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Elidibus frowned. The central facility was thick with Garleans, as his companion had suggested. The remaining Triad may not suffer this delay before waking --
"How many do you think, Gylbart? Ten gathered together trying to break through the ward there, another ten posted as guards on this side, and -- oh." The Warrior of Light had seen what Elidibus had; a magitek armor was being airlifted in to fire upon the ward, and another handful of Garleans with it. "They won't get through Urianger's ward with that, but we aren't making progress today either."
Displeased as he was for the delay, she was right. Their battle with Sephirot the day prior had drawn too much attention. "So we watch them as planned. Ensure they don't break through, estimate when they might leave."
"Should one of us cover the research facility? There could be a back door --"
"We searched before you joined us. There isn't." The great hero had refused the Triad mission at the time in the name of suspicion toward Unukalhai, leaving the Scions to seek out another capable of challenging the eikons. They had scouted the area thoroughly before -- as had been Elidibus’ plan -- she'd realized the Scions were trusting an unknown stranger and stepped back into her role.
She sat down, relaxing on their perch -- a tall, domed facility, large enough that the top was mostly flat and bore little risk of a fall, with a spire jutting into the sky that was sturdy enough to hold their weight if leaned upon.
The group fussing over the magitek armor waved half a squad over, leaving part of the perimeter undermanned. Elidibus gestured at one particularly scrawny guard. "We could punch through there."
"We could, but we should fight the eikon together, not leave one of us behind operating the controls and distracting the VIth legion. Besides --" She squinted at the living weak link, who had begun to tap his fingers behind his back idly. "-- weren't you just telling me last night that I'm too eager to fight people like him?"
Elidibus looked down at her and sighed loudly, though more for show than true irritation. In truth, he was pleased his lesson had taken root so quickly; he needed her to destroy the Triad, but with Lahabrea's defeat, he had also hoped to plant a seed of doubt that could lead this woman away from the hero's path. He leaned back against the spire and slid down, taking a seat beside her, both scanning the Garlean operation with a silence that prickled with the inevitability of breaking.
"Gylbart... you're Ala Mhigan, aren't you?"
Elidibus was fairly certain this vessel was not, but he'd spun some vague half truths during the Scions' celebration of Sephirot's downfall the night prior, and she spoke with all the gravity of emotional conclusions misdrawn. Failure to deny her conclusions would be seen as an admission of their truth, earning her trust and making her more pliant, and with his trustworthiness proven in battle beside their champion, the Scions would likely not look too deeply.
She continued: "That's why you said you didn't remember much of your home. You couldn't have been more than ten years old when it was invaded. Gridania isn't very welcoming to refugees, but if you were'' -- she paused and shifted as if suddenly uncomfortable -- "separated from your family... and one of the forestborn took pity on you...." She trailed off, gaze lingering on the weak sentry. "You said your brother passed recently... and you were cold toward me when we met. There were Ala Mhigan conscripts in the XIVth. If it was me, I'm sorry."
A fortunate interpretation -- if she believed she had a bond with one so directly impacted by her reckless willingness to defeat all in her path, the guilt would be useful. He could see her lay down her arms within the year. Silence turned his attention to her; she was watching him for any reaction, awaiting a response. "There is no use dwelling on the past. We have a duty here and now." He gestured to the Garleans.
The VIth scurried clear of the magitek armor, having completed a brief reconfiguration, and a shouted order accompanied the whine of its ceruleum engines charging a shot; Urianger's ward absorbed and dissipated the energy flawlessly. The goddess and demon would not have been disturbed. Elidibus allowed himself to relax slightly, and his companion seemed to do the same as the Garleans swooped in for another adjustment. They'd likely overload and damage the internal components this time.
"The Scions are hoping you'll stay after this job is done." Ah, she hoped to give the poor displaced soul a home in the world. He knew the Scions hadn't truly made up their minds about him, just as it had gone with others for millennia: his skill was apparent, but they were finding it difficult to work with his imposed distance while they saw him more as newcomer or peer than as guide or leader.
It would be easiest to maneuver his pawns from within their ranks, so he'd already planned to stay as long as needed. "Perhaps I may."
"Then you should celebrate with us next time instead of sitting in the corner and reading." When he didn't respond, she prodded him further -- a theme of the outing, it seemed. "What were you reading?"
