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Zulius
You got Zulius. I'm busy being fabulous. Deposit hot goss here.
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Dated to when the battle with the Order Ends
Finally, when the camera settles, it's on the face of his very tired boyfriend, who appears to be being carried--or maybe dragged along on a cart by someone out of view. ]
Amor.
I felt of all people who needed a message right away that this whole thing has been concluded, it would be you.
I would like to formally ask you to go to bed and rest. We have won the day, and the Black Order will no longer be a danger on our doorstep.
[ god he is so tired. ]
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Go the fuck to sleep, Zulius.
[ if there's a touch of strain in Gilgamesh's voice, no there isn't. ]
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What? What the heck happened to you? Are you even fully awake? What is Gil even-
[ No, you know what: ]
Hi Gil. What the heck happened to him?
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[ he looks terribly proud of himself. ]
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[ if he had the strength to SMACK gil he WOULD, you know.
He gives a bit of an eyeroll to the king, before returning his eyes to the phone. ]
As it stands, as his master, it turns out the amount of magical energy he can take from me at any given time is... larger than I'd assumed.
I feel like one of those silver pouch drinks. Completely drained.
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Nope. No. That didn't actually make him feel better at all.]
Okay. Okayokayokayokay. Let me get this right. Gil you drained Vergil's energy like a capri sun and now Vergil you're like this? What the fuck you guys????
[ You know the queen is displeased when he uses an actual F-Bomb and not the cutesy Centaurworld variant. ]
Is this reversible??? Is Vergil just gonna have NO BONES forever?? How did this even- No, you know what- you know WHAT where ARE you? I'm gonna come check on and yell at you both in person.
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This is only a temporary thing. Vergil will heal just fine with sleep, food, and taking in mana over time. [ it's weird how all of that just trickles out of him--like he's an expert on it, and not half-recalling another ghost's lifetime. ] We're on our way back from Asgard. I believe we've just crossed into the underwater fortress that houses the gateway.
[ another pause because there's an uncomfortable moment where there's a question hanging in the air--and Gilgamesh doesn't usually explain himself to anyone. it feels weird. ]
Things were going poorly in our confrontation. We met with the man who used to be my Master in another lifetime, and he's... nothing to be trifled with. He killed one of the other combatants--though they rose again after a few moments.
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[ he grumbles quietly--ignorance and pride are two things Vergil has in Triplicate, and today is just another day ending in Y where vergil acts before he thinks anything through.
as Zulius gets upset--rightfully so, even dropping an F-bomb on them here--he winces a bit. Zulius can teleport, so he could very easily come see them, but... ]
I do wish to see you in person, Bello.
As The golden headed fool says, another reason why I call you is because I do feel it important to let you know of the incident he speaks of. As the person in question, I feel, may try to keep the event quiet due to his... demeanor and personality.
It is best spoken to face to face, perhaps. But given I am unable to use my teleport skill currently.
...Have you been to this dreadful fortress. I would assume you would hate it down here. [ It's so wet. ]
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Okay, yeah no. This is an in-person yelling. I know it, it's gross. I'll be there in a sec.
[ Thank god he visited the place before everything REALLY went to shit. Ready to be able to teleport the injured back to the Vogue. So with a shower of glittery light, Zulius appears close by. Ugh he hates this wet place so much, but needs must. He'll come stomping over- he does not look any less angry. He sure sees Gil clearly carrying Vergil though- doesn't care about anyone his stripey ass. ]
Okay, I got a LOT to get out and YOU TWO are gonna hush up while I say it or SOMEONE is gonna get stomped on.
[First, he moves to check up on Vergil, a hand going to the other man's cheek, and just for a moment the righteous rage in the zebrataur's expression is replaced with something far more subdued and quiet and frightened than Zulius usually puts on display. ]
I love you so much, and I am so freaking glad you're not dead. [The anger comes back the gentle hand removed for a pointy finger.] But you better BElieve I am EXTREMELY angry about this, and you and me are gonna have one HELL of a discussion about this in private, Vittore.
