He knew what this was. A facsimile of reality -- a false truth. The man he loved was gone, but through only an Engram, he could be near to him again. He could generate the sensations as he knew them in life, exact and according to perfect memories that he drew from the depths of his dreaming mind. He had surveyed through his Mindscape many times, peering into the tangled depths of his synapses. 'Guidance' was his key; one of the first abilities of the Mark of Remnant, one he learned specifically to parse out the memories of his lost companion.
He remembered the first time he stood before that great, red monolith, bright and vibrant before his eyes. Touching it at the tips of his fingers, he felt those memories flooding back in. The sensations, the texture of his hair and skin.
'My soulmate,' he whispered. The one person who could really even make him feel like something like that could be real. He hadn't been a romantic man. Daniel made him one.
"How are you doing, love?" he whispered. It was so crazy just how... life-like he was. Every aspect of his personality, perfectly synthesized. Like he had never gone. It wasn't just Jack's wishful thinking that sculpted him -- he was just as he was back when he was alive. And that was amazing. It also... hurt. It meant he could never move past him, because he would never really be gone. He would always be there in his dreams. Always.
"I'm doin' okay," he nodded. "I'm, ah... gonna overstep again from seeing you. I already overstepped last night; some crazy shit in the sand dunes, I..."
"Jack... don't be an idiot," Daniel chastised him, flicking his head. "Why would you do something like that?"
"Because I need you," he said back. "Things're... so bad, Daniel. I feel like I'm dyin'. I'm losing my mind. Scythe's fallin' apart. After you died, everythin' went to shit. Everythin'."
He shook his head, wincing. He could feel the Strain. The Overstepping. He was going to enter Early Stage Mageblight, if he wasn't already deep in it. That meant feeling like shit, on-and-off, all season long. He knew that, but -- he had to do this. He had to see him.
Daniel held him in response, cradling him firmly in his arms, patting and stroking his back as he verged on sobbing. He had had... a rough few nights. With all that had been going bad of late, he couldn't imagine going through something like that again. Another betrayal, another fight to the death, another bout of Overstepping as severe as this.
"Why don't you sleep in my arms, huh, baby? So the Overstepping doesn't get worse. Just... rest. Let it all go for the night."
Jack's eyes opened, as he let out a soft, strained breath. "Just a little longer. Please."
"...Okay."
"Do you remember the night we agreed we'd marry? Beneath all those stars? Ulen... the sky was so clear. Could see the moon so bright."
"I remember," he answered. "Do you remember what I told you, Jack? About the brief nature of these lives. About not expecting it to go well, but wanting it to. I know I'm gone, but--"
"You're not gone," he corrected him, eyes opening wider. He looked offended by the words -- like reality wasn't conforming to what he wanted. Like it was denying him. Daniel just shook his head.
"...Okay, not gone. But... not with you as much as I was before. Every day and night. I just worry that you're not letting yourself live your life anymore, Jack. You can't base it all around a man like me."
"Try me," he said quietly. "Been doin' well at it this far. Not like there's much good to look forward to out here... out in these deserts. Out in all of this... nothing."
"Look at you, pronouncing the 'g'," he teased.
Jack playfully smacked his cheek. "Look at you, mockin' me. Thought you loved my voice?"
"I do," he nodded. "And I love the man who carries it. It's just... cute." Clearing his throat, Daniel ran his hands through Jack's hair, smoothing through his silky, chocolate-brown locks. "There's plenty of stuff to look out for. And I'm not the jealous type. You'll love another man again... and that'll be okay. In fact, it'll make me happy."
"Could never love a man as much as you," he corrected him. Tears started to gloss over his eyes; speaking like that made him have to acknowledge that Daniel was dead. That this was just a well-constructed memory of how he might have been. As much as it wanted that to not be so.
"You can," he whispered. "You will. And it'll be a good thing. And over... wherever I am, I'll smile about it. And you'll smile back, knowing that I'm happy for you."
"No..." he breathed in, before letting out a loathsome cry, one that quickly became wailing. "No, Daniel."
He woke up. And as he woke, he sobbed only more.
"What's Jack mewlin' about?" asked Lucas, a grin spread across his lips. He meant it as a joke, but, judging by the harsh glances everyone passed his way... it wasn't taken kindly. Most just tried not to look at him, empathetic grimaces spread across their faces.
"...About Daniel," answered Emmanuel. "The best guy this gang ever had. Maybe it's time we share his story... for the new ones. It's worth repeating again."