"Unukalhai's initial research on the two remaining eikons." She'd prodded him then, too, attempting to include him in the revelry and staying to ask questions when he showed no interest. "Despite your best efforts."
The Warrior turned and fixed him with a light glare, beginning to lose patience with his prickliness, and he returned a teasing smirk to lighten the blow; it was ever a delicate thing, staying both close enough to keep a hero's trust and distant enough to lead. She rolled her eyes and laughed quietly at the tease, and Elidibus felt vaguely unsettled for a second time.
The Garleans scurried away from their armor and charged another shot. The charge was taking long enough that the Emissary was certain his earlier guess had been correct: they were sure to burn out the armor this time. If they were going to breach the ward or disturb the Triad, it would be now. The scrawny sentry, posted too close to the ward for his own liking, backed away as Elidibus leaned forward.
The shot landed and dissipated in the same manner as the first one, though some of the excess energy was repelled in a splash of hot projectile aether in several directions, leaving the sentry's former position -- which he was now slowly easing back into -- scorched. The Triad would be safely sealed for today, but something nagged at Elidibus despite himself.
He'd first felt this last night. The Warrior of Light had been meandering through her questions, unsubtly trying to discover how a Wood Wailer was skilled with a sword and shield and owned plate armor of quality, but she'd been playing with the rim of her glass, making it ring out with an irritating sound, and he'd clapped his hand over the back of hers when it got to be too much. It had been cool and softer than he'd expected, and he imagined the contrasting calloused palm, rousing an inexplicable déjà vu --
"You should at least have a drink with your reading next time. Someone once told me that very same wine we had gave him a reason to live." Elidibus listened silently, attempting to hold his train of thought as a vehicle approached to airlift the broken armor and its carers away for repairs. Another handful of engineers began unpacking other equipment they couldn't see from their distance. "The fellow was a hero who'd lost both of his eyes in battle with Titan. He was lost in early retirement until he tasted that wine. Said it showed him there were still beautiful things to experience."
Must she talk so much --
"They ship the Scions a cask every now and then after I helped them rebuild their vineyards."
-- enemies swarming a dire threat and she speaks of drink --
"We might have some left after last night."
-- if he could make her understand how important --
She cried out beside him, and he turned to find her wincing, hand to her head. After a moment, she went limp and began to tip over on the dome's mild slope; Elidibus grabbed and righted her, holding her in place.
Her lack of control over her gifts endangered her -- she'd been quickly pulled under by whatever she'd touched. He closed his eyes and searched.
A dining room in familiar blacks and golds appeared before his mind’s eye. Two figures, one in a light gold and the other in black, indistinct, swirled about arranging dishes in two place settings at a small table in the center, their faces unknown beyond moving lips, but --
Crowding the memory, blotting out the spoken words, preventing focus on the central pair, countless other figures in black reached toward the heavens, voices crying out for salvation.
Elidibus had long ago learned to focus through the cries that drove him ever forward, but they would be a shock to an intruder, and... there. In the thick of them, she was lost, fading, hands over her ears, making futile attempts to push her way between them. He moved toward her and reached out --
The moment they touched, all cleared and fell to silence. The sight of his true self-image, adorned in white and red, caused her to gasp, but it was not the first time he had revealed such a truth, and he knew he could still control what may unfold after this.
"-- would be furious."
Only if you tell him."
The crowd had faded to one of barely-visible and silent specters, and Elidibus turned to the now-clear scene in the center of the dark room. Few in Amaurot had worn such colors, and this was his memory, so the identity of the lighter figure was never in question, but the woman in black, so familiar as to have shed robe and mask…?
"Do you really think you can control the Ifrita alone?"
The woman in black set a central dish down and thought carefully.
“What is this?” The Warrior of Light at his side was tense, frozen, confused, and Elidibus gripped her closely, the contact between them having some stabilizing effect on the memory -- one so unfamiliar as to pull him in by curiosity alone.
The smell of the whole meal laid out on the table made him feel a nostalgia stronger than he had known in… longer than he could remember.
"It's that or let all those people lose their homes."
"So evacuate them--"
"A person's home matters.” The unknown woman carried her glass to the table and sat down, and the Elidibus within the memory rested his hand over the back of hers with a tenderness that felt all but foreign. “Think of... a hand-made wine. Change any one thing -- the acidity of the soil, the type of wood barrels used for aging, the cultivar of grape -- and the wine is never the same."
