Heathcliff/Story

Overview

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"Wait!"

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Background

Orphaned from a young age, Heathcliff was found in the District 20 Backstreets by a Nest dweller, Mr. Earnshaw, and brought to his manor at Wuthering Heights. Here, Heathcliff was raised alongside the Earnshaw children, Hindley and Catherine.

All throughout his youth, Heathcliff was constantly tormented by Hindley, who envied the favor Heathcliff had gained with his father, and who disliked Heathcliff's closeness with his sister. When Heathcliff and Catherine were in their early teen years, following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley became the owner of Wuthering Heights, and decided to further worsen Heathcliff's condition by beginning to treat him as a servant, often beating him, starving him, and refusing him entry in the house, forcing him to sleep in the barn. In such occasions, the only person who would defy Hindley's orders would be Catherine, who would run outside to let him in. Hindley also requested Nelly to neglect Heathcliff's care; several interactions throughout Limbus Company imply Heathcliff's education was brusquely interrupted in his youth, presumably at this point.

Through the years, despite Hindley's efforts to separate them, Heathcliff and Catherine's affection for each other remained strong, with their time together being the only memories of Wuthering Heights he would always treasure. Heathcliff continued to live in Wuthering Heights until adulthood, enduring the abuse received from Hindley and the rest of the household for the sake of remaining by Catherine's side.

"I could not stand that. Not even the idea of it."

This would change after he happened to overhear a conversation between Catherine and Nelly, during which she discarded the idea of marrying him, in favor of the wealthy Linton Edgar. Believing this implied she had no affection for him, and fearing his anger would lead him to resort to violence and hurt Catherine in the process, he decided to leave Wuthering Heights rather than allow that to happen.

Having fled to the T Corp. Backstreets, Heathcliff then decided to join the Syndicate of the Dead Rabbits, a gang with a reputation as vigilantes, noted to be "kind" among the Syndicates of the T Corp. To prove himself worthy of joining, Heathcliff killed the member of a rival gang with his own hands, shoving them into a bodysack and carrying the corpse back. At this point, the Dead Rabbits boss, Matthew, accepted him into their fold.

Heathcliff would spend some time with the Dead Rabbits, which he would remember fondly, remarking on the dependability and loyalty of its members. During this period, he attempted to stay in contact with Catherine by sending her letters, although he never returned to the manor.

Developments

Some time before the start of the main story, Heathcliff left the Dead Rabbits and District 20, vowing not to return until he'd made something of himself. Shortly before January 984, he joined Limbus Company as Sinner #7.

Coming from the rough background of Syndicate work, Heathcliff immediately appeared, more than most other Sinners, very prone to violence, often seeing it as the easiest and best-advised solution to many problems. In many cases, these assumptions would prove correct, such as his assessments of the Old G Corp. veterans and the fate of the L Corp. Agents within Branch D-02, or his quick-thinking in obtaining the wishpower from the slot machines during the mission to J Corp.

While this is often understood by others as behavior borne out of love for violence, by the time of the LCB's mission to Calw, Heathcliff had appeared to Dante to be an impulsive person, who dislikes standing idle. This was shown during the LCB's second mission in K Corp., with Heathcliff insisting on Dante healing Don Quixote fast after a particularly painful death, and during the group's travel into the U Corp. Backstreets, upon which he and Ishmael began a heated argument over her belief that the LCB would need to wait months before venturing into the Great Lake. Despite taking particular offense in Ishmael's words, Heathcliff appeared to worry for his fellow Sinner through her journey, prompting Dante to keep an eye on her, and helping her out of the Pallidification effect that had encroached her following the death of her closest friends.

Before the group set off for the Lake, Heathcliff received a letter from Wuthering Heights, given to him by Vergilius after the commotion at the shore. This letter was an invitation to present himself at the manor in late November 984: it would be the first news of the place he grew up in that he received since his departure, and his chance to reunite with Catherine. While still not believing Catherine truly wished to see him, he grew impatient and nervous about the prospect of returning home, worrying about what to wear months in advance. This would later lead Heathcliff, Don Quixote and Dante on a mission to procure him an outfit by exploring the Backdoor volatility that had manifested inside Mephistopheles. The adventure led the three to a gift factory in the Outskirts, where, in a moment of tranquillity, Heathcliff revealed to the others his intention to return to his former home as a man of quality, to trample over all who had mistreated him, and to make Catherine regret her choice.

