"Did you know that back in my world," he muses, "my sister and I granted our Ike invulnerability?"
The question seemingly emerges from nowhere βΒ but it's clear that the voice is from behind Ike. Turn around, and Bruno is some distance away, blanketed by the night as the same, empty smile he had greeted their other allies with remains plastered on his rotting face. His hands are folded in front of him β in some semblance of politeness, in complete contrast to the poison echoed in his words.
"He charged into battle without any semblance of fear, just as we had expected from the legend himself. Even as the spell wavered, he continued onwards as if he had been invincible all along." Unmoving; unreadable; unyielding from his position in the corner. "And as for you?"
He seems to ponder his own question for a fleeting moment, a finger creeping up to tap the weeping flesh on his chin. He hums. His eyes dart upwards to stare at the blank ceiling. It's a spectacle, the way he pauses his tapping to extend both of his hands out in front of him β and just like a balance struggling to find equilibrium, they move up and down erratically as he determines judgement.
"Eternally afraid," he eventually determines, gaze settling back on Ike with an intensity to it. "Paranoid. Nothing like the man I knew. We scrambled in the night together β and now, I recognize that we were both weak for that. What is there to be afraid of in the dark β the truth itself?"
"Show me you are as strong as the legends claim. Prove that you are no coward in this world." He taps his shoe to the side of him, the clicks soft as they echo through the facility.
The implicit is clear from this alone: join me.
Ike doesn't know how to answer. He's aware, if only vaguely, that another Ike exists. Emblem Ike, a man had once called him, before gripping him in a hug so tight even Ike thought he might snap.
So Bruno knows him, too. 'Knows' being a nebulous word, as Bruno only knows that version of Ike - Ike is the real Ike. Isn't he? He thinks of Ares, and maybe Ike is no longer so sure.
He turns to Bruno, and balks at the sight of him. Rotting. It's the same rot that is taking over Ike. His hand Instinctively touches a spot of rot. "What the hell happened to you?"
Damn right he's afraid. You can at least fist fight a dragon, but there's no fighting the dark. There's no blade made to cleave fear and disease in two. There is only Ike, a man who still pales next to his father, and he can't do anything about this. He can't save Bruno, and he can't help anyone here. He's weakened, so pathetically weakened, that yes, he's afraid.
His jaw is squared. His eyes are narrow. His back is straight. Ike will not show Bruno - or anyone - his fear. Ike is no fool.
"If you think I'm afraid of the truth of the dark, think again. Remember who went head first into it, Bruno." Except his search for answers left him with more questions, more rot he can't fix, more problems.
A new problem emerges: Bruno isn't wearing a mask. He remembers the puppet's words. Has Bruno's Shame taken over?
It doesn't matter. Ike can't just leave him. He won't leave an ally behind - Bruno would do the same, were he not like this. He's certain.
Of course, Ike will join him. He doesn't need a weapon to save Bruno from whatever this is: he's got his own fists. One way or another, he'll save them both.