"So you're saying you're protecting their grapes." Past Elidibus shot the woman a deviously teasing smile, and she laughed as she pulled her hand away to swat lightly at his forearm.
“It's a metaphor." Conversation gave way to companionable quiet and the clinking of utensils on dishes as they scooped portions from shared plates. Elidibus could see his younger self considering possibilities and planning a solution as he chewed. "A compromise, then. I'll give you a head start... but I’ll warn Emet-Selch on his way from the Capitol tomorrow."
“If you can catch him.” The woman shook her head, though it seemed more resignation than refusal. "I can see the headline now: 'Esteemed Azem felled by withering glare of the underworld.'"
Elidibus frowned. They had obviously been close; she had known not only himself but Emet-Selch as well, so clearly they’d been of a similar echelon, but he had no recollection of an Azem --
“You’re hurting me.” The other woman, the broken one at his side, all but whimpered through a clenched jaw. The memory was growing indistinct again regardless; he guided her back to herself and returned his full awareness to their perch in Azys Lla, where he carefully watched for any reaction as she woke. If he was fortunate, she may dismiss it as a strange, half-remembered dream.
When she met his gaze, it was with a sharp intake of breath and an unsteady move backwards. Not fortunate, then. “Be still. I was -- be careful --” She was off balance and reached out to steady herself, but forgot to account for the slope of the dome and began to slide uncontrollably.
Elidibus grabbed her arm, halting her fall and causing her to cry out, and a sentry shouted at the disturbance.
Would that he didn’t need her; it would have been easy to let her fall into the Sea of Clouds below. But she clung to him, eyes pleading for help. For salvation.
Several guards lined up and took aim --
Darkness rose and swallowed them both.
The rift was formless color here, chaos and stillness combined in a heavy pressure, and they both floated in place, safely hidden from those who would do them harm.
Elidibus spoke first as her doubtful eyes scanned his vessel. “You will be freed as soon as the Garleans finish searching our position and move away.”
“Why should I trust an Ascian?” With some bitterness, he wondered whether she remembered the name “Elidibus” as he summoned the patience to answer.
When he spoke, it was slowly and deliberately, as if to sear the importance of his words on her. “Identity aside, I’ve told you no lies. Your world must recover, the Triad must fall, and I will see it done with or without your cooperation, though I prefer the former.” He sighed. “And I have saved you twice within only minutes. I trust that counts for something”
No response came, withdrawn into herself and her thoughts as she was, but for now she seemed to accept that he meant his words.
“Stay here for a moment. I will return very soon.” The Warrior of Light, protected by twisting darkness, only nodded, and Elidibus left.
He had a question for Emet-Selch.
“If I don’t find a way --”
“I am prepared --”
“Please, listen. If I don’t find a way in time… promise me. When you have the power of all our hope, guide them as I would. Keep all mankind in your heart and shepherd every star in the dark on its true course.”
“I will.”
“Swear to me. Your star, too. Whatever form your life takes, find some joy in it.”
“I swear.”
His mission. His duty. It had been her, and he had forgotten.
Emet-Selch had always cared deeply for Elidibus’ loss of memory, but he typically succeeded in hiding it more clearly… save when Elidibus asked who Azem had been so shortly after his lapse regarding Lahabrea. The answer had been vague and sad -- “A guiding star. Someone none of us could have forgotten, once.” Now, with the Triad defeated and the star coming back from the brink, Elidibus had finally relented.
He passed his thumb over engraved grooves in the colorless crystal, deep in thought.
“Gylbart?” The Warrior of Light approached his usual reclusive corner within the Rising Stones. She’d spoken that false name with discomfort ever since that day in Azys Lla, but she’d agreed to keep his secret until the Triad’s fall, gradually coming to trust him in combat again so they might defeat the others swiftly and with little resistance. Their conversations had been scant, but she expressed a cautious curiosity he was willing to indulge. She lowered her voice. “I didn’t expect you to return here.”
“I will leave if that is your wish. You have my word. Only… a companion once told me the wine here could gift a man new reasons to live.” With a brief moment of silent consideration, she smiled faintly and nodded.
Perhaps in turning her from the hero’s path, he might guide her star toward his own.
Perhaps even broken, Azem could help him keep his promise.