fabrecation | 016 [Action/Video]

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016 [Action/Video]

[It had happened that morning. Luke, in this time period, had a much easier time of sleeping and waking early, and so he was in the weapon's shop when it hit him.

All those memories that had been buried thanks to the Malnosso. Traveling with Tear, meeting Jade and Anise, killing his first human being, Guy, Master Van...

Akzeriuth... Cutting his hair. Trying to save the world he screwed up. Killing his own master. And the long month afterward... He can even feel the link he has with Asch flaring to life again.

Luke freezes in his spot, holding a fancy sword in his hand. How... How could he have forgotten all of that? How could he have acted like such a jerk to everyone? Such an ignorant, thoughtless... He was so nasty to everyone whom he considered his friends, and now... they... who knows what they thought of him now? This boy who had to relive who he used to be, the person he's ashamed of.

The sword in his hands trembles, and without thinking it through at all, Luke suddenly brings the sword back to slice through his hair, cutting the back of his neck and leaving only a small piece of the long hair behind. The rest is clenched in his hand, his knuckles almost white from the strain. All those terrible things he said to everyone, to Xion and Asch and Ion and...

Noel.

"You're a criminal?"

His face pales, and the sword in his hand clatters to the ground. Thankfully for the staff of the weapons store, he doesn't drop the mass amount of hair.

But he does abruptly leave, and he runs back to Community Housing Building 2, head lowered the whole time so that no one can look at him. He doesn't want anyone to see him, the leftovers of a massacre that he created. Ashes of the sacred flame...

... Asch.

It's that thought which makes him pause just outside of the door to his apartment. He barely even realizes that he made it there until now. Would Asch accept him back? He hadn't tried contacting him since the link came to life again... What if he just ruined whatever progress he made in their already strained relationship?

But... this was still his home. So, he keeps his head low again as he knocks on the door, hair still unknowingly clenched in his other hand.]

[A few hours later, the video option of the journal is activated, and Luke's face appears on the other side. He's not looking at the journal, and he keeps brushing his hand through his now short hair, so very similar to how it used to be. He looks... tired, depressed and stressed, as if a whole ton of weight was just added to his shoulders.]

Everyone, I... [How does he even start? He didn't have to do anything like this after Yulia City.] I guess I don't really know what to say. Heh... pretty pathetic, right?

[No, that's not good enough. It sounds like an excuse to not talk to anyone. He shuts his eyes and takes in a deep breath.] ... I'm sorry. A lot of you saw me with long hair, and... I probably treated you badly. That...

That person was who I once was. The Malnosso did something to me to make me forget everything that happened back in my world. I... [Killed hundreds. Thousands. I was manipulated and betrayed by the only person I trusted at the time, and I was tossed away like a piece of trash, and I was abandoned...] ... went through a lot to make me who I am today. I'm still not a good person. But I learned in my world... I guess you could say it made me open my eyes to who I was.

I'm not going to be that person anymore. I promise all of you that. And... [I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry -] I know I can't apologize enough for everything I said or did, even though I want to. But I want to do anything I can to let everyone know that I won't ever be like that again. I'm not that person anymore. [I'm not even the real Luke.] So... If anyone wants me to do something for them, anything, or... has any questions, just... talk to me.

[He finally looks at the little camera.]

... I'm sorry.

[After another hour or two to himself, Luke walks out of the apartment building and tries to find whoever he met when he still had long hair. Whoever he was particularly nasty to... to apologize to their faces. To own up to what he did and take responsibility, not from hiding behind a book, but face to face.

He especially looks for Noel. After what he said to her... He needs to see her now.]

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... Short again. Yeah.

[He walks onto the bridge now, and he leans against the railing near her to watch the water. It's hard to look at her during this.]

I don't know if you got my message on the journal... I wasn't sent home or anything. The Malnosso messed with my memories and took a lot of it away. About... a year or so of them?

They took away me learning that I was a replica, and...

...you lost your memories of Luceti, too.

[With that said, she turns her head back to watch the water again. It's clear that she isn't happy to hear it. The Malnosso always seem to be at it.]

Does that mean... that was the person you were? Before you found out? [Not that she had a long conversation with him, but it was clear from the start that it wasn't the same Luke she knew.]

[Luke nods, slowly, and shuts his eyes.] That... and a lot of other things.

[He opens his eyes then and looks at Noel, eyes wide and sad.] Noel, you... You're not a criminal. I'm so sorry for saying that to you. Back then I wasn't let outside of my home at all, so... I never met anyone new, either. Or... knew about the world outside, or what was going on. Hearing what you said, I... I just never...

[He faces forward, shutting his eyes again.] If... If you're criminal, then so am I!

[So that's what he meant about the manor. Again, she won't mention it, but she'll be storing away that tiny bit of information.

There's more important things to tackle right now. Noel wants to tell him that it's okay, because the comment didn't hurt her all too much... at least, she didn't think it did. She may have even agreed to it if it weren't for Luke completely catching her off-guard back then, but he's been full of surprises this past week, and that last statement catches her off-guard again.]

Eh? W-What are you talking about? That's not... [...true. But... maybe she should let Luke continue instead of making assumptions.]

[His shoulder tense when she interjects. No, Noel, don't interrupt him... Don't make him think any different about himself. When she trails off, his shoulders relax, and he opens his eyes a little to stare down at the river. He's never talked about this with anyone except for Xion...]

