fabrecation | 030 [action ; voice]

[It felt like dying. It felt like being caught inside a large, ringing bell and being unable to escape.

It was something he walked into willingly. And yet as it was happening, he wanted to stop, and yet he knew that he couldn't. To stop would mean the deaths of millions of others, and what's one life compared to that many?

Nothing, nothing at all. But...

Then the ringing stopped, but Luke barely noticed. Instead he was falling, falling until he fell not onto the hard floor of the tower, but the soft earth of another world. He loses consciousness before he's even aware of that.]

[Later, he can be found at the clothing shop and the item shop to pick up some things, and after a run-in with Sync and Ion, Luke had briefly visited his old apartment before he decided that he just couldn't stay. He sits heavily by the fountain, bent over with his head in his hand while the other hand holds on tight to the only item she'd left him.

He's a little hesitant to do this, and it makes him glance at his journal a couple of times, before he makes his decision. He opens up his journal, turns on the video function, and - clears his throat awkwardly first.]

This is how it works, right...? [Ah, right. He glances away and runs a hand through his (shorter, more unruly) hair before he gives the journal his attention again.] Um, hey. My name is Luke fon Fabre, and - and I was here before. I think it was just last week? It was a lot longer for me...

So... I'm back? And I'm sorry for leaving. I guess that's all I have to say...

[Except it's not, and it's just as he starts to shut the journal that he remembers.]

Oh yeah - [And he throws up a hasty filter.]

[Locked to House 1 residents (Nephry, Jade, Tear, Anise, Florian, Ion)]

Hey, uh... do you guys mind if I stay with you for a little while? It doesn't have to be for long or anything, I just - I need to find another place to stay. That's all it is.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Luke glares after Sync, fists and teeth still clenched. He may be feeling weak from the hyperresonance he was pulled from, but he was still itching to keep up the fight.

It drains out of him at Ion's words though. "You saved me". Luke's back is to Ion, so the other replica thankfully can't see his expression, shocked and crushed like those words just punched him in the stomach.

It's the words he wished he heard the last time he saw Ion on Auldrant. "You saved me".

They make tears prick at his eyes, and they make him turn and drop to his knees and throw his arms around Ion's shoulders, face hidden in one of them. He wants to ask if he's okay, but those words made a lump in his throat that makes him not want to try until it's gone.]

[Ion's eyes widen as Luke embraces him, the surge of emotion entirely unexpected. But with a soft gasp, it suddenly becomes all too clear as to why Luke would react this way. It wouldn't have been long after the last time Luke left Auldrant that, upon his return, a chain of events would have began that ultimately led to Ion's death. That was the last time he saw Ion.]

[He doesn't know what to say. What could he say? All those times when someone arrived, aware of Ion's fate... no matter how many times it happens, he never really knows what to say.]

[After a moment, he wraps his arms around Luke's back, gently patting his shoulder as he speaks up with a soft voice.]

...it's good to see you again, Luke.

[Luke takes in a breath at that, too fast and too deep, making his lungs ache. It makes him let out a choked sound when he exhales, and he grits his teeth and presses his face further against Ion's shoulder, though he nods in an attempt to agree with Ion.

Ion was practically one of his best friends. He remembers that in Auldrant, he remembers that in Luceti. And they were all just a little too slow to save him...

Anise, Anise, she's here, isn't she? God, how did she - Is she even from that time?

But honestly, it's really more than good to see Ion again.]

[Ion doesn't say anything more, just letting Luke take all the time he needs -- at first, at least. But whether it be because of the way he's sitting or from all the excitement earlier, either way he can feel himself getting just a bit dizzy sitting here on the ground. And he may not be able to feel it, but he knows he hit his knee hard on the ground after Sync pushed him out of his chair -- it would probably leave a nasty bruise. Resting on it probably wasn't going to make things better in the long-run.]

...Luke, would you mind-- I know you can't exactly help me up, but...

[...he doesn't want to have to ask, but the only way he's getting anywhere is if Luke carries him at this point.]

... Hm?

[His voice is muffled with his face buried in Ion's shoulder as it is, but after that, he pulls his head back, ducked down low to try hiding the way his hand wipes discretely at his face, then looks at Ion again. His eyes are wet and a little red, and his cheeks are only half dry from the lousy job he did at trying to wipe them off. But he doesn't seem to care much, now that he realizes what's wrong.]

Oh... Sorry, I - Here.

[Luke crouches down a little further as if to turn around and let Ion hang onto his back, and then he pauses with a frown, awkwardly swaying as if he can't decide what to do next. A piggy-back wouldn't be comfortable for Ion, seeing how he can't move his legs. All that's really left is...

Well, it's not like Luke minds, especially not now. He straightens up and shifts his feet under him, moves one arm away to slide under Ion's knees, then stands, pulling Ion up with him in a princess carry.]

Is that better?

[Luke shouldn't have too much trouble at all picking Ion up -- he weighs about as much as a bag of feathers these days, especially for how much worse he's gotten in just the past few weeks. He looks curiously up at Luke when he first starts to turn, but once it becomes clear that Luke is going to carry him -- well, even if it is necessary, he still still feels a bit embarrassed.]

...y-yes, it is. I'm sorry for making you have to go through all this trouble...

030 [action ; voice]

[Action] /THE SPECIALEST OF THEM ALL

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