. 

“We missed you, Gustave,” Lune said sincerely, losing part of her hard, focused edge as she spoke. Giving him something more vulnerable. “You were the one who…”

Lune tampered off, turning back to the horizon with a grimace on her face. Gustave had half a mind to press, to ask her what she meant. But Maelle’s grip around his waist tightened as she pressed her head back to his chest, and Sciel was squeezing his shoulder.

“Try not to leave us this time, yeah?” Sciel teased, though the usual cheek in her voice wasn’t as present. “Which means you better give it your all on the beach.”

Then Sciel was pulling away, resting her hand on Lune’s arm, guiding her away. Leaving Gustave and Maelle to have a moment. 

“Hey-”

“I’m not who I used to be,” Maelle suddenly said, muffled in Gustave’s chest. “I’m not-Gustave I-”

“Hey, hey,” Gustave hushed gently. “It’s okay.”

“No,” Maelle looked up to him, shaking her head rapidly. “No, you don’t understand, Gustave. So much happened. There’s so much I have to tell you. But I’m not… I’m not the same Maelle I used to be.”

That was true. Trauma tended to change people, and it was clear that Maelle, Lune, and Sciel had been through far more than Gustave would be able to predict. He had to imagine what horrors his own death had brought to Maelle, of the woman it made her into. But this was Maelle.

Gustave hummed, pretending to contemplate what Maelle was saying. 

“I mean, yeah, I imagine you have changed,” Gustave told her gently. “But you’re also not the same person Emma and I adopted into our family. Always so skittish. Constantly running off. Trying to hide her nightmares.”

This didn’t seem to bring any comfort to Maelle. 

“You don’t understand,” Maelle tried once more. “The things I’ve done- the things I’ve tried to do-”

“And I did the one thing I swore I’d never do to protect you,” Gustave cut her off gently. “I gave my life for yours, I left you alone. That's the thing, Maelle. The things we do for love, the things we do protect those we care about, to save lives, maybe they’re unforgivable. Maybe they go too far. But do you honestly think there is anything you could do that would make me care for you any less?”

To Gustave’s horror, this also didn’t comfort Maelle and she looked as if she was going to cry. What happened to make Maelle so scared she’d think he would hate her? 

Gustave had half a mind to charge at Lune and Sciel to demand answers. But the sky overhead was getting dark with the eclipse, and he could see the beach where they were set to land.

“Maelle, listen to me, you could tell me you were actually the Paintress herself and I would still love and care for you,” Gustave stated warmly. Because whatever had happened, Gustave needed Maelle to understand just how much she meant to him. “I swear on my life. And given I’ve already died once, that should have more weight to it, right?”

And to his delight, that pained, dejected look went away. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as if Gustave had said the most outrageous thing in the world. Her hands curled deeper into the fabric of his shirt as fresh tears came to her eyes. But it wasn’t caused by sadness this time. 

“Do you really mean that?” Maelle whispered as the first tear fell.

Gustave gave her his warmest smile, reaching up to brush the tear away with his thumb as he cupped her face.

“Every word. All you have to do is trust me, and then I’ll prove myself right when you finally sit down and tell us everything, okay? Just as I am choosing to trust that I will either see you at the Indigo Tree or at those weird corals from last time. This Verso better take care of you.”

Maelle huffed a laugh as another tear fell. “He will. Promise.”

Before Gustave could say anything to that, though, Alan gave a shout over the deck.

“Everyone! Prepare to dock! Our Expedition officially starts the second we land on that beach! The people of Lumiere are counting on us to make our way to the Paintress! Let’s try to be the first Expedition who actually makes the Paintress pay!”

There was a cheer among the ship, a rallying cry shared by almost all. Gustave couldn’t bring himself to contribute, knowing what awaited them on the beach, and Maelle seemed to grimace against the chorus of voices. A quick look for Lune and Sciel showed they were reacting much the same as Maelle. 

Just what happened after he died?

“Come on. We should make sure all our equipment is ready for the challenge,” Maelle grabbed his arm and tugged him towards Lune and Sciel. “The Noirs aren’t going to be easy to fight, and we really should try to save as many as possible.”

“Right,” Gustave agreed, letting Maelle tug him along. 

He would get his answers later. But first-

“Maelle,” Gustave gently pulled them both to a stop, Maelle turning to look at him with a curious frown. “Promise me again. Promise me that if it gets too much, you’ll run.”

“Gustave-”

“You promised me before,” he tried to press.

“So did you,” she countered.

And Gustave had to wince because yeah, he probably deserved that. That didn’t mean it stung any less. 

“I guess-yeah. Yeah I did. Guess neither of us was going to keep that promise. Doing crazy things for those we love and all that. Alright. Fine. Then promise me this. If it gets to be too much, you’ll call for me. If we’re going to meet our end, this time we’ll meet it together. Alright?”

Maelle nodded once. “I think I can promise that, yeah.”

“Good. Then when you call, I’ll be right there.”

Maelle’s smile turned a little watery. “I know you will. You always are.”

—-------------------------------------

It was dark and foggy as the boat ran ashore on the beach. Gustave could practically feel his heart beating wildly in his chest, drowning out all other noise on the beach. Which wasn’t a good thing, given the circumstances. He couldn’t see the lurking dangers he knew were hidden in wait. He couldn’t spot the old man that wished to take their lives. For the beating of his heart to take over his sense of hearing right now was just bad luck. And they couldn’t afford that at the moment. 

Gustave swallowed, hoping it would still his heart as Alan disembarked first. 

Alan. Their fierce commander. Steadfast and strong, voted by majority to be the leader of the Expedition because he was both relatable, and willing to reign them all in while compel them forward. The first of their group to fall, too. 

Jérôme and Tristan followed quickly after, with Lune hot on their trail. 

But Lune was already moving closer to the fog on the far right, raising her arms into position for a fight. Tristan turned to give Lune a strange look, but Alan and Jérôme were already pushing forward, testing each step and trying to peer through the darkness that threatened them.

“I’m starting to think you were right, Gustave,” Lucien whispered from behind him. “Who would’ve thought the eclipse would land perfectly over the beach today of all days? And the fog? Unnatural. This place gives me the creeps.”

“Yeah,” Gustave said, though his voice sounded strained, even to his own ears. “Best be on guard.”

Then he followed the others and disembarked, with Maelle close beside him. A quick glance behind revealed that Sciel was planting herself closer to their rear, meaning Gustave would take the side closest to the left. 

Maelle was already summoning her rapier when the entire Expedition went still as a loud, almost knocking-like sound rang out over the beach. 

Gustave thought his heart might have stopped in that moment as his grip on his sword and gun grew tighter and he rotated from tracking the fog in front of him, to tracking the fog to his left. The anticipation was weighing down on him like an anvil stuck in his chest. It was taking all of Gustave’s will not to crumble under the pressure. 

He hadn’t realized it at the time, what with the joy of being surrounded by old friends and the realization of where he was, but he was about to face the man that had killed him just moments earlier. 

He was afraid.

The cane thunked against the ground again, and Gustave could feel his breathing coming a little faster. It was like he didn’t have any control, his body was locking up, threatening to betray him and force him to fall once more to this man. Maelle was behind him. Trapped in the old man’s snare. Using her as bait to keep Gustave in place so he couldn’t run. So he would have to-

“Gustave,” Maelle’s soft, firm voice washed over him as her hand grabbed onto his arm. 

No. He wasn’t on the cliffs. He wasn’t about to face death again. And Maelle was safe.

He forced himself to breathe normally, glancing over at Maelle’s concerned expression and giving her a gentle nod. She nodded back, though her lips were pursed as she searched his face. Gustave couldn’t blame her doubts. But he didn’t have time for fears or punishment. 

Again the cane thunked against the ground, seeming to ring louder and louder with each step the old man took. They could see his silhouette by now. Maelle was starting to move forward, and Gustave followed her a couple steps.

Alan was the first ahead, his own silhouette nearly masked by the fog. But Gustave could see just enough of his friend to see the man raise a hand to get the others to stop. For a split second, all Gustave could see was Alan’s head falling forward, even as the beat of the cane continued to grow louder. 

“Easy, Alan,” Lune called out a warning as Alan attempted to get closer to the forming shape of a man. “Don’t get too close.”

Alan turned to look at her momentarily, seeing Lune already in position and giving her a nod. Then he turned to look over his other shoulder at Jérôme. 

“Get ready,” he instructed firmly.

By now they could make out the old man’s form as he grew ever closer. Again, Alan took a step forward to get closer. Choosing not to heed Lune’s warning. Maelle quickly realized that Alan was not going to stop moving towards the threat and began to dash forward. 

But Jérôme was faster. 

“Maelle, don’t!” Jérôme hissed, catching her around the waist.

“No!” Maelle gasped, a terrified octave filling her voice, only growing higher as she struggled against Jérôme’s grip. “No! Jérôme! Let me go! Alan! Don’t go any closer! Jérôme! Please !”

No, Gustave thought in growing horror. They were going to lose Alan again.

It was too late. Alan was mere feet away from the man that would end his life, and was already enthralled with the impossibility standing before them. 

“Alan! Fall back!” Lune called out her own warning this time. 

“You- You’re old,” Alan breathed in complete disbelief as the old man turned to look at him. “How did you- How did you survive the Gommage?”

Alan ignored Lune’s warning. Ignored Maelle's terrified cries. Completely enraptured by the old man's old, wrinkled, gray appearance. He stepped forward, one step. Two. Three. Creeping ever curiously closer to the trap in front of him.

“Commander!” Sciel tried this time, her voice ringing over the beach.

Gustave’s own voice was failing him at the moment. 

“Which Expedition are you fr-?”

Too late.