[The dreaded Vittore dropped, he rounds on Gil. ]
AND YOU! I'm so freaking mad and-and disappointed , yeah, DISAPPOINTED, that you'd do something that'd nearly get him killed. NOTHING is worth that. But I also know there's like, nothing I can do that's worse than how you're gonna beat yourself up about this because you love your best friend- that's right , I SAID it. So I'll find a more suitable punishment for you later. MORE to the point [He puts a hand on Gil's shoulder. ] Are you okay? I know past memory trauma is NOT a fun thing. You doing okay after that?
[ Then he straightens.]
FINALLY, what do you MEAN someone died? Who died?
cw; Takame's death imagery
hm.
there's a certain shift in Gilgamesh's mien when Zulius comes sparkling in with all four hooves on the warpath. he's gone from playful, to factual, to quiet. the accusations of caring about people aside, Zulius spins around to bluster on him and Gilgamesh stares at the zebrataur, unblinking, a hardness settling in his eyes that doesn't really read as Gil as he's known to Zulius, to Vergil.
Gilgamesh is not the King but the King has been spilling over more often than not. he straightens to the fullness of his height, eyes locking with Zulius' as the man means to take him to task--and so to task he will go. his voice is low and measured when he speaks, grave and quiet, as if he's telling the beginnings of a ghost story as opposed to a recounting of a dozen, dozen intersecting lifetimes. ]
Kirei Kotomine was a monster that the man I'd once been had a hand in creating.
He killed the man who took him in as an 'apprentice' and an accomplice and handed the knife he'd stabbed into that mage's back to the man's daughter while promising to care for her to her face. He kept a basement full of orphaned children as mana sources for Archer's sustenance. He was a man who wished to see the end of humanity by any means necessary in order to understand his own existence and what God would permit a creature like him to exist.
[ he's feeling all edges and angles, pupils pulled tight to their inhuman slit appearance. usually, Gilgamesh does not care what people say to him or the tone they take with him
but Gilgamesh cares about Zulius, so catching his ire rakes a nerve that no one's ever really been able to touch. ]
He put a hand through Takame Kesi's chest and dropped the fool like a butcher drops unwanted scraps of meat. Kesi sprang back up screaming like a beast and tore the priest's throat out, only for Kotomine to pull his own resurrection trick and explode into a fury of magical power and screaming dragon-like tendrils.
I did what I had to in order to protect what I view as mine from something that could quickly get out of hand. Should I have waited for more blood to be shed? A few missing limbs, perhaps? Another body or two?
Vittore did not know the specifics, but it wouldn't have killed him. [ probably ] If you've the strength, you can carry Vittore and I can drop my consolidated form so that he can begin the process of recuperating in earnest.
I will bear the weight of our current status, as it was my decision and my need for energy that's put us both in this state. [ it's half a move to protect Vergil even though he's lost the man's first name again and half a move to put himself apart because that's the space he best understands.
lonely is the mantle of the man who makes the hard decisions and carries them onwards. ]
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perhaps because it's respect not to interrupt, or the fear of getting stomped on by Zebra hooves, Vergil does not open his mouth to interject. ...Also because he was just called Vittore for the first time in months by Zulius. ...And then comes the double blow of Gilgamesh referring to him by that name, as well, as he explains the events that proceeded this with a stinger precision. Yeah, he won't admit it here, but that definitely stung enough to keep him silent as both men got their emotions out.
Of course Zulius was stressed--watching half of your network walk into Literal Hell to 'win the day' can't have been easy. And then there's Gilgamesh, a man who'd just been a whimsical CEO of a multitude of companies, whose only idea of being in 'danger' in his life had been his few attempts at skydiving. Of course he was stressed as well. ]
Gilgamesh speaks truth. I had been told by Waver that a servant may be a 'drain' on your power, but truthfully, in comparisons of energy between me and him--he is a Double A battery and I am a car battery.