In November 984, the LCB reached Nest T, which had been the setting of numerous kidnappings, and headed towards Wuthering Heights, where the Golden Bough was located. Heathcliff grew morose at the prospect of returning; firm in his belief that nobody in the house had carried any love for him, he claimed he'd never been happy in the manor, and recalled how he'd often be led to run away into the forest in his youth: on these two occasions, the Sinners were surprised by lightning striking down soon after he'd spoken.

In the manor, the Sinners were welcomed by Nelly and met Linton and Hindley, the latter of whom was accompanied by the Dead Rabbits. Here, Heathcliff would learn the occasion he'd been invited for was Catherine's funeral and the reading of her will; according to Catherine's wishes, after the seventh bolt of lightning hit the manor during the funeral, he would obtain her Golden Bough. The news of Catherine's death shook Heathcliff, who refused to believe it and requested to see her body, and called for her to come back. At this point, a first lightning bolt hit the house, causing a blackout.

When the lights returned, the LCB found themselves lost inside the manor, which they learned had been modified after Catherine and Linton's acquisition of it. In their search for clues, the LCB stumbled upon Hindley being attacked by Josephine and the Butlers, and Heathcliff decided to step in and help him, although the action resulted in Hindley disparaging him, before departing again. Eventually, the LCB reached Catherine's room, where Heathcliff found the diary she'd hidden during the modifications.

The diary led the LCB to the fireplace, where Heathcliff was confronted by Linton, who, similarly to Hindley, belittled him and dismissed Catherine's affection for him, claiming that even if he hadn't let, she would've gotten tired of him. In response to this claim, a second bolt of lightning hit Wuthering Heights, following which Linton noticed Heathcliff was able to read Catherine's diary, while it had refused him. Linton then stepped aside, allowing everyone to access the basement. They would learn the area had been turned into a laboratory: the victims of the kidnappings in Nest T laid in glass tubes, with Catherine's body among them, in a coffin to which a Golden Bough was attached. When Heathcliff attempted to reach it, he was halted by the researchers of the laboratory, former members of the Ring, and later by Hindley, who'd joined back up with the Dead Rabbits. Following his defeat, Hindley distorted, blaming Heathcliff for the ruin of Wuthering Heights, as well as Catherine's death. This would cause the third lightning bolt to hit the manor.

After Hindley's demise, the boss of the Dead Rabbits would reveal himself to be an Identity of Heathcliff who, after witnessing many Mirror Worlds in which Heathcliff led Catherine to her death, had traveled through the Mirror to kill other versions of himself. Shaken by this revelation and the abuse suffered since returning to the manor, Heathcliff headed towards Distortion, leading to the fourth bolt of lightning hitting the manor. In the memory reconstructed by the Bough, Heathcliff spoke with Catherine, before returning to his senses. At this point, Linton revealed himself and his part in the kidnappings, and the creation of the laboratory, which had been Catherine's wish following her illness and her obsession with the Mirror. After explaining that the lightning would strike to signify Catherine's heart breaking, Linton turned himself into a human dough, causing the fifth strike of lightning, to complete the second summoning of the Identity of Heathcliff, the Erlking.

After the LCB caught up to Erlking Heathcliff, who had fled with Catherine's coffin, Heathcliff confronted his Mirror World self, refuting his claim that their only peace would lay in death, showing himself determined to change his fate. Following the fight, the LCB faced off with Nelly, who revealed herself as the person who'd summoned him to the manor and who'd gotten Catherine in contact with Hermann, as well as the one who'd intercepted Heathcliff's letters, consciously keeping Catherine vulnerable and leading to the creation of the laboratory. Nelly recounted to Heathcliff the fear she'd felt gazing into the Mirror, finding herself always caught in between him and Catherine, unable to live out a life of her own. Nelly went on to claim she'd brought upon a better ending, as he could never have changed his fate of becoming a devil like the Erlking. The sixth bolt of lightning then hit the manor, as Nelly's words threw Heathcliff into a deep despair, and he began fading away, his consciousness dragged into the River, with Nelly explaining he'd returned to the Backstreets where he belonged.