Maelle screamed as she ripped out of Jérôme’s stunned arms as the old man raised his cane to attack. Gustave could practically see the scene play out. The cane moving faster than any of them could process in a burst of strange light. Alan’s head falling as their only warning. The bright bursts of chroma that would charge out and end so many lives.

The nightmare from last time around was still so vivid. Still so fresh. Gustave found himself anticipating the ending all over again. Even as Maelle dug her hands into the back of Alan’s jacket to pull him away from the strike, Gustave knew it would be too late to prevent the tragedy to come. In that moment, Gustave felt sure history was doomed to repeat itself.

And yet…

The nightmare didn't loop. 

CLANG

The entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath as the sound of metal cane against steel echoed across the beach like a shockwave. A strange chromatic ripple effect nearly sent half their team stumbling backwards, but the momentum did help Maelle with her task.

Maelle and Alan were thrown backwards with the blast, both still thankfully whole. Though poor Alan took the brunt of the attack if Alan’s gasp of pain was anything to go by. They hit the sandy beach hard, with Maelle twisting about to plant her feet and bring their slide to a stop, rapier once more drawn and ready to attack. 

But as she crouched protectively over Alan, she was met with the same thought that had caused all her fellow Expeditioners to come to a frozen halt.

“Verso…?” Maelle breathed in a whisper that seemed to echo.

A man stood between Maelle and the old man, one Gustave has never seen before. He had black hair and wore an expedition uniform, but that was really all Gustave could see from here with the man’s back to them. This stranger had a sword up, blocking the strike from the cane, and judging by the expression on the old man’s face, the man was also locked in a staring contest with the man. 

The stranger, Verso, as Maelle had named him, turned only slightly to look at Maelle, before turning back to the old man. 

This man, Verso, had supposedly saved Maelle last time. And now he stood between their crew and complete annihilation. Gustave wanted to thank this man.

“It's been awhile,” the old man greeted Verso.

“Has it?” 

There was something flat in Verso's tone, almost dead sounding. At least, the closest thing to dead Gustave believed one could sound. It caused Gustave to frown and it seemed to shake Maelle out of her shock as she scrambled to her feet. Even the old man seemed rather disturbed by Verso’s tone if the deepening of his already crinkled brown was anything to go by.

It was as if the old man was suddenly worried for Verso.

“What are you doing here?” the old man appeared to accuse.

Verso didn’t say anything at first, and Gustave could only imagine this to be a rather impressive staredown between the pair. The entire battlefield was trapped in a stand-still, watching the exchange to see what would go down. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” the old man pressed, a touch more urgent this time. Letting some of that worry leak out. 

“I’ll be where I like,” Verso quipped, defiant, and bitterness dripping from his tongue. 

Still not looking away from the old man, Verso took several slow, deep breaths. And then-

“Nevrons!” Verso’s voice seemed to pierce through them all. “You’re all surrounded by Nevrons! Take arms and fight for your lives!”

The battlefield erupted into chaos.

Chapter Text

The old man looked upset by Verso’s declaration, and perhaps a bit worried, still. But only for a split second. Because in the next blink of an eye, the old man was pulling back and raising his cane once more. This time, Verso dodged the strike, but that meant it sent a blaring chromatic blast towards the Expedition. 

“FALL BACK!” Jérôme cried out to the expedition as he struggled to pull Alan to his feet. 

He must have taken a worse but from the chromatic blast than Gustave first thought because Alan was struggling to get to his feet. 

“Lune!” Sciel’s voice called out in warning.

Gustave only had a second to glance over his shoulder as the piercing bright light came sailing towards them. His quick glance let him watch as Lune took to the sky, springing upwards and gathering chroma to herself as she parried the attack mid-air. 

That was all the time Gustave had to awe at Lune’s skill before one of those weird hand Nevrons suddenly made itself known. He didn’t see where Sciel had ended up, couldn’t tell where Lune’s voice was coming from as she barked orders, couldn’t see where Maelle had run too. 

But that was in part due to the fact that people were running about wildly on the beach, most running straight into the trap the old man had left for them.

“Save who we can,” Sciel had said on the boat.  

“On me!” Gustave bellowed to those closest to him as the Nevron revealed itself. “Here! On me!”

Another blast of pure chroma slammed into the ground behind Gustave, and he had to fight to keep his footing. He couldn’t afford to be knocked down this time. Not when the Nevrons were crawling out of the darkness. 

“Gustave! Move!” Lucien’s voice came from his left.

Lucien grabbed him by the arm just in time to dodge another chroma blast. Unfortunately, the chromatic shockwave was enough to send both Lucien and Gustave stumbling forward, tripping over themselves in the dirt. This time he wasn't face down in the dirt, gasping for air and unable to hear beyond the ringing in his ears, at least. But it did send a painful jolt through his body momentarily rendering him paralyzed. 

Gustave fought through the pain, struggling and gasping for air and forcing himself to move. Lucien was there in seconds.

“What the heck are you thinking, Gustave!?” Lucien shrieked as he yanked Gustave to his feet.

Gustave grit his teeth as he fought to keep pace with Lucien. He wasn’t sure how Lune managed to deflect the blast of pure chroma, but he wasn’t going to try the same thing. His best bet of survival was facing and dodging the Nevrons. So he let Lucien drag him along, let his friend guide him to rest behind the rocks. 

“He’s not following-!” Lucien gasped as the blasts continued to get further and further away from the rest of them. “Who was that!? Who was-!?”

Gustave threw out a hand, hushing Lucien as he tried to listen carefully. The one thing he could always count on from Nevrons was the sound, and with the blast already drowning out most noise, he needed to pay extra attention.

Margot gasped out a heavy breath as she turned to face Tristan, “What do we do now?!”

Tristan was out of breath, and for a moment, Gustave was afraid Tristan might have been hit with the way he was sucking in air. But his voice was still firm as he spoke. 

“Regroup at the rally point,” Tristan hissed. “The Indigo Tre-”

Tristan cut himself off as the sound Gustave had been waiting for finally approached, followed by a glowing light through the dust and fog.

Taking a breath, Gustave summoned both blade and gun, launched to his feet, and attacked.

“Gustave!” Lucien shrieked in horror as Margot swore.

The Nevron released a pained cry as Gustave cut into its hand, then braced himself to parry the blast of energy the creature prepared to send his way. Lucien and Margot quickly dragged Tristan, the Nevrons intended victim, away from the fight in time for Gustave’s parry to strike true, sending the Nevron stumbling backwards, tripping over a rock and landing on its strange backside, flailing to get up.

“RUN!” Gustave bellowed at his friends. “Weapons drawn! Now!”

Lucien, Tristan, and Margot listened to his cry, summoning their weapons from pictos as they all took off at a run. They’d barely made it a few feet before another sound caused Gustave to skid to a stop. 

“Margot! Dodge!” Gustave shouted.

Margot heeded his cry, quickly ducking into a roll as one of the Nevron’s attacks came sailing out of the sky exactly where she had been standing. Gustave managed to parry the second blast, before taking off after his friends.

“How the heck are you doing that!?” Lucien cried out.

Gustave didn’t have time to answer that as he raised his gun and began firing shots at the Nevron standing directly in front of Lucien. Lucien let out a cry of horror as he quickly raised own gunsword and began firing at the thing with a panicked frenzy. 

Gustave’s arm began to spark as the Nevron grew closer.

“Lucien! Move!” Gustave shouted as he called upon the lightning.

With the overcharge coursing through his arm, and Lucien ducking out of the way, Gustave charged, slamming his fist into the Nevron and sending it skidding backwards. Displeased by this, the Nevron made to charge up an attack. 

“Tristan, watch out!” Gustave bellowed.

Tristan dodged the blast, Margot doing the same, but as the third blast aimed for Gustave, he braced himself and parried it, using the opportunity to land an up close and personal stab to the Nevron. 

Gustave wasn’t sure they stood a chance at fighting these things. The last time they had tried to return to the beach, the four of them barely escaped with their lives. So he wasn’t planning on killing them. Just buying enough time to run.

“Keep running!” Gustave shouted, urging everyone onward as another harsh strike stunned the Nevron. “Move! Get off the beach!”

By this point, he was matching pace with Margot, Tristan, and Lucien. They were making a break for it, running as fast as they could. Gustave’s heart was once more pounding in his ears, and that would later be what he chose to blame his deafness on with what happened next. 

For in front of them and to the right, a bright light sparked. A third Nevron.

Gustave only had seconds to process what was happening as he summoned his gun with one hand and grabbed Margot’s arm with the other, attempting to pull her behind him. The Nevron was forming a chromatic orb of blackish-white energy.

Just as it prepared to release, Gustave raised his gun and fired.

And then the world went white before swallowing him in darkness.

—--------------------------------

Maelle wasn’t sure how long they’d been running before they finally stumbled to a messy stop. She had tripped over part of a brick building in the process of trying to slow down, and was now lying on the ground, staring up at the sky as she breathed in the fresh air around her in heaping lungfuls. 

She wasn’t going to lie; it was nice being able to breathe again without pain. 

Not for the first time since realizing she was back in Verso’s canvas, Maelle reached up to touch her face, feeling the smooth skin. She even closed her good eye, marveling at her ability to see out of where her other eye should be missing from. Her body was healthy and strong again, ready to take on Nevrons with a power she’d often feared she’d never have again.

For a moment, Maelle could lay there and pretend like everything was alright. That things were peaceful.

She knew better, though.

Slowly sitting up, Maelle found herself once more staring at Verso’s back. He’d stopped nearby, just a few feet before her, and had chosen to sit down on what was probably the chunk of building she’d tripped on earlier. He hadn’t said a word since calling out to warn the others of Renoir’s trap.