...I overestimated myself and was not prepared for exactly how much power Gil would have to borrow to secure the future we have. To stop the man we faced from taking any more lives.
We are safe now. The Order will no longer storm into our city, or trespass upon our homes.
And while Takame did die--something odd also ... possessed him, and he lives again.
We had close shaves. But noone was truly lost.
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And now Takame HAS died, and come back possessed. Vergil is in a goddamn not-even-half functioning state and Zulius has finally hit a wall on how much he can brush off and hide how goddamn scared and stressed he is behind a sassy quip and some glittery flare. He didn't know he had a limit, but here it is.]
That doesn't make me feel better.
[It's levelled at both of them, gritted out as he crosses his arms. He can picture how Takame died and it makes him feel sick. He hates this. His tone is a lot more strained than usual. Normally only Vergil gets to see how hurt and upset Zulius can get, but he's fucking done . The screechy, high pitched yelling is gone. He's just quiet and tired and angry. It bubbles in his chest, coming out more real and raw than he'd like.]
Look, I don't know if you could've done anything different. I mean, that guy sounds like a freaking monster, and he had to be stopped. I get that.
[He remembers Horse, diving into the Nowhere King's mind in what they thought was a suicidal move to give them half a chance at not being immediately slaughtered in the final battle. How they didn't even have a chance to mourn her because they had hundreds of frozen minotaurs to deal with, who could wake up and kill them all at a moments notice. That sucked but there was nothing else they could do.]
But just because you had to do it doesn't make the risk mean freaking nothing. What if it hadn't worked? Gil, what if you went to hit him with that and he had some freaky defense for it and just freaking cut you down for trying it? And then there's Vergil just on the ground not able to protect himself? And that would've been it, both of you just gone . It was dangerous and stupid . Like, Gil, super happy for you that you're protecting people you care about- genuinely- big step for you. But when you were busy saving whats yours, you were straight-up risking whats mine . As if you two don't mean flunking anything and are worth sacrificing. When you're not . So you're gonna have to forgive me for not being super stoked you idiots just took a chance like that. I don't care it was a close shave. That doesn't make this better .
[He gives Gil an incredulous look when he suggests vanishing out if his corporeal form.]
Well, actually , I was planning on getting you both to the Vogue so both of you can be looked over and freaking rest. Wasn't actually planning on letting you check out just yet. So if it's all the same to you, you can come back and be taken care of for a hot second.
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he almost misses the gift of prophecy for once in his lifetimes. ]
It's not meant to make you feel better. [ he sounds... remorseful? some of the color is returning to his voice; it's not the overbearing golden heat of his usual devil-may-care attitude, but there is something softer in it. sympathetic. ] There's nothing to feel better about in the situation we're in.
I hear the root of your worry--that the people you care for are taking on too much, and risking too much of themselves to resolve a situation, but there are no half-measures against people like the Order's most stalwart. For most of them there is no de-escalation, you cannot talk someone convinced of their own righteous purpose down from the precipice they've staked their life upon. You have to meet them where they are and overpower them because they will not hesitate to kill you--as evidenced by all of the damage they caused before we chased the snake back into the den and fought it on its own terms.
You cannot parlay with madness like that. By rights, they would've demanded that the rest of us surrender the Black Order members that call Kaisou their home, and then they would've kept going once they'd had their first pound of flesh because there's always a hidden price, and that's without speculating on the 'interest' that they'd add to the debt owed.
They had files on half of the city's population of magical weirdos. Myself included.