Heathcliff claims his Golden Bough.

Still, Dante's voice was able to reach him where he'd found himself lost in the memory of overhearing Catherine, and their powers allowed him the time to finish listening to her words, before opening the door and speaking to her again, apologizing for having run away. Although unable to reply with words, Catherine's diary showed him an old memory to remind him of the love she had always had for him. Once again motivated to change their fates, Heathcliff, who'd become owner of Wuthering Heights following the death of Hindley and Linton, freed Nelly from her contract before marching on to the rooftop, where he would take the second Golden Bough from the Erlking's clutches, and stabbed himself with it in an attempt to drain it of its power, while trying to call out for Catherine once more.

In response, the final bolt of lightning hit the manor, revealing the last memory recorded in the diary and the true intent behind the laboratory: to bring forth an Identity that would erase Catherine's consciousness forever, something she believed would allow Heathcliff to live his life happily. Combat would ensue between the LCB and Erlking Heathcliff, supported by the Catherine from another world, Every Catherine, while Heathcliff began hearing his Catherine's voice through the power of the Bough.

As the fight dragged on and Catherine contacted Dante through their PDA, Heathcliff managed to join the conversation: speaking with Catherine for the first time since his departure, he confessed his love for her, with her returning his feelings, before Dante carried out her plan, using the Bough in the coffin to erase Catherine from all Mirror Worlds. With the fight coming to an end, Nelly took the other Golden Bough and fled. Heathcliff, left the only person to remember Catherine, together with Dante, resolved to one day get the Bough back and restore Catherine, sure that their bond, thanks to which they'd reunited in a Mirror World where both had died, would bring them together once more.

Following the events at Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff refashioned his bat to spell out the word "remember", signifying the shift in his goal.

Relations

Catherine

“ Do you want to know why I still love this flower the most? All other flowers lose their colours and fade as they wither away. But this flower... even as it withers and wilts... remains the same colour. ”

—Catherine's confession, a riddle about the heath flowers

Catherine and Heathcliff grew up together at Wuthering Heights.

Outside of his Canto, Heathcliff is always affected at mentions of Catherine. During their fight in Intervallo II, Ishmael mocks Heathcliff by mentioning him "constantly whining about his girlfriend," which, together with her other claims, leads their fight to violently escalate. Similarly, during Canto II: The Unloving, Heathcliff is incredibly offended by the Pawnbroker commenting on the quality of his ring, given to him by Catherine.

Miracle in District 20 sees Heathcliff directly addressing his goals and backstory for the first time. He tells Don Quixote and Dante that he must return to Wuthering Heights as a changed man, emphasizing that he is no longer a "worthless brigand" and must dress posh to demonstrate his newfound status. When questioned about his revenge, Heathcliff admits to wanting Catherine to regret not choosing him and to prove himself as the best man for her. He shows slight possessiveness over the nickname "Cathy," correcting Dante that her name is Catherine and he calls her Cathy. Although he has a brusque demeanor, Dante observes that Heathcliff cannot help but smile at the mere mention of Catherine's name, providing insight into his true feelings.

Nearing the end of Miracle in District 20, Heathcliff becomes visibly embarrassed when Gregor and Rodion tease him about Catherine's pet name for Heathcliff, 'Heath', and joke about him needing to look fashionable and classy for this 'Cathy' person. Dante observes that "the rest of the letter's contents had stoked the fire of passion in Heathcliff's heart once again."

“ … That's okay. I didn't think it'd be this easy.

But that… that is her voice. I'm certain of it.

I'll shout and shout until she hears me. I'll shout that I'll never run again. ”

—Heathcliff, determined to meet his loved one again

Linton

Heathcliff and Linton's animosity traces back to their childhood. Jealous of Catherine's preference of Heathcliff over him, Linton relished in Heathcliff's pain. While too physically weak to do it himself, Linton would often provoke Heathcliff to attack him, therefore getting him in trouble with Hindley, who would then beat the other boy as punishment.

During their confrontation at the fireplace, Linton demands that Heathcliff surrender Catherine's diary and wait in the barn for the seventh lightning strike instead of delving into matters where he doesn't belong.