Verso’s entire body was wracked with tension that Maelle could physically see. From the way he was hunched forward to the way his shoulders were almost to his ears, to the way his breathing was just a bit too stiff to be normal. 

It was like… his body had run out of lies and cares to give.

Maelle’s heart ached at the sight, and she slowly rose to her feet, testing her body. When she was sure she was alright to move, she approached Verso. 

She didn’t bother to call out to him. Didn’t bother to tap his shoulder to get his attention. All of that felt wrong. Just approaching him like this felt like she was only deepening the rift between them. Perhaps she deserved it, even if it still stung.

Instead, Maelle sat herself behind Verso, with her own back facing his, and she allowed the silence to wash over them both once more as she basked in the reality that he was here.

Silence, however, had been a cruel companion for Maelle at times, and she could not wait for him to fill it for long.

“It’s nice…” she began, slow and hesitant, “... to see you again.”

There was a sound, almost like a scoff or a laugh. 

“That’s probably not what you want to hear,” Maelle said. Her gaze fell to her hands in her lap as she cursed herself mentally. “Sorry.”

This was harder than Maelle thought it would be. Not that she’d been able to put much thought into what was happening on the boat. But she was at least glad her guess about Verso being on the beach was right. She hadn’t expected him to openly oppose his father right off the bat. Just him getting her out of there when things went south would have been enough. But he went a step further. Even if it hurts him. 

Maelle pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin against them as she wrapped her arms around her legs. The place they’d managed to run towards was fairly beautiful, covered in lush green and flowers and pieces of fallen debris from buildings destroyed during the Fracture.

“Its been four years since you released my brother from the canvas,” Maelle told Verso gently, relishing in the sound of her voice after so long. “It wasn’t easy, but I did try to move on. I tried to find ways to live my life. I can’t speak much outside the canvas, so I started to learn sign language. Though it's hard to have a conversation when no one else understands the language you’re using. I don’t write as much anymore. It’s hard to find joy in a hobby that took so much from you. So I started trying to actually learn to paint. I got really really good at portraits. I don’t go out in public much. People are too afraid of my face, so I-”

“Why did you repaint the canvas, Alicia?”

Maelle’s voice stuttered to a halt as she choked on her sentence. She whipped around, faced with Verso’s backside once more.

“Me?!” she asked incredulously.

“Who else,” Verso’s voice was short and clipped as he stood up, choosing to walk a few feet away from her. 

“What? I didn’t-!”

“Renoir wanted the painting destroyed to protect you. Clea made ardently clear that the painting meant little to her so long as she got what she wanted. Maman- Aline, I would hope would be smarter than to repaint the canvas. So that leaves you. You who so longed to keep everyone here. ‘Just a little longer’.”

Maelle scrambled to her feet, closing the distance between them, reaching out to grab his arm. But he pulled away, walking away from her, like looking at her was-

“Verso, please listen to me! I didn’t-!”

“All I wanted was for my existence to end,” Verso cut her off again, a harsher edge to his voice. “For this all to end. For the pain and mourning and the suffering. It was finally over. I could finally rest. And then you-”

“ I don’t paint canvases anymore! ”

This time she cut him off, and Verso actually froze. As Maelle breathed heavily from her outburst, Verso slowly turned to face her fully for the first time since he appeared on the beach. His eyes were blown wide, mouth slightly open as he gaped at her.

“...what?”

Maelle huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. This time, she turned away from him , though she kept him in her periphery.

“After you sent me back, Papa wouldn’t let Maman or me paint or enter any canvas. And then, when I finally did enter a canvas it felt… wrong. So much of me was painted over in Lumiere that my chroma was trying so desperately to find it, it felt like my own chroma was rejecting the new canvas. It took me years to feel comfortable in another canvas. And I’ll admit, I did try to repaint bits of the canvas at first, but it still all felt wrong. So I don’t-I don’t paint canvases unless Clea or Papa asks me to help. I prefer portraits. So I can… so I had something to remember everyone by.”

It was silent for a moment, save for the gentle breeze blowing through the grass and greenery. For all she wanted to see Verso’s face again, now she felt like a child, hiding a terrible secret from her big brother’s judgement, and now she was forced to confess.

That wasn't even a fair analogy. Verso wasn't her brother.

“How am I supposed to believe that?” Verso pressed, though there was a different shift in his voice, a desperate hopefulness that made Maelle’s chest ache. “How-how am I supposed to believe that you wouldn’t-”

She had to make this count.

Spinning on her heels, Maelle turned to face Verso. The action startled him a bit, jolting him into a horrific flinch that had Maelle wincing. But she has to make sure to face him with all the honesty and spirit she could muster.

“I swear on my brother’s grave that I was not the one to repaint Verso’s canvas!”

For a moment, even the air between them was silent. Maelle with her willed honesty and Verso with his searching, but desperate disbelief. 

Reality seemed to crash into Verso as he realized she was telling the truth. So much so that he actually staggered forward, nearly falling to his knees. Maelle moved forward to help catch him if necessary and he seemed to stumble into her. She braced his arms, as one of his hands found support on her shoulder. 

And then she was looking into his face again, finding herself re-memorizing it for the first time in years. 

Gray eyes like her, and how had she not thought about that before. That painfully gray scar over his left eye, like the reverse of her own scar, that seemed to make his left eye open just a little wider than his right. Smaller, less obvious scars peaking out from his goatee. And one final scar across his nose. His face was covered in dirt and blood, much like her own after the battle against Renoir and the Noirs. 

She missed him. 

“You really didn’t repaint the canvas,” Verso breathed in disbelief, watching as Maelle shook her head. “Then-then how? I don’t understand. Why are- How is this possible? Verso left ! He stopped painting!”

Maelle nodded this time, swallowing thickly. “After Verso stopped painting, Papa brought the canvas to the Painter’s Council. Maman and Papa had to explain to the Council why Maman suddenly disappeared, so they learned about all that happened in Verso’s canvas. The last I saw of Verso’s canvas, the remains were being locked away in the vault for restricted paintings beneath Notre Dame. Maman lost her seat as Head of the Council because of it.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Verso stood up. “I’ve been back for at least a day, though my memories of the Expedition only returned hours ago.”

Maelle pursed her lips as she lifted a hand to her head, kneading against an ache that was slowly making itself known. 

Or maybe it has been there the whole time and she was only just noticing?

“I don’t… I think I’ve been back for a day or two, but it was all… muddled? Like a fog over my mind as I went through the pattern of the day of the gommage all over again. It felt… strange. And then it was like all my awareness snapped back to me, and I was on the ship and Lune, Sciel, and Gustave were there. And they remembered too, and… and…”

Why did her head hurt so much?

“Maelle!” Verso snapped, grabbing her by both shoulders and giving her a little shake. 

The jolt was enough to pull Maelle back to the present, where Verso was studying her face. He removed one hand from her shoulder, tilting her head up, and pulling her good eye wide open, forcing her head towards the sun. Maelle winced at the bright light, tried to step back, but Verso kept her close.

“Your pupils are acting weird,” Verso noted, finally lowering her head. “Here, track my finger with only your eyes, don’t move your head.”

He held a finger in front of her, moving it back and forth. Maelle did her best to follow, but with how floaty she felt, she wasn’t sure she did a good job. 

“A concussion, perhaps?” Verso noted with a frown. “What were you doing before you entered the canvas?”

What was she doing before she re-entered the canvas?

Maelle hadn’t had time to think about it. Not with the strange fogginess and puppetry that followed her through Lumiere. And definitely not when they suddenly all came to on the ship headed towards Renoir’s trap, desperately trying to compare notes. 

“We were… it was his birthday,” Maelle whispered, trying to wrack her brain.

That was important, wasn’t it? It had been her brother’s birthday, and the family wanted to do something to celebrate. A stepping stone after their grief. Doing something Verso enjoyed…

“We were at the opera. It was the intermission, and we’d been escorted to a private room to refresh ourselves. There was food and drink and…”

Something had gotten their attention. Clea had been annoyed by it. Had approached and…

“There was a canvas in the waiting room. Covered by a sheet. Clea ripped the sheet off. She was annoyed by its presence because no one was supposed to be working that day. I remember the shock on her face when she saw what was behind it, her panic filling all of us, and-and then…”

Why was everything so fuzzy? Why was it so hard to think?

“Maelle!” Verso shook her again.

“I- sorry,” Maelle said as she snapped back to herself.

“Okay. Okay. Something bad happened at the Opera. Got it. We’ll revisit that later when you don’t look like you’re going to transcend into a new reality every time you think about it,” Verso decided quickly. “Are you well enough to carve your way through some Nevrons?”

Maelle was tempted to just nod and carry on, but given how floaty her head felt, she paused. Whatever this strange feeling was, she couldn’t let it stall her. She was a paintress. She was a Dessendre. 

But most importantly, here, in this canvas, she was Maelle.

Whatever this floaty feeling was, it needed to go. Closing her eyes, Maelle moved the chroma within her to force it down. It could remain locked away for now, to be opened and observed when she wasn’t in a place where she could be attacked at any second. 

She opened her eyes to meet Verso’s worried expression.

“Ready,” she said with conviction. 

“Good,” Verso nodded once, pulling away from her. “Then I suppose we should follow the story as last time, then. I’ll take you to the Manor, and-”

“No,” Maelle protested quickly. “We should make for the Indigo Tree. I want to explain everything to the others before we head to the Manor.”

“What? Why the heck would we do that?” Verso demanded.

“Lune and Sciel already know the truth. Gustave knows some, too. And anyone else who managed to survive this time deserves to know what they’re fighting for.”