[ part of him wants to launch into a spiel about the Sword of Rupture and how 'countermeasures' aren't really a thing for it, but the stronger braincell tells him that it's not the goddamn moment for that. be succinct. get to the point. don't try to talk circles around Zulius because he's upset, no matter what the reason or cause or justification is.
there's also the weird thing of being someone else's--once the kneejerk curl of loneliness (because he's part of 'what's mine' in a way he usually isn't, and isn't that a sight to see) got elbowed out of the way, of course because he's part of a circle, for once. he's not so impossible to relate to that he cannot be one of the people in a crowd. it's weird. ]
... and not to make light or levity of the situation and your feelings about it--but if the Order had something up their sleeve to 'block' what I did, we'd be fucked. Simply, utterly fucked. There's one countermeasure to my Noble Phantasm, which is why I chose to use it. [ a twinge in his facial expression as he is, once again, accused of caring. the usual protestations come to his mouth.. and then fall away.
Zulius deserves sincerity, even if such a thing is an antithesis to the King. ]
It's not a matter of 'us' being meaningless or any more or less worthy of sacrifice.
It came down to the thought of 'if we continue to stand here and fight at the pace we are fighting at, how many more people will die? How much of our own blood will be demanded in order to buy the freedom that we're fighting for? Am I willing to sit by and give less than everything while someone else pays the price for peace?'
I didn't want Vergil to be so tired he's a lump of meat. I don't want to feel fuzzy around the edges of my entire being. I didn't want to frighten you so badly that you've come to shout me down about how stupid everything is--because yes! It's stupid! It's all terribly stupid but you cannot reason with people who see you as less than them-who see you as tools and pawns and things to be controlled, corralled, and killed if you're a problem! Was I supposed to keep sitting back on my heels while Sam paced ruts in my floor from the sheer terror that he'd once again be on the chopping block when the Order finished its in-house cleaning? What if they sent their mechanical army to burn your club down for a second time?
What if they figured out how many people they could force to hesitate if they kidnapped you? [ putting all these thoughts and fears in one coherent order is strange and raw and vulnerable and Gilgamesh hates this feeling and Vergil's gonna have bruises from how the King's fingers dig into his body. ]
... I cannot be sorry for the decision that I made. It was dangerous and stupid, but it's the answer that I had to a question that I had no time to consider. Every possible scenario was worse than the last, and so I cut the knot above the snare of the problem.
I am sorry that you've been handed nothing but nightmare scenarios and that they've settled on your shoulders so heavily. I'm sorry we didn't discuss a better plan or come up with solutions before the fire was at our doorstep. I'm sorry that I've scared you.
... and thank you. For caring. About everyone. About me. It's a heavy burden to love people as freely as you do, and I don't know how you've managed to make it seem so effortless for so long--and I'm sorry for taking that for granted. I don't know how to make this better, but I hope we can. Figure it out. Together.
[ leaning in is? weird? uncomfortable? the mortifying ordeal of being known?? hrk? Gil meets that incredulity with this weird combo of discomfort and soft pity, brow furrowing a little. ]
I understand your intention, but in a less reactionary way, my presence is a drain on Vergil's strength. His energy reserves literally form my corporeal presence. He'll recuperate faster if I dissolve into ambient mana. I'm not trying to shrug off consequences or being fussed over, but I am actually an active detriment to him.
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On one hand there was Zulius; the one man who had a complete control of his own emotions and the flawless ability to speak his mind whenever the moment came to him. Then there was Gilgamesh, who was always and would forever be the type of man who would prefer to bottle up all his emotions and then one day explode from the pressure of them.
Then there was Vergil. Who used to be more like Gilgamesh, but since letting Zulius into his life, allowing himself to open up to the idea of family that Dante and Nero brought--for once he understands both sides here. He closes his eyes as he nods when Gilgamesh finishes his statements, once again offering to 'change forms' in order to make things easier here. He gets it. It's not running away--it's gil being kind. And he won't chase that off. ]
We will both come to the Vogue. You are entirely correct. There lies the possibility that what was done could have backfired, and it was in the moment that the forethought of that simply did not come to mind. Saying things like 'we will be careful in the future' heals no wounds here, so I will avoid it. And merely offer my apologies for not thinking properly in the moment.
