Alone…
Garland clutched tightly to the limpness of Mr. 44's arm.
I'm alone…
An anguish so deep churned within.
Mr. 44.. don't leave me!
Shadows seethed where light had once shown so vibrantly.
Just… open your eyes again… please..! I never… I never got to tell you…
A shaft of ashen haze fell across the floor as the rising moon shown outside the slitted window.
You were the only one in the world who cared about me! You were my only friend…
In a crouched lunge, the boy threw himself over the unmoving form of the Mage, clenching handfuls of the rough-hewn robe. He felt the sting of tears upon his face. It was a strange sensation. He never remembered crying before.
"Mr. 44! Come back! Don't leave me here all by myself!"
Long strands of black hair curtained his face, as if to hide away the display of emotion. Garland didn't care.
Let them see him cry.
Pulse.
Let them join in his torment.
Pulse.
His bitter solitude.
Pulse.
Let them know his loss.
Pulse.
Let them remember.
Pulse.
Let them grieve…
Pulse.
--Garland--
The boy slowly drew up his head. There was a feeling there. Strangely familiar, yet not. His hands still held tightly to the front of Mr. 44's robe.
--Garland--
Someone was calling his name. But he couldn't hear it.
He turned to address the shadows slowly. The candlelight was dimming. How long had he been sitting there?
--Garland… You're not alone…--
The voice.. it wasn't a voice.. it was like a gentle pressure within his mind.
The boy turned, sensing rather than seeing a presence. It was a weak feeling at first, like an image caught just at the corner of vision, but as Garland drew his awareness about it, the presence began to grow. Take a form.
There was a shimmery mist.
Garland's eyes widened. What he was seeing.. he…wasn't seeing with his eyes. An image, internal, like the voice, beyond sensing.
He drew closer to the lifeless form of Mr. 44.
"Who… what… are you?" His voice cracked with apprehension. "What do you want?"
The mist shifted nearer. There was a strange warmth about it. A gentleness of purpose.
-Garland… p-please don't cry…-
A tremor shook the boy's body, thoughts shifting from all sides. The voice.. the presence.. it felt like…
It can't be.
"Mr. 44…?"
-Forgive me Garland… I knew my time with you was limited… But I could not b-bear to tell you.-
He was on his feet at once. He felt dazed, blinking at the mist then back at the lifeless form of the Mage. The motion made him queasy.
"Mr. 44!! You're still alive!!"
There was no answer, so he added.
"Aren't you..?"
-Life… Is merely one stage of c-consciousness embedded within a material um… form. The body may perish, but the spirit lives on.-
Garland shook his head. "I'm… confused.. so you're not alive.. but you're not dead? What.. what does it all mean? You're still here…!"
-None of them seem to know either.-
"Them? Them who?"
-Uh… The other Black Mages.-
"What other Black Mages?"
-Mr. 36… Mr. 15… Mr. 29…-
Garland knew those names. They were on the stones in the graveyard. "Y-you mean.. the other Mages who… stopped? They're with you too?"
-Yes.-
"They're still here too? Why… don't any of the other Mages here in the village know about this? Why haven't we seen any of 'em before?"
-Mr. 36 said that at first, they tried to show the other Mages that they were s-still here. But... no one could see them. No one could hear them. So they decided to give up and… and simply w-watch. Watch over those they left behind. They don't stay in the village. They gather right outside… near the g-graveyard.-
There was a soft tingling as the presence brushed past him, moving toward the door.
"Where… are you going?" The boy rose, following behind.
-I.. I… wasn't supposed to tell you. I wasn't supposed to come back and see you… This.. was all a mistake. I didn't know y-you… would be able to hear me. It's never happened before, I think.-
"What does it mean… that I can hear and see you? Why can't anyone else?"
-I.. don't know.-
"Mr. 44, wait!!" The boy skid to a halt before the open door.
What good would it do to attempt to block something with no form, you dumb-ass?
-I… know you want me to stay, but I can't.-
"We should… should tell someone about this!" Garland's tail was twitching wildly.
-N-no! D-don't tell anyone! Mr. 36 won't be happy with me if he knew..-
"Don't you understand? There could be a way… " He shook his head. "If your spirit is still here… if.. if…"
If Black Mages are nothing more than man-made dolls with spirits embedded within them… And the spirits are still here.. Could there be a way…
"You're still here! There must be a way to bring you back…"
We'd… just have to find out how something like that could be done… Then…
"You could come back and stay here with me again, Mr. 44!"
-G-Garland…. That's… a very interesting concept.. but.. but… only powerful people like Kuja… and… well… and the dark wizard Garland… knew the secrets of the creation of life. And b-both of them… are supposed to be dead.-
"It's been done before… there has to be a way to do it again..! Mr. 44.. there just has to be somethin' I can do…"
-And even if it could be done… the question is SHOULD it be done?-
"W-what… do you mean?"
There was a heavy silence.
-We… the Black Mages… were created as evil weapons to kill and destroy. Maybe it's better that.. um.. we should so quietly fade away…-
"No!" Garland balled his fists. "I don't believe that! The Mages are peaceful! They're not evil… do you believe you're evil Mr. 44? Do you..?"
-I.. I… have often wondered…-
"I've never seen you do.. or say.. anything that was evil!"
-You… did not witness my deeds before I became aware.. before I escaped here to the village.-
"But those actions were not your own! Come on Mr. 44! If you were given a chance to do it again… wouldn't you take it?"
-To create life.. is so ..um… unnatural. It's only caused us pain…-
"But.. there were good things too, right? You can't tell me that you regretted your life?"
Silence again.
-No. You're right. I'll… never r-regret it. I was fortunate to be given even this littlest of time here.. and to be able to m-meet you. And all my friends.-
"I'm serious! Let's tell someone… let's tell… Vivi!"
Yeah! Vivi! He might know somethin' about this! He might even be powerful enough to do somethin' like this.. maybe..?
-N-No.. we shouldn't… Mr. 36 won't be happy with me…-
"To hell with Mr. 36!"
-Garland! L-language!!-
"Sorry…" The boy lowered his head. Then he turned his sharp blue eyes toward the luminous mists. "Mr. 44. I know you don’t approve. But… I can't help it. If I don't try to find an answer… I'll never be able to forgive myself."
-Garland.. what are you thinking about doing? You can't p-possibly..-
"Let me try." His voice was unmoving. The boy took one glance back at the lifeless form of his friend, still draped, huddled within the chair at the far end of the room. "I promise.. if there's a way.. I'll find it…"
-N-no.. don't… Garland…-
But the boy was already running off into the darkness of the night.
-… Somethings might be better off left… unknown…-