“Maelle, the canvas-”

“Isn’t Verso’s canvas anymore,” Maelle countered quickly. “And maybe this is all a painted fantasy of a grieving family, but that doesn’t make any of you any less real. With the last fragment of Verso no longer painting the canvas, that means Maman has no reason to come back. The canvas can exist without my family’s grief hovering over it.”

“And you?” Verso countered. “What will you do? Remain in the canvas until you rot away in front of your family in the real world? Do you really think your family will sit by and let that happen?”

Maelle opened her mouth to respond, to explain her plans, what four years of looking back on her time in Expedition 33 had brought her. But the explanation she was so prepared to give didn’t get a chance to come out. 

A scream pierced the air, causing both Verso and Maelle to jolt into stance and draw their weapons.

“What was that?” Verso asked in a hush. “Another of Clea’s creations?”

There was another sound this time, but it wasn’t the mortified sounding scream from before. It was the sound of someone letting out a pained shout as they were struck.

“No… an Expeditioner!” Maelle breathed in horror before taking off towards the sound.

“Wait! Maelle!”

But Maelle wasn’t going to let someone else die. She raced through the landscape, rushing towards a series of caves, where she could hear the distressed cry of someone echoing from the walls. Verso was hot on her heels, weapons still drawn, as they both entered the cave. It didn’t take long for Maelle to come across the owner of the cries.

“Catherine!” she cried out in horror. 

Catherine was dragging herself across the floor towards the mountain of stone bodies as a Lancelier stalked ever closer. Her left leg was limp and bloodied, and it was clear Catherine had not gotten off the beach unscathed. 

The Lancelier had her cornered against the stone bodies of fallen Expeditioners, and it was clear Catherine was looking up into the face of what would be her death. Something Maelle wasn’t going to allow.

“Oh no you don’t!” Maelle barked as she launched herself across the gap and attacked the Lancelier from behind. 

It staggered forward with the blow before turning around to face her. Maelle took the opening to deliver another series of blows, cutting the creature apart. It tried to strike back, but Maelle was quick to parry the blow and throw another attack right back at it. Giving Verso time to race up behind her and deliver a killing strike. 

The Lancelier crumbled to the ground at Catherine’s feet. She stared at it in disbelief, wheezing heavily from her injuries. Maelle wasted no time getting to Catherine’s side and grabbing her healing tint.

“Maelle, what-? Who is that?”

Maelle turned to glance at Verso before breaking open the healing tint and giving it to Catherine. Verso stood nearby, both trying to avoid looking at Catherine, and standing guard. 

“That’s Verso,” Maelle said quickly as she made sure Catherine recovered from her injuries. “He helped us on the beach. Can you stand?”

It took a bit of doing, but Catherine managed to get her feet under her. With Maelle’s help to guide her, Catherine was up and moving, approaching the wary Verso.

“Thanks. For helping Alan and Maelle,” Catherine offered Verso her hand. “And for saving my life. I suppose I owe you.”

After a moment of hesitation, Verso took Catherine’s hand and shook it. 

“My pleasure,” he offered cheekily, though his smile was still shaky at best. “We shouldn’t stay here. With how many bodies are just lying around, I’m sure there had to be more Nevrons than just that Lancelier lurking about.”

“We need to rendezvous at the Indigo Tree,” Catherine said, turning to Maelle, then back to Verso. “I don’t suppose you can get us there?”

Verso paused for a moment, to Maelle’s surprise. Then he grinned. “An Expeditioner who doesn’t ask me 20 questions right off the bat? Color me surprised.”

“Oh, believe me, I have plenty of questions,” Catherine said with a huff. “But Maelle seems to trust you, and she’s not one to get along with others easily. Plus you just saved my life. I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Then I’ll decide what to grill you on. No use getting distracted in Nevron infested territory.”

Verso turned to Maelle with a grin. “I like this one.”

Maelle just grinned back at him and motioned him to lead the way. With an incline of his head, he guided them away from the bodies and out into an open field. Catherine followed him quickly, but Maelle stalled for a moment.  She turned to the bodies trapped in limbo. 

It was so tempting to just call on their chroma now, but with how old the chroma was, and how much the Nevrons messed with it…

“Wait a little longer,” Maelle told the bodies. “I’ll fix this. I swear it.”

“Maelle!” Catherine called out to her. “Come on! We don’t know what else could be lurking around here, and Gustave would kill me if something happened to you!” 

“I’m coming!” Maelle called back, sparing one last glance at the bodies before she raced to catch up.

Not yet. There wasn’t any point in bringing the lives back yet, especially as she ran the risk of messing them up in the process. And with the weight of the task to come, she couldn't afford to take any chances by alerting Maman or Papa to her meddling, and Clea least of all. It was best to just assume her family were all here in the canvas with her, after all. 

Still, she wouldn’t leave them trapped like that forever.

Chapter Text

The first thing he became aware of was the sound of rushing water.

The second was that his entire body ached. Followed by the realization that he was laying face down against something rough and lumpy, which wasn’t helping. It was kind of hard to breathe, too. And his eyes felt like they were being weighed shut. 

Priorities. Breathing first.

Gustave attempted to clear his chest, then again, forcing the weird lump in his throat down as he attempted to force his eyes open. It was still hard to breathe, but at least his eyes were opened. 

Well, he thought they were open. Everything was kind of fuzzy at the moment. Still, he had to be making some progress, right? If his eyes went from seeing nothing to seeing light and greenish blue fuzz everywhere?

After a moment of trying to breathe and focus his vision, he could make out his robotic arm in front of him. Thankfully still attached. And his flesh arm seemed to function just as well when he tried to move it. His vision was getting better.

Then it was time for the next priority. To get moving. Gustave got his arms under him, still trying to clear his throat, and pushed himself up best he could. 

Okay, he was up. Somewhat. Now he just had to get his feet under him. That was easier said than done. His feet felt like a mix of being full of lead and completely asleep with that prickly feeling at the same time. His first attempt to stand nearly failed, had his arms not been functioning enough to catch him. Thankfully more of his vision was clearing. After a moment he was on his feet. Poorly balanced and likely to tip over at the wrong move, but he was up.

He stood there for a moment, testing his weight. But if there was one thing he’d learned from the last time around, it was dangerous to stay in one place too long. So he took a couple steps just to get moving.

Only to stop as a sharp ringing filled his ears and his vision blurred out again. It became even harder to breathe and his heart was doing this funny thing. A heart attack? It certainly felt that way. 

Curse this stupid block in his throat and chest. His heart was beating far too fast, painfully so, and not doing anything to help the ringing or the breathing. 

Gustave brought his fist up to his chest, forcing himself to cough in a desperate attempt to regulate his breathing, willing his heart to calm down and for the strange sensation of his heart acting funny to go away. For the rest of his senses to even out. 

After a bit of this, his body complied. Much to his relief. 

He was soon breathing easier, and his heart fell to a normal-ish rhythm. He’d blame the continued oddness of it on the fact that the adrenaline was still coursing through him like an alarm. Keeping him alert. But at least his vision had adjusted and his hearing came back. 

Gustave took a moment to ground himself before trying to walk any further forward. Tripping and having to do that whole process all over again because he gave himself a concussion was not a good idea right now. 

Focus on something else.

There was grass beneath his feet. Tall, flowering, green grass. He hadn’t seen green grass since-

-since…

Gustave spun around, perhaps a bit too fast as his head went all fuzzy again. It nearly sent him back to his knees with how fast he turned. But he managed to stumble himself upright through the haze until he was staring at the source he heard when he first came to.

Rushing water.  

Whether this was a twisted, cruel joke, a tempt of fate, or just life telling him that time travel meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, Gustave found himself staring at the waterfall he’d woken next to last time around. 

“How is this…?”

Gustave wasn’t sure he wanted to answer that question. Not with the grand scheme of things that was set to happen. However, if he did allow himself to consider the implications, he could at least rest easy with the knowledge that this had to mean Lune, Sciel, and Maelle were still alive too.

But what of the others? Lucien? Tristan? Margot? 

They were with him during the attack, he’d managed to keep them alive and away from the Nevrons. But now they were nowhere to be seen. Did this mean he failed? 

That thought alone nearly sent Gustave to his knees with the weight of his failure. He stumbled forward, hand coming to rest on his chest over his heart as it threatened to stop beating. His gaze fell back on the waterfall, where the end met the pond below in a cascade that felt much like his mental state, churning and pummeling anything that-

Wait…

His eyes caught sight of something behind the falls, barely visible behind the water, and somewhat wedged on the rocky backdrop. He practically tripped into the water, willing his legs to work against the tension of the water pressure as he waded to the object in question. It wasn’t easy. He was still in shock, and his body was worse for wear. But he pushed through the water to get to the strange shape.

The closer he got, the more sure he became. 

He quickly ducked under the fall, drenching himself as he got his hands under the shoulders of the body and heaved.

Margot sputtered and gasped, struggling weakly as Gustave accidentally gave her a face full of waterfall. With his own bearings still out for the count, Gustave ended up dropping Margot against her thrashing. She fell into the pond with a splash. This sent her thrashing about, trying to swim in a shallow pool. Gustave had to quickly dive for her arms again, hooking her under her shoulders and yanking her up.

“Easy, Margot! Easy! It’s me! It’s me!” he called desperately as she nearly clocked him in the face. “It's Gustave!”

Margot stopped thrashing and fell limp against his grip. Which probably wasn't the best idea because Gustave’s legs and arms were already shaking, but he managed on pure adrenaline. 

Gustave let her have a moment to take in several lungfulls of air, let her get her bearings as he held her up and out of the water. 

“...Gustave?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Gustave offered, his own voice sounding a little choked. “We made it off the beach, Margot. We’re alive.”

