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As he sat on the bench, Gustave narrated his whole tale, from beginning to end, and even beyond his own death. He didn’t care that the two people to whom he was speaking were total strangers, or that he might have been overwhelming them with information. He simply needed to vent to someone.
When he finished, he put his head in his hands. “The worst thing about it all is that I couldn’t save Maelle.” That was all he could say to summarize the whole affair.
Aeris shook her head. “You should be proud of yourself. You held the expedition together when it had all but failed. And when the time came to put your life on the line for her sake, you didn’t hesitate or show any cowardice.” She smiled and turned to the man next to her. “I think it’s admirable. Don’t you think so too, Shinji?”
He only huffed and crossed his arms, not even bothering to look at Aeris or Gustave. “Look man, you stood by your principles and went out like a badass. That’s all that matters.”
Aeris turned back to Gustave. “Shinji may seem a little rough around the edges, but he’s actually a big softie on the inside. It took me a long time to pry his story out of him: he jumped in front of a bullet to save a little kid. So, he’s kind of like you.”
“Hey, Shut the hell up! And stop calling me by my first name, it creeps me out.”
Gustave was a little intrigued. “You did that? I didn’t peg you as the type.”
“Yeah, yeah, appearances can be deceiving or whatever they say. But what happened to me is nothing compared to Her Highness here.”
“Did she save a child as well?”
“Oh no, nothing that important. She was only about to save her entire planet before she got killed.”
Aeris felt a little awkward as Gustave’s eyes fastened upon her. “It’s true, I discovered a way to save the world. Or, at least, what I thought was a way to save the world. But then I… got distracted. I was focused on someone in front of me and so I didn’t notice that someone else was behind me and… well I only realized what was happening after it was too late.”
“Being distracted, huh? I know that feeling…” Gustave put his hand over the spot on his chest where he was run through. “Still, I never imagined that I would really die, even though I was prepared for it.”
Shinji tilted his head. “Really? Because I think you’re the type to die. And that’s not because you just told us you did.”
“What?”
“Don’t get me wrong, the shit you went through is rough. But you’re totally the type of goody-two-shoes boy scout who’s too naïve to save his own life. You know how, at the end of those corny action movies, one person has to stay behind and sacrifice himself to save everyone else? You’re that guy.”
“In other words…” Aeris attempted to put a positive spin on this. “You’re the selfless, reliable type.”
After a few moments of silence, Gustave got off the bench and took in his surroundings. “I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while: where are we, exactly?”
Shinji shrugged. “Beats me. Some kinda limbo, I guess. The layout of this place changes all the time, yet we somehow always end up back here.”
Suddenly, Aeris sprung from her seat. “I have an idea! Now that there’s three of us here, we can form a proper search party! In truth, Shinji and I never explored that much before. Plus, you should have all your equipment from when you were alive.”
“I don’t know about that. I think I’ve had enough of exploring strange places; my last expedition didn’t end so well for me.”
“Aww, come on!” She picked up her staff. “Look, we have a talented healer, a tough brawler who can fight his way through anything... and a mechanically inclined leader.” She smiled at Gustave. “I’m sure with this kind of team, we can overcome any obstacle we might come across. Who knows, we may even find a way out of here.”
Shinji shrugged and picked up his axe as he got off the bench. “I’m tired of sitting around anyway. If you want to join us, feel free. Otherwise, you can stay here and lament your fate for who knows how long.”
After a few moments, Gustave gave in. “Alright. It’s not like there’s much else for me to do around here.”
“Good. Just don’t slow us down, old man.”
As Gustave followed after the other two, he muttered to himself, “So even outside of Lumiere, 30 is enough to make me an ‘old man?’” If there was even the slightest chance that he could discover a way back to Lumiere and see Maelle again, if only just to hear her call him “old man” once more, then he would get there come hell or high water.