I wish not to speak over the sentiments my friend has given but I want to thank you as well. For caring, for being a voice of reason where there isn't one in my head. [ vergil's eternal struggle with approaching anything like a normal person ]
And thank you, Gil. I do not think I have ever heard you be quite so honest before. And I am a little stunned at how stupid I feel for not having realised the depths of your desire to protect those around you. Using such a skill was ... terrifying, but in the moment, the likely only answer.
[ gilgamesh said sorry. He said sorry and that's going to be on vergil's mind for a very long time.
he's looking up at Zulius again; looking a bit like a wet cat. ]
I will apologise to you more later, amo. You deserve to hear more than the things I've said here, but I would like to get out of this place and get somewhere more ... home.
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And that's the rub, isn't it? Everything Gil is saying makes a lot of sense. He knows the Order had to be stopped- he knows that the world would have been miserable and broken if they had been allowed victory. It would have been like letting the Nowhere King win. That would have caused nothing but suffering.
But a selfish seed is settling, unhappily, in his chest that he doesn't care. That the trade-off for a better world is not worth the lives of his loved ones. Not even for a second. Not Gil. Not Vergil. And he knows that's a stupid thought to have but it stays restless in his heart. So many people would have died. So fucking many. But that doesn't mean he can make peace with either of them potentially dying for it.
He tenses when Gil mentions him getting kidnapped. Zulius isn't an idiot- he knows he means a lot to a lot of people here. Hell, they mean a lot to him. He knows that if something happened to him... well. That would probably end badly. Some people would take comfort from that, perhaps, but it just makes dread pool in his stomach. He doesn't want to think what they'd do for him. What they'd stupidly, willingly sacrifice for him.
Normally, Zulius would be a screaming ball of fury- not backing down for a second. He's stubborn. He isn't wont to give up ground anywhere. But all the fight kind of... deflates out of him. He hugs his arms around himself, ears pinned back miserably. ]
I don't know what you could've done differently. I know they had to be stopped, Gil. I get that. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with something that could end the whole freaking world if it wanted to. Something that was just flat-out evil, y'know? They're monsters, I get it. I just- [ He sucks in a breath. Then uncharacteristically quiet: ] Fine. It is what it is, I guess. Can't fix it now. Super hate it, I'm gonna keep super hating it forever, but fine.
[ But Gil did say sorry. Gil NEVER says sorry. For anything. Ever. And his eyebrows do raise a little at that. It's... pretty important, and he cannot let that go by without comment. Vergil's said something, after all. They need to positively reinforce this or he might not ever say sorry ever again. ]
It's okay, Gil. I forgive you because you're my friend and I love you. And Vergil's right. It's really good that you care a heck of a lot to do that. [He hates it. He HATES that it came to it, but the emotion is in the right place and needs to be encouraged. ] I'm serious- I'm super proud of you for that. That's some real growth there, sweetie.
[He gives a little shrug. Right now he kind of wishes he cared a little less because he currently feels like he's holding himself together with spit and hope. He knows he is teetering on the edge of a really good cry and he doesn't want to do that where god(s) and everyone else can see that. ]
Yeah, well. It's what I do. Someone's gotta do it. If not me, then who? Someone less fabulous? I think not.
[It's... a really poor attempt at levity. There's none of his usual sass in it. He's going through the motions, keeping the mask in place because if he doesn't he doesn't know what will happen. He nods at Vergil- at his comments about not being able to fix it easily, because damn right it won't be. He will not be swayed by the wet cat look. Not for a second. No sir. ]
Trust me, we are gonna talk a lot. [ Still, they have a plan to move and he desperately wants out of his miserable wet place. So he puts a hand on both of their arms. ] Great. Glad that's settled. Gil, I promise to let you do your thing once I checked you over- please? That would actually make me feel better.
[So he knows he isn't sending Gil on his way without making sure he IS okay first. He can't stand for that. Gil deserves more than that. ]
Okay, home we go.
[And with a flciker of light, he teleports them into the bar area of the Vogue- still set up with its cots and emergency services, ready for a situation just like this. ]