“We’re alive…” Margot breathed through her raw throat, looking dazedly down at the water. “The others…?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up and I found you. Can you stand? Maybe we’ll find others nearby.”

Margot seemed to really think about what Gustave was saying for a moment. Then she gave her head a rough shake and attempted to plant her feet under her. Gustave probably should have dragged them both to dry land before she attempted this. The small current from the waterfall didn’t do Margot any favors. But Gustave didn’t let her fall, either. After some trial and error, they were both standing on dry ground, with Margot balancing herself on Gustave’s shoulder.

“Stay close, alright?” Gustave told her firmly. “There are bound to be Nevrons around. And you’re not in any shape to fight right now.”

“What about you?” Margot asked warily. “You look like you took one of those blasts to the face.”

He probably had, especially with how sore and heavy his body felt. But he’d done the same thing last time and been fine. In shock, sure, but he was pretty sure he was in shock now. The only difference was that Gustave’s shock was mixed with elation rather than depression. 

He’d saved someone else. Maybe more, if he could find them.

“I’ll be fine,” Gustave brushed off, giving his best smile to Margot. “Don’t worry, we just-”

Gustave took a step and something in the tall grass groaned, causing the pair to jump backwards with a startled yelp. Margot, already on shaky legs, fell back on her butt, nearly dragging Gustave with her. But Gustave managed to catch himself, gun drawn as he stared down at the source of the sound. 

But that fear quickly shifted to elation.

“Lucien!” Gustave cried with glee, dismissing his gun and collapsing to his knees beside his friend. He grabbed Lucien by the shoulders, shaking him. “Lucien. Lucien! Wake up! Come on!”

Poor Margot was still regaining her bearings as Lucien came to, groaning and moaning as he tried to force his eyes open. Gustave laughed, and then he choked on a sob as Lucien forced his eyes open, only to slam them closed again as the light from the sky pierced him. Gustave quickly moved to block the light, tapping Lucien’s face gently but insistently.

“Lucien. Lucien. Come on. You have to get up. We can’t stay here, alright? You need to get on your feet.”

Lucien groaned again, but slowly forced his eyes open. Gustave felt slightly hysterical, holding his once best friend like this. Alive and breathing. He choked on a laugh and a sob all at once as Lucien’s gaze focused on him.

“Gustave…?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. Can you get up?”

“...My head,” Lucien whimpered.

“I know. I know, but we have to keep moving, Lucien.”

It took a little longer than Gustave would have liked, but awareness slowly came back to Lucien. As did his memories of the night before. One minute, Lucien was frowning against the pain. The next, his eyes were blowing wide and he was throwing himself up into a sitting position, nearly headbutting Gustave in the process. 

A mistake on Lucien’s part because poor Lucien was quick to throw-up his last meal.

They were in no state to move like this, Gustave realized. Margot was still too shaky after her swim, and Lucien might have a concussion. What they needed was-

“Ah!” Gustave gasped, quickly fumbling for his pockets. 

He’d had a healing tint last time, right? It had survived however he’d gotten there last time. He let out a laugh of delight as he found the healing tint, passing it amongst the others and watching it take effect. 

“Gustave,” Margot handed the bottle to him. “You should use the last of this. You don’t look so great.”

There could be others, though. Others who were injured and stranded as they were. He wasn’t sure how many had survived the beach. Gustave was more than willing to save the tint for the others, knowing he could fight under worse conditions, but Lucien took the choice from him by forcing the tint to wash over him.

“Lucien, wait-”

“What the heck are you thinking, Gustave,” Lucien shoved him gently. “You took that blast to the face! You’re bound to be more injured than the rest of us.”

“But I- Not that I- I’m not- I just wanted to-”

“Come on,” Margot nudged him on the shoulder. “You said it yourself, Gustave, we shouldn’t stay here. There’s no telling what else we might encounter.”

“At least we’ll see them this time, right?” Lucien motioned around him as he stood. “I mean, no more eclipse. We’ll have a fighting chance for sure.”

“Right,” Gustave agreed, moving to stand with Lucien and Margot. “We should move. Quickly.”

Gustave began to lead the way, with Lucien and Margot close behind. There weren’t many places to go other than forward, which was just fine by Gustave. It made the fact that he knew where he was going less obvious. 

Soon, they came upon the first clearing, and to Gustave’s surprise, the Nevron he fought last time was already up and moving about. The sound of the Lancelier clanking about had Gustave already drawing his sword and gun as they approached, with Margot and Lucien summoning their own weapons behind him.

All it took was a glimpse for Gustave to fire his gun at the orb of chroma at the Lancelier’s head. For the Lancelier was standing over a trembling body, ready to strike straight down.

“Tristan!” Lucien shouted in alarm as Gustave fired. 

The orb of chroma exploded, sending the Lancelier stumbling backwards. The action had the Nevron stepping a few feet away from Tristan. Gustave wasn’t going to give it a chance to get closer. He quickly leapt the distance between himself and the Lancelier, delivering a forward slash, then a backslash, spinning around to give another swipe, and then a follow up strike, before flipping around to attack from above. Then he retreated backwards, putting enough distance between himself and the creature that he could react more freely. 

A good call, because the Lancelier made to lunge forward, twirling its spear around once before going in for a jab at Gustave’s torso. Gustave quickly got into position and parried, followed by a counter strike that had the Nevron falling dead. At his side, the Lumina converter activated instantly and the Nevron faded to nothing.

“Tristan!” Margot called worriedly, quickly rushing to the man’s side. “Tristan! Are you alright?”

Lucien was fumbling around in his pocket, searching desperately for something, anything to help, and thankfully coming up with one of his own healing tints. Tristan looked rough, covered in his own blood, and stabbed pretty badly. The tint washed over their friend, healing and cleaning him up.

Tristan’s breathing came easier as he took in the faces of his friends and relaxed. Gustave was quick to offer the man a hand, gently pulling him up on trembling legs, with Margot and Lucien there to help brace him.

“You guys are alive,” Tristan rasped in disbelief. “I thought-”

Gustave couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he reached out to clasp Tristan’s shoulder. With Margot and Lucien supporting Tristan, Gustave found himself beaming at the three lives he managed to save. 

His friends were alive. More of them survived . Whatever blessing this was, Gustave was even willing to thank the Paintress for this second chance. 

“We’re alive,” Gustave repeated, letting the words leave his mouth. “All of us. And we’re going to keep going and find more survivors. But we have to keep moving.”

“Look at you taking charge,” Lucien teased, giving Gustave a punch in the shoulder.

“What?! I’m not- I mean I am, but- listen, we just need to-” 

“We know what you mean, Gustave,” Margot shushed with a pat to the shoulder. “Tristan, can you stand on your own? Move on your own?”

“Well I won’t know if you lot keep holding me up, now will I?” he snarked back.

Slowly, carefully, Lucien and Margot stopped supporting Tristan. The healing tint had definitely taken effect as Gustave hoped it would, and Tristan was standing on his own and moving just fine. 

“You look well enough,” Gustave nodded once. “But if anything feels wrong, shout. Now, we really do need to get moving.”

“Alright. But which way?” Tristan glanced around at the two entrances.

“That way, towards the lamppost,” Gustave pointed, already moving towards it. “Lucien, Margot and I came from the other way, and it's a dead end at a waterfall.”

“What’s a fully working lamppost doing out here?” Margot questioned.

“Perhaps a remnant of Old Lumiere?” Tristan offered. “Though I don’t recall them being so close to the beach. Assuming we are still close to the beach, that is.”

“Is that… blood?”

Gustave didn’t bother to answer any of their questions, only taking a moment to glance down at the blood splatter. He knew there was a lot of it, that it was impossible not to step in it. But he also knew it was better to press on than to stop and think of all the lives lost. Last time around, he’d been in shock, with everything he came across just adding to the creeping feeling of depression that led him to put a gun to his head. 

“Grapple hooks,” Margot noted as they passed by the discarded grapple hooks on their side of the cliff. “I guess, that means we can’t come back without them.”

“Not that we’d want to,” Lucien pointed out warily. “I’d rather put as much distance between us and the beach as possible. Scary old man and all.”

As the others chatted behind them, Gustave continued to lead the way. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue the conversation, it was just the fact that he had this terrible feeling he was forgetting something. He was wracking his brain, trying to recall some Nevron or incident that happened as they moved along the rocky, grassy, terrain but was coming up empty. 

There was supposed to be a cave ahead, right? He recalled there being a lot of bodies in the cave. And then there was-

Catherine.

Gustave picked up the pace. It had taken him longer to get moving this time with the others. It might already be too late. 

“Hey! Gustave! What gives!?”

Gustave ignored the startled cry from Lucien as he began to run. The sound of the others dashing to keep pace followed behind him, but Gustave only allowed himself a second to be grateful for the sound before he pressed onward. They already passed a body by the time they got to the cliff, and Gustave was quick to get up and keep going. 

“Gustave! Slow down! That’s an order! Protocol says we must stick together!”

Yeah. Gustave knew that. But sometimes protocol needed to be broken, and Gustave had no desire to fail Catherine a second time if he could help it. 

As the other three cleared the climb, he heard Lucien’s cry of horror, heard an impressive string of swears from Margot, and a terrified gasp from Tristan. The bodies and the blood. There was no way to tell if it was new or old, especially with how the scent of old and new blood had clearly mixed. All the bodies had turned to stone already. Gustave knew they were lost. 

But Catherine…

The cave entrance came up quickly, and Gustave plunged inside, making a beeline for the heart of things. The stench in the air only grew worse, and a red fog threatened to make it hard to see. Gustave hardly remembered any of this from last time. Perhaps he’d been in too great a shock to recognize anything. It was a wonder he’d made it this far with his head so lost in his growing horror and guilt. 

