fabrecation | 014 [Voice/Action]

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014 [Voice/Action]

[It's well into the night by the time Luke makes his way back to the apartment where he lives, a small bag with the belongings he brought with him being carried by his side. Unfortunately, it had rained while Luke was out there, so the mattress he brought along was ruined by the time he decided to head back. Thanks to the rain, his hair is also a mess, so he's not particularly happy.

He is, at least, much calmer than he was a few days ago. After his talk with Ion, Luke's had quite some time to think. Maybe he was being selfish... Maybe it would've been best to never know about any of it. But at the same time, he's glad to know. It feels like the wool's been pulled away from his eyes, and now he knows that he has to go back. Even if... he'd have to face Ion's death... there was still much to do. And here Luke thought everything was peaceful again...

He'd been thinking about the experiment, too. One that gave him a real life, a real family... He'd have to contact Paprika sometime. And how did Asch feel about it? Should he have stayed away? Well... There was only one way to find out.

That thought, though, makes him stop on the bridge by his community building. He has to wonder whether anyone else felt the way he did about some parts of the experiment... So, on a whim, he takes out his journal and pushes the voice option.]

Hey, does anyone else wish that some of that experiment was...

[Real? ...]

... Never mind, forget that. Uh... has... anyone gone camping before?

[... Stupid question. Luke shakes his head and shuts his journal with a light, frustrated little sound, then continues on his way to the apartment. If Asch was upset with him for that experiment, he'd soon find out about it.]

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I will.

[although he still doesn't know who Asch is... but he's good at handling grumpy people.]

[Asch could use more friends. 8( Luke peeks outside to see if Asch is around, then heads out of his room to chill out in the living room. Looks like Asch stormed back to his room... Good, that makes this easier. Now there won't be so much tension that one could practically see it.]

[Lack of tension is a good thing, it's hard to have frank discussions with social links when they're afraid to talk. Within a short time, Minato arrives at the apartment door and knocks.]

[Luke answers pretty quickly with a quick "I got it!", just so that Asch won't have to lurk and see who it is. He's pretty sure he wouldn't come out anyway, but still. Better to play it safe.

He opens the door wide enough for Minato to step through, and he offers a smile once he sees who it is.]

Hey Minato. [And he steps back to let him through.]

Hey.

[He nods, but then gives Luke a once-over to make sure he's not looking too sick or tired after that time in the woods...]

[Luke doesn't really notice the glance, and... he hasn't exactly cleaned up entirely, so his hair's still pretty messy and he looks kind of tired, though that's mostly from his fight with Asch.

He gestures inside, towards his room.]

Do you mind if we go to my room to talk? I don't want to bother Asch more.

That's fine.

[Oh Luke. Minato just follows him into the room.]

[Luke's lost in thought during the trip. He knows what he wants to say, but it'd be impossible to understand without knowing something about him. Something that he's always kept a secret from the vast majority of Luceti. Being a replica. Luke would rather go on letting Minato and everyone else think that he's a normal human being... But how could he possibly explain what that experiment, and Asch's behavior, means to him without saying so?

Even when he sits down on the bed with his elbows resting loosely on his knees, he's still thinking. In fact, there's a long pause as he tries to figure out how to say it without revealing himself.]

I just wish... It's like...

[... There really is no way.

Once Luke's accepted that, he lowers his head, enough for his hair to cover some of his face.]

... Do you know what a replica is, Minato?

[Well, yes... It's a common word, but the way Luke is acting he must be leading up to a less than pleasant story.]

A copy of something else.

And it's nothing more than that, isn't it...

[Now he really is not sure what Luke is getting at. Maybe he's lost something important?]

It depends. Usually you buy a replica when you can't own the original.

Buy a replica... [That earns a soft little laugh from Luke, entirely humorless and bitter. He's quiet for a moment, and then...]

... I'm a replica. I'm a copy of Asch.

[...what.]

You mean a clone?

... Yeah, I guess so. Replica's what everyone else calls it back on Auldrant.

[He's still surprised, but... he's very good at keeping that off his face. It's apparent he needs to tread very carefully now.]

And it bothers you?

Yeah... Minato, I'm not a real person. I didn't have a childhood, I don't know as much as everyone else, and everyone...

[Everyone at home treats me like I'm some kind of wild animal poised to attack.]

[one sentence in and you already went too far, Luke. Minato doesn't bother waiting for him to trail off and reaches over to poke him in the chest.]

You're definitely real.

[Luke leans back with a small frown and rubs at his chest - Not that the action bothered him, but how many times has he heard that?]

But I'm not! I'm just a copy of someone... I was made for a purpose that I failed to do all the way, and now I don't have any at all!

[Not to mention that that purpose was horrible, and Luke completed the worst part of it... He just couldn't die like he should have.]

["I can't fulfill that mission with the powers I was given... So then, what is my purpose now? Could someone please tell me?"

Luke's words are a little different, but he recognizes them regardless. It's the same tone, the same uneasiness Aigis had back then.

Now Minato pokes Luke in the forehead. It's light, but in a way that's obviously trying to get him to look up and face him.]

I have another friend who once told me exactly the same thing.

[omg Minato stop poking him D| - wait what. Luke was just waving Minato's poking away when he said that, and it makes Luke suddenly look up at him with wide eyes. Another replica...?]

You do?

[nod.]

A robot, not a replica... But it was the same problem. When she couldn't complete what she was built to do, she didn't believe she had a purpose.

A robot...

[Luke is silent after that. When Guy had made that fonbot, he remembers being compared to it. A robot... And, in a way, Asch was right. So he already feels a sort of connection to this robot Minato knows, but he stays silent. She didn't have a purpose either...]

But Luke... People don't live for a 'purpose.' You're alive, and that's enough. That's what she realized too.

[And Luke remains silent for a good while. Why couldn't he just satisfied with the fact that he's alive and living? Wasn't that enough?

For Luke... No, it wasn't. People have told him over and over that that's enough, but he never felt better after that. He was useless while living - without a purpose he's reduced to moping in the manor and watching people who'd look at him with fear in their eyes. Without a purpose, Luke was... just a worthless piece of trash meant to be thrown away. He'd even asked Van why he made him in the first place... And he'd confirmed it. He was made to be thrown away. That's all.

Luke shuts his eyes and lowers his head again.]

She's brave.

She is. [He can't deny that, although Luke doesn't seem convinced.]

A reason to live doesn't have to be big.

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fabrecation - 2011-05-10 19:22 (UTC) - Expand

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emp3thy - 2011-05-10 23:00 (UTC) - Expand

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014 [Voice/Action]

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