... I have this power inside of me called hyperresonance. If it's used correctly, it can create or destroy any matter. [He doesn't want to launch into all of the details, like he did with Xion. But even keeping it short like this, it... it hurts to bring up. It's still like undoing a huge lock around his very soul, like uncovering his deepest and most terrible secret. And in a way, it really is just like that.]

My master, he... [He shuts his eyes again, and his hands clench into fists.] He tricked me into using that power to...

[Noel's hands cling to the railing, both eyes now on Luke as he continues his story. She doesn't say anything, but it's becoming more and more apparent how difficult this all is for him as he speaks. It's hurting him; that much is clear.

The opportunity to interject again is strong, but she refuses to allow herself. Telling these kind of things are hard, she knows, so... it's okay, Luke. Go on.]

... To destroy an entire city full of people. I didn't... I couldn't control it. I barely even knew what it was...

[One hand goes up to press to his forehead. Dammit, no, he shouldn't cry... Not right now, not when he's trying to make a point. He calms himself down a little, though he keeps his hand where it is.]

After that, I... I was abandoned by everyone I knew. I couldn't... take the responsibility, so... everyone finally got fed up with me. They came back... But I don't think I ever felt that alone in my entire life.

[...

She stands there stunned for a few good seconds.

An entire city. That's hundreds, no, thousands of lives lost. Destroyed by the power Luke had. Luke... was tricked into killing all of those people. He--]

L-Luke...

[The hands come off the railing, and she turns her entire body to face him dead-on. Her eyes are wide, but not out of disgust. Not pity. Just... shock.

What she's hearing is beyond anything she expected out of him. What does she do? What does she say?]

[Luke relaxes just slightly, enough to open his eyes a little, though the tension in his shoulders doesn't leave. He can't look at her; what would he see, after all? Anger? Disgust? Horror? He had done the same thing to Xion - couldn't even look at her until she let it be clear that she wasn't any of those things.]

That's why... I wanted to talk to you so badly. That's why I wanted you to snap out of it... We're like living weapons, aren't we? And when we go out of control... everyone suffers for it.

I didn't want you to be abandoned after it all for something you couldn't control... Because I know how horrible it feels.

[Living weapons, with the power to wipe out anything in their path if they go haywire. Noel has no reason to doubt Luke's story; to her, it's like they're one in the same. Clones. Weapons. Tools.

... Murderers.

It's kind of sad, thinking back to that day in the forest the morning after that experiment, when the both of them were on the verge of tears. Was it over the same thing? ...and of all the people, she ran into someone with the very same problems. Was it all by chance, or...?

Just as before, Noel wants to say something, but she... she's so scared. She thinks she understands his pain, but he-- he destroyed an entire city. How could she ever compare what she did to that?

...but she told herself she wanted to be stronger. With Luke trapped in his own despair over this, this wasn't the time to sink away because of her own fears. She needed to say something, anything--]

...it must have hurt a lot. [Her voice is soft, contemplative.] It still must hurt... even now.

... It hurts more than anything.

[He has nightmares every night... relives the day he destroyed that city every day. He's certain that he'll never get over it... just as he's certain this will stay with Noel, too.

Luke shuts his eyes, lowers his head... then straightens, and opens his eyes to look at her. They're wide, almost scared, and he looks so sad.]

But I wanted to let you know that you aren't alone in this. I know what it's like...

[Those eyes match her own almost, but not quite; sad, though the fear has since washed away. At this point, she's just... really upset. That the both of them had to endure and put up with the same horror to this day. Even if Noel thinks her situation wasn;t as bad as Luke... it's the same pain, isn't it?

And right now, more than anything, she wants to do something to quell that pain. If she wants to be stronger, then... what could she do for Luke?]

... If that's the case, then you aren't alone either, Luke. [...] If you want... neither of us have to keep the pain to ourselves anymore.

[Luke purses his lips and stares down at the ground. The fear's left his eyes, but he still looks sad. To think that they have so many things in common... including being weapons, losing control, making others suffer. Why did it have to be them? They were just a couple of replicas who got used, only a few years old...

It's with that though that Luke steps forward to hug her. He's shut his eyes now, though he's sure she doesn't have to see that hurt in his eyes. It's much the same as hers.]

... All right.

[...looks like Luke read her mind; he only did what she was too nervous to do. Truth be told, she... doesn't really mind this at all. In fact, it's more than welcome.

It comes as a surprise at first, but soon enough she's returning the hug. Noel doesn't think there could be anything that could take away from the pain the both of them feel, but at the very least being able to share it and stand like this with each other is a little comforting.

...she won't say anything. Not yet.]

[In a way, Luke doesn't want this pain to go away. Sure, it's hard, but at least he has a life to live. Unlike the thousands he took away... And for them, he wants to do something with his life. That's what that pain always reminds him of - those people he silently promised.

After a moment, Luke loosens his hold and leans back.]

Let's work on making sure that kind of thing doesn't happen ever again. [For everyone's sake... for theirs, too.]

...right.

[She still doesn't move, allowing for Luke to pull away. Yeah... right now, Noel still has a ton of things she needs to work on, but for this...]

For everyone... we'll make sure that neither of us will make the same mistake again. [...at the very least, she's learned something important these last few days.]

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