The walls themselves seemed to emit a red, ominous light. As though to warn others against entering. An effect aided by the ever growing trail of bodies that ultimately led to the giant pile in the center of the cavern. Many of those bodies seemingly strung up towards the ceiling by some strange force.

Gustave made a beeline for where he’d seen Catherine before, her lifeless body flashing before his eyes. Her face had been bloodied, her eyes frozen wide-open in shock, impaled by the spear of a Lancelier. He wondered if she’d killed it in turn, given Lune and he never saw another Lancelier in this cave. 

He turned a corner, bracing himself for the worst.

But Catherine wasn’t there. 

Gustave even searched around the bodies somewhat carefully. Searching for something, anything that wasn’t stone, and found nothing. 

She wasn’t there.

Did that mean she escaped? That maybe she had been thrown off course? Or did she perish on the beach and he was left with a fool’s hope?

“What-what is this?” Tristan asked, slowly approaching the pile of bodies. “Some sort of… nest?”

“Its a trap,” a familiar voice washed over them, causing the others to flinch, and Gustave to spin around. “For the Expeditioners. When it set off, it trapped their chroma within them, and now they’re stuck here, dead, and forever part of the landscape.”

Despite the ominous explanation, Gustave couldn’t stop the grin from splitting his face again.

“Lune!” he breathed in relief.

Gustave quickly crossed the space between them and pulled her into a hug. Lune went willingly, to his surprise, returning the hug as she hid her face in his shoulder. They stayed that way for a moment. Silent in the comfort and relief at finding the other still alive. 

But then she spoke, keeping her voice soft.

“Its good to see you in better spirits this time around, Gustave.”

“Yeah, well, I saved some lives this time,” Gustave grinned, keeping his own voice low. “And Catherine isn’t here. I’m hoping that means she survived.”

“I brought some friends, too,” Lune hummed, pulling back and motioning to two figures standing in the dark.

“Alan! Jérôme!” Gustave cried in glee. “You’re both alive!”

And they were both standing there. Their fearless commander and second in command were standing there, alive, breathing, with Alan’s head still firmly on his shoulders. Gustave couldn’t help but close the distance, pulling Alan into a relieved hug. Whoever this stranger was, this Verso, Gustave owed him a million times over.

 “You as well,” Alan said, relieved, clasping him by the shoulder as Gustave pulled back to clasp Jérôme’s arm. “Maelle’s not with you?”

Gustave shook his head, his smile falling a little. “We were separated on the beach when she ran forward to save you. I’m hoping we’ll find her at the Indigo Tree.”

Or at the strange mansion from last time, though Gustave didn’t say as such out loud. From the looks of it, Lune hadn’t told them anything about their little stint through time just yet. Probably for the best, given the absurdity of the claim. Gustave was still trying to wrap his head around it.

“I’m sure Maelle is fine,” Lune said. She was rounding the bodies, observing them carefully and eyeing the path that led into the ceiling. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

“Geez, Lune, have some sense,” Lucien chastised with a hiss. “Maelle’s practically his kid, or sister, or whatever their weird relationship is, and-”

“She seemed to think it's both,” Lune cut Lucien off, looking temporarily at Gustave before looking back to the pile of dead Expeditioners. 

“Wha- wait, did she, was that what-”

Lune finally stopped observing the pile of bodies to give Gustave a knowing grin. “Ask her yourself when we see her again.”

“I will! I mean- yeah, yeah, I’ll definitely- I will,” Gustave agreed, unable to fight the smile once more creeping across his face.

“As cute as this is,” Margot called out from further in the cave, “we may want to wrap this up. I think we’ve got company.”

Sure enough, the sound of stomping filled the cave as the Nevron approached. Gustave had forgotten how big the thing was, and how much bigger the echoing sounds made it seem. 

Steeling himself, Gustave summoned his sword and gun and prepared to aim. Lune was already at his side, in her stance ready to fight. 

“Lumina converter still intact?”

“Yep. Used it once already.”

“Good. That thing will carry us a pretty long way,” Lune stated as she watched the Nevron slam its shield into the ground with a roar. “Margot, this Portier has a weak spot. A swirling ball of chroma in its center. Hit it, and you’ll give us an advantage.”

Margot was suddenly on Lune’s other side, summoning her musket and taking aim. The second the Portier lifted its shield, revealing its body, Margot fired, hitting her target dead on. The swirling mass of chroma at its center exploded, causing it to cry and stagger back.

“Gustave!” 

Gustave didn’t need to be told twice, he quickly lunged for the opening, delivering a quick Lumiere assault before pulling back in time for Lune to fire one of her Ice Lances at the thing. The Portier roared in anger at the triple assault, and brought its arms together to form its shield.

“Danger!” Lune warned as the Portier brought its shield up over its head.

With a groan like roar, the Portier brought its shields down towards the trio. They were ready for it, though. Even Margot’s training kicked in as they all parried the shield back up and then used the momentum to follow through and deliver one last triple attack that killed the Nevron where it stood. 

Behind them, Lucien began clapping. “Now that was a show!”

Gustave huffed as he turned to grin at his friend, even as Lune tapped his shoulder to guide him towards the Nevron.

“And for the grand finale,” Lune declared as Gustave knelt down and held the Lumina converter towards the Nevron.

As the Lumina converter got closer, it pinged with the chroma within the Nevron. The body dissolved into a shower of sparks, fading into the converter just as Gustave knew it would. This did get a round of applause from the others, to which Lune and Gustave bowed with twin smiles. Just for fun.

“And to think Expedition 34 called it crazy,” Jérôme laughed with a shake of his head. “We might make it after all.”

“We will make it,” Lune cut him off. “But first things first. We should get to the Indigo Tree. There might be other survivors.”

“Lune’s right,” Alan agreed, stepping to the center of their weird semi-circle. “We’ll make our way to the Indigo Tree. Rally with any survivors. Then we’ll make a plan from there. For now, we stick together and we stay alive. Got it?”

“Got it,” the group chorused.

“Lune. Any idea which way to go?” Alan asked her.

“Yeah, I’ve got a few. Let’s get out of these caves.”

With Lune leading the way, their much larger group left the cave and the bodies behind. Soon, they’d be making their way to Maelle, and perhaps Gustave could finally get some answers.

Chapter Text

Lune led the way expertly through the Meadow. The others marched dutifully behind her, trusting her knowledge and research to get them through the mess they found themselves. The Meadow, itself, was relatively peaceful for the first bit of the walk. And it truly was beautiful, now that Gustave allowed himself to enjoy the scenery. The grass was tall and uncut, with flowers here and there, and small bodies of water that you could see your reflection in. They even found their first marker from another Expedition, a flag planted by Expedition 81 where they took a quick rest to check each other over and recuperate. 

Lune even led them into battle against the Nevrons, rotating them out and getting them in positions to fight based on their skills, ensuring each person got a chance to try their hand and master the art of parrying and dodging, as well as testing their attacks and pictos. 

She preferred groups of three in the front with three in the back on standby in case things got tricky. A sound call, in all honesty, rotating everyone around to get a try at the Nevrons and working everyone into a routine to fight.

It was clear that Lune preferred to partner with Gustave, though. A surprise, given that in training, she preferred Tristan as her usual partner. At least, it was a surprise to everyone but Gustave. 

“There are lampposts everywhere,” Lucien noted as they trekked onward through the Meadow. “Are you guys seeing this? Fully functioning lampposts like the one where we found Tristan. Isn’t that weird? Almost like they’re lighting our way, or something.”

“Maybe they are,” Gustave teased, still riding that giddy feeling of everyone being alive. “Maybe they’re a sign from someone else out there who wants us to succeed.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they were,” Lune voiced, and that made Gustave sober as he turned to look at her. 

She’d stopped in her own movement, eyeing the lampposts like she was only just now seeing them. Now that Gustave thought about it, there was a lot they never stopped to question. The mission always came first for their little ragtag group, and while Lune sought answers, lampposts weren’t something on that list. 

But now, at a silly comment from Lucien, Lune was hyper-focused on them. Like they held answers only she could pick apart.

What changed? What did Lune know that Gustave didn’t that suddenly made the lampposts so interesting? He longed to ask about her adventures. But the sheer absurdity of their situation kept him silent. 

“I swear if you three jinx us,” Tristan threatened, though he didn’t finish. “Can we ask these questions later? We are on a time crunch, and I’d rather regroup as soon as possible.”

“Easy, Tristan,” Alan stepped in. “Lune’s musing has gotten us this far. If we had listened to her on the ship, we might have avoided the massacre on the beach. Lune thinks the lampposts are important. I’ll trust her judgement.”

For a moment, Lune didn’t say anything. Peaking at her from behind her hair, Gustave could see the stunned expression on her face, could tell that she was suddenly holding her breath. Then she blinked, forced the breath out, and continued moving like she hadn't stalled out of nowhere.

“Tristan is right, we should keep moving. If we’re right, there will be more lampposts on the way and I can continue my musing then.”

Her tone sounded normal, but Gustave could tell Alan’s words had really gotten to her. Like some sort of weight had shifted off her shoulders. Even her glide through the meadow as she picked up the pace seemed a bit lighter. 

Had she been panicking? 

It made sense. Lune was always one to consider every variable, and she had probably been having a terrible time trying to calculate what all this time travel could mean. She was probably already thinking through every outcome of telling the others about their little trip through time. And here he was, all up-beat and happy they had managed to save lives, unknowing of Lune’s internal conflict.

Gustave felt like a terrible friend.

Yet with a few simple words, Alan had reassured her. That was why he was their leader, after all. Gustave had missed his steady presence.

They continued on, occasionally leaving their lamppost lit path to pick up pictos and lumina and chroma. Lune seemed particularly drawn to the chroma this time around, storing it away personally when they found it, but dividing the lumina and pictos up easily enough. There were, of course, Nevrons still about, but they kept on carving their way through with relative ease. Well, maybe a few scrapes and near fails here and there. But they weren't terrible at it.

And then they came across the next abnormality.

“A building?” Jérôme questioned in surprise as they stared at the giant structure blocking their path. “And the outside seems rather intact. Did people used to live out here?”

“Who knows,” Lune shrugged as she moved towards the entrance. “Its possible this building has always been here, but given it seems to deliberately block the pathway, and there isn’t a way around it, I’d assume it was displaced by the Fracture.”

“The inside is definitely destroyed,” Lucien agreed as he followed Lune inside. “Probably abandoned years ago, right? Centuries? Decades?”

“Everything on the continent was abandoned after the Fracture,” Gustave reminded his friend. “Everyone got out and fled to what is now our home of Lumiere.”

“Not everyone,” Lune whispered solemnly under her breath. 

Gustave was the only person close enough to hear, and judging by the pinched expression on her face, that was deliberate. Gustave’s eyes widened as Lune turned away, making for the makeshift ramp towards the second floor. 

They really needed to pull away so Gustave could ask his burning questions. But pulling away from the group was just too risky right now. He could be patient. 

“The Indigo Tree is not too far from here,” Lune spoke louder this time, addressing everyone. “If anyone else made it, they’ll regroup there.”

“Right,” Alan nodded. “Keep an eye out. Just in case we run into others.”

They explored the house a little, discovering barely anything outside of Lumina, a bit of chroma, and surprisingly a still working grandfather clock. And then they reconvened at the giant opening on the third floor, staring over the vast land before them.

“We’re really here,” Margot breathed, sucking in a breath of air. “This is really the continent.”

“It’s beautiful,” Jérôme noted softly. “Like a work of art waiting to be shown to the world in a picture or canvas.”

Lune flinched so violently she tumbled into him, and Gustave quickly reached up to steady her. Thankfully no one else seemed to notice the sudden reaction, but Gustave was starting to get really worried about Lune. 

“Lune-”

“I’m fine, Gustave. Just… caught off guard,” again she spoke in a hush so only he would hear before raising her voice and acting like nothing happened as she addressed the others. “The Indigo Tree is over there. If we move quickly, we’ll be there within an hour, maybe two if there are too many Nevrons.”

The descent down the hill towards the wider plain was silent, almost eerily so. Gustave had half a mind to start a conversation with Lune just to break it, but every question he could think to ask her seemed like a bad idea. 

Thankfully, Lucien spoke up for them. 

“So, Alan. Jérôme. How did you two get off the beach?” 

“Lune rallied us,” Alan motioned to her. 

“It was brilliant!” Jérôme declared to the group with a grin. “Maelle practically threw Alan at me so I didn’t see much. Had no idea she was so strong, by the way. Alan isn’t light.”

“Jérôme,” Alan’s tone warned.

“What? It’s true!” Jérôme huffed, giving Alan a shove that barely moved the man. “She shoved you at me like you weighed nothing at all. Then she was charging forward at that old man, trying to deflect blasts towards the Expedition with that other stranger. And then there was Lune! She managed to soar up into the air and volley one of those weird blasts back at the old man, but the entire battle field lit up and those weird hand-Nevrons showed up. Lune tried to rally as many of us as possible, but of course no one was listening cept me and Alan. She took one of those Nevrons near by herself and would have taken on a second alone had Alan and I not charged forward to join her.”

“We fought our way through the beach,” Alan picked up after Jérôme finished. “We found a place to lay low in the meadow. Then Lune rallied us on to the tree. That's when we found you in the caves.”

“I tried to rally more,” Lune scowled. “Tried to grab as many people as I could, but it all went so wrong so fast…”

“You couldn’t have predicted everything,” Gustave placed a hand on her shoulder. “We did what we could with what we knew. And now we’re here. All of us. That’s got to count for something, right?”

“It does,” Lune agreed slowly, but there was still something that seemed to trouble her. 

“What about you lot?” Jérôme inquired of the others. “How’d you get off the beach?”

“Well, our successful survival is largely in part due to Gustave,” Tristan declared to their commanders. “The four of us sought shelter behind a rock to try and avoid the old man’s attacks. We were lucky he didn’t follow us, but we hadn’t noticed the Nevrons. Well, by we I mean Lucien, Margot, and myself. Gustave, however, saw the Nevron appear. Just as it was going to grab me, Gustave sprang out of our hiding spot and shot it point blank. He then rallied us up the beach, telling us when to dodge or parry, before eventually firing a shot right at one of the Nevrons blast. Must have blown us sky high, we ended up in a meadowy ditch near a lamppost.”

“Gustave, Lucien and I landed near a waterfall,” Margot corrected. “You somehow landed in a ditch.”

Lune gave Gustave a nudge, an impressed smile on her face. “Well done.”

“Thanks. Though I can’t say I did much besides react. Just went with what I knew, you know?”

“I know. But you were always better at improvisation than I was.”

“That’s a whole lot of Nevrons,” Lucien suddenly noted, and the group paused to look.

It was a lot of Nevrons. Gustave knew for a fact there were others lying in wait nearby. He glanced to Lune, who was already steeled for a fight. 

“Here we go again,” he said to her. 

“Back into the fray,” she agreed, raising her arms into position. “I’m glad you’re here, Gustave.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you’re here, too.”

One of the Nevrons spotted them, and the fight began.

—------------------------------

They got lost.

Made a wrong turn. Went down the wrong path. Gustave wasn’t exactly sure what they did, but they had to reconvene at the 81 flag at the bottom of the hill in front of the house to rest after the stupid Mime.

“It looked kinda like you,” Lucien teased as Lune tried to heal Gustave’s concussion from a well aimed invisible hammer strike. “At least we got you a change of clothes if your uniform gets too bloody.”

“No,” Gustave groaned out, wincing as Lune tilted his head to better look at the wound. “Absolutely not. I have a spare expedition uniform in my bag, thank you very much. I am not dressing up like the mime using the mime’s clothes.”

“But it’ll be fun!” Lucien pressed, holding up a hat and beret.

“Then you wear it,” Gustave glared as the pain finally eased. “Thank you, Lune.”

“My pleasure,” she hummed, stepping back and turning back to their surroundings where Margot and Jérôme were scouting. 

“It looks like there’s a ledge up this way,” Margot declared back to the group. “And its in the direction of the Indigo Tree. Perhaps one of the Expeditions put up handholds.”

“Expediton 69,” Gustave rattled off as Lune and Lucien pulled him to his feet. “They were the climbing Expedition. If anyone put up handholds, it would be them.”

“Some pretty creepy statues,” Tristan remarked as they walked around the cliffs, searching for a way up.

“I don’t think they were statues,” Lune voiced, though she didn’t turn to look at anyone. “They were probably Nevrons. Maybe even Axons.”

“Axons?” Alan questioned.

“Beings like Nevrons, except bigger. Grander. Harder to fight. They’re made of some of the strongest chroma out there,” Lune rattled off, something dark and bitter in her tone.

Gustave had never heard of Axons before, but he wasn’t going to discredit or point that out to anyone. As one of the other more knowledgeable Expeditioners, discrediting Lune seemed like a bad idea given their situation. 

Still, the fact that Lune seemed to know these Axons, had encountered them, meant she and the others had made it further than the Stone Wave Cliff. That alone was enough information for Gustave.

He couldn’t bring himself to think of when or how they might have died. That thought scared him.

Lune suddenly stopped them, her head whipping upwards. Sure enough, a bunch of Nevrons came sailing over the cliff. 

“Margot! Lucien! These Nevrons can fly and tend to evade direct physical attacks!”

“Say no more,” Margot grinned, summoning her musket and taking aim. 

She took down the Nevron in the center with three well aimed shots, then managed to hit the second one a shot before she needed to recharge her musket. Lucien quickly followed her up with his own gunsword, while Gustave focused on the third, taking several well aimed shots to bring the Nevrons down.

The others cheered as Gustave’s last shot killed the Nevrons, and Gustave couldn’t help but bump fists with Lucien at a job well done.

But their victory was short won as the Nevrons faded away into the lumina converter. The fight revealed a painfully bloody sight. Two expeditioners, dead, long since turned to stone, lay before them. One still half tucked under a tent and the other impaled by a lancelier spear. Because of the rocks, the blood of their fallen comrade, a member of Expedition 81, still lay there in a puddle around his stone body, old and rotting. 

The sight was sobering, and their triumphant grins quickly fell away. 

“We should keep moving,” Alan rallied them this time, throwing an arm around Lucien and gently guiding Margot away by the arm. “Come on. The sooner we see other survivors the better.”

“Alan’s right,” Lune began to move forward again. “No matter what, we continue.”

Lune made to step up and around the pass, making it a few steps before she froze and suddenly darted forward in a crouch. Alarmed, the rest of the Expedition quickly scurried forward, peaking around the bend to see what had alarmed Lune.

“Is that the same as those Lancelier’s from earlier?” Lucien hissed in disbelief.

“No,” Tristan said slowly. “I think it’s bigger. And stronger.”

Lune, who was hunched behind a giant stone… something, turned to look back at them for a moment. The Lancelier hadn’t spotted them yet, but it was clear she intended to charge forward regardless of if she’d be spotted soon or not. 

“Hold, Lune,” Alan hissed at her.

She nodded, keeping ducked down. Alan kept an eye on Lune and the Lancelier with sharp precision. For a brief moment, the Lancelier turned just enough away that it gave them a blindspot. That was apparently what Alan had waited for. He tagged Tristan on the shoulder, before racing forward. Tristan followed without question, moving to Lune’s side even as Alan passed her.  

Alan summoned his great sword in between blinks and then lunged forward to deliver a sharp series of attacks to the Lancelier from behind. Margot had her musket out, ready to aim, but Jérôme motioned her to wait. 

As Alan pulled back, Tristan and Lune were up and bracketing Alan on either side. Gustave could see why Jérôme wanted them to wait. Had Margot tried to make a shot, she risked hitting the trio. Margot swore under her breath but kept her gaze locked on the situation at hand, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Lune was the one to attack this Lancelier’s chromatic orb, using a small burst of chroma to take it out before gathering her pictos to cast immolation, burning the Lancelier. Tristan was next, with his staff poised, he quickly prepared his pictos and and sent an ice lance straight for the Lancelier with a series of twists.

“Dodge, Alan,” Lune warned as the Lancelier approached and prepared to attack.

Alan got into a stance, dodging the first swing and parrying the second. As the Lancelier tried to pull back, Alan charged forward, dragging his blade across the ground before yanking upwards, then pausing the momentum to allow gravity to aid him in a powerful strike downwards, before dragging the blade back up and at a diagonal and spinning around to bring the blade back down at an opposite diagonal. Then he retreated backwards as Lune prepared another immolation spell. 

Annoyed, the Lancelier turned its attention to Lune. It spun itself about once before thrusting forward with the momentum to deliver a powerful strike at Lune’s torso. Lune, however, wasn’t an amateur at this little game, and she redirected the attack with a fluid strike of her arm before borrowing the momentum of the spear to spin herself about and deliver a sharp kick to send the Lancelier flying backwards. Tristan was quick to follow up by launching himself forward and delivering a flying attack jab with his spear, pushing the Lancelier back further. 

Again, the Lancelier charged forward to attack Lune, and again she parried and countered, giving Alan the chance to charge it with a simple swipe of his blade. Tristan twirled his staff before sending his own immolation as Lune finished the thing with her own Ice Lance, leaving the three to watch as it disappeared into a burst of chroma.

“Well done you two,” Alan praised, settling a hand on Lune’s shoulder. “That was some impressive parrying, Lune.”

She nodded once, seeming to swallow. “You did well yourself, Alan. Thanks, for coming to my aid.”

“Always,” Alan nodded once.

It was clear those words affected Lune more than she wanted to admit. She quickly ducked her head and moved past the spot where they felled the Nevron to grab a nearby chroma catalyst stuck between two bodies. Then she turned to the others and motioned wordless to a nearby cliff with a grapple that would pull them upwards.

“On we go, I guess,” Jérôme remarked warmly. “With all of us together, we might be unstoppable. Don’t you think?”

“Please don’t jinx us,” Margot hissed at him. 

One by one the others approached the lift up, taking their turn up while bickering about what counted as a jinx and what didn’t. Lune, however, hung back. 

Gustave hung back with her.

“You know,” he began slowly when Lune still didn’t speak, “at the risk of jinxing us, I’d say we actually do have a much better chance this time. If Sciel managed to save anyone, and Catherine perhaps survived, we’ve got an even greater chance. I mean, we made it pretty far last time, didn’t we? And we can-”

“We made it to the Paintress, Gustave,” Lune’s voice was soft, weak, fragile. So painfully unlike her. “Sciel, Maelle, and I made it to the Paintress with the help of Verso and a Gestral named Monoco. And we won. ”

Gustave paused, eyes wide as he turned to look at Lune. But she wasn’t looking at him, just staring down at the ground, fists clenched in front of her. 

“...what?”

“We won, but… it all went so wrong. Everything. There’s more at play here than just the Paintress. She’s not even the one causing the gommage. It’s her husband, another painter she has trapped beneath the Monolith. And we tried to stop it. We tried to save everyone, but he gommaged everyone . And Maelle, she brought us back, but it wasn’t enough and we-”

“Lune, breathe,” Gustave quickly grabbed her by the arms, pulling her to face him. “Breathe, Lune. With me. In… Out… In… Out…”

Thankfully Lune didn’t need further prompting as she forced her breathing to match Gustave’s. When calmed down enough, Gustave gave her a small, encouraging smile. 

“Okay, so a lot happened after I died, I see,” Gustave teased, getting a scoff from Lune as she took a step back. “Whatever happened, we’ll all sit down and let it all out at the campfire. Then we’ll figure out what to do, right?”

“Right,” Lune nodded, sort of shakily before it became firmer. “Right. We’ll figure this out. Maelle will have an idea what to do. You’d have been so proud of her.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Gustave laughed, pulling away from Lune and moving towards the grapple point. “Come on. Let’s keep going.”

She followed after him, and he motioned for her to go first.

“I’m really glad you’re here with us, Gustave,” Lune confessed softly.

“I’ll try to stick around this time,” he promised with a grin.

And then Lune was grappling up with Gustave following after her. Alan was there waiting for them, looking them both over. He cast a worrying glance at Lune before nodding to Gustave, not saying a word. Gustave appreciated it, and he was sure Lune felt the same way.

“Gustave!” Lucien called from further up. “Do you see this! The trees are blue!”

“Something must be disrupting the chroma around here,” Tristan was quick to conclude. “We should be careful. We have no idea what we’re walking into.”

“Nevrons!” Jérôme warned as he and Margot got into position.

“Can’t leave them alone for a second,” Alan grumbled, moving to join the others, even as they had already felled the next Nevron.

“Lampposts!” Lucien cheered giddily, pointing like a child. “And Expedition 69’s grapple hooks! We were right!”

They were all like giddy children, climbing up the cliff and finding a sort of cave. Alan took the lead at his insistence, giving Lune a pat on the shoulder as he passed by. She kept close behind him, though, ready to strike and defend where needed. Even if Alan was basically relieving her of leadership. 

“Ah, look, little lanterns, now,” Margot cooed over the little lights around the cave as they followed the only path forward. “Maybe Lune’s right. Maybe they are there for a reason.”

“That sounds more terrifying than comforting,” Alan stated flatly. “Like the sort of thing Leona used to say when she was three to freak us out.”

“She always did have a strange sense of humor,” Jérôme agreed. “I bet you it was your wife, though. She had a pretty interesting sense of humor, too.”

Alan turned back to give Jérôme a half-glare, half-smile. He turned back to face the front as they rounded another bend, clearly intending to say something witty. But whatever comeback he had died on his tongue as his hand immediately went up, signaling they hold. They all tensed as one, those with room to summon their weapons did so, while others prepared to summon theirs at the first sign of movement.

“What is it, Alan?” Jérôme asked, teasing tone nowhere to be heard.

“I’m not sure,” was Alan’s curt response as he tilted his head to the side as if to look from a better angle. He began to creep forward, hand still up to keep them still but ready. “It… looks like a Nevron. I think. But not one we’ve seen before. It’s… white. Almost coloreless.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Lune and then she was breezing past Adam and stepping straight out into the open. Alan lunged to pull her back, but Lune twisted away and marched forward. 

“Lune,” Alan hissed.

“It won’t hurt me,” Lune stated with conviction, moving closer to the Nevron. “The white Nevrons are harmless. They don’t carry the same bloodlust as their kin. We’re safer here than we are anywhere else on the continent.”

“Is she mad!?” Tristan hissed.

“No,” Gustave pushed past him. “She’s right. The white Nevrons won’t hurt us.”

Gustave pushed past everyone, giving Alan a sure nod before pushing past him and into the opening. He knew what this looked like. He knew what conclusions he came to last time. But the white Nevron had never hurt them last time, and now that he knew the contents of the journal, he could guess what happened.

He picked up the journal and held it out to Alan. To let the others take note of the record left behind. 

“It’s really not attacking,” Lucien breathed in awe as he came to stand next to Gustave. “Why isn’t it attacking?”

“It certainly attacked them,” Margot growled, her musket up and aimed.

But Lune was already standing in her way, crouching down next to it as it watched her.

“Hello,” Lune greeted softly. “Were you left here all alone? She abandoned you here?”

“Abandoned? No. Light. If I have light I can hear her calling.”

“It… it talks?” Jérôme breathed in shock, his own glaive dropping a little from his protective stance.

“The journal says as much,” Tristan declared as he and Alan presented the journal to the others. “Expedition 81 appeared to have made contact with it. They were, however, divided on what to do about the Nevron.” 

“Looks like they tore themselves apart,” Alan noted softly as he scanned the stone bodies. “They couldn’t agree on what to do.” 

“But why don’t the dead disappear like they do in Lumiere?” Lucien asked, crouching down beside a body. 

“It’s their chroma,” Lune answered, still knelt beside the white Nevron. “It's been trapped inside their bodies. That’s what happens here when a Nevron kills you. Judging by the way the trees moved, they didn’t just turn on each other, they were attacked by something. Another trap, forcing their chroma to remain in place.”

“But this Nevron didn’t kill them?” Margot accused, musket still raised.

“I would never plunge others into darkness. I was painted to bring light. To enlighten. Light.”

“Painted?” Jérôme questioned. “By the Paintress?”

“Paint-ress? Yes. She painted me. Help me…. find light.”

Lune stood then, turning to Gustave. “We need to bring Maelle back here. She needs to talk to it.”

“Maelle? Why Maelle?”

“Because she’ll know the right questions to ask it. About its Mistress. If you remember the white Nevron from the cliff, it said the Paintress and its Mistress were different people. Maelle can probably get more out of it.”

“You mean you found the answer to that riddle?”

“Yes, we-”

“What the heck are you two talking about,” Tristan demanded.

Gustave froze, as did Lune. They’d both forgotten they had an audience.