fabrecation | 024 [Voice/Video]

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024 [Voice/Video]

[When the journal opens, there's a redhead who looks as if he wants to do nothing more than climb into a bed and sleep. A good explanation for that should show itself just as he opens his mouth to speak.]

Hey –

[Because he suddenly lurches forward and coughs harshly, though he tries ducking out of view of the camera. There's a slight sniffle before he leans in again, just after he wipes his mouth and nose with the back of his hand. His cheeks are slightly flushed, too, with signs of a fever.]

I'm back. Anyone know what day it is? [And he ducks his head again to cough, though not quite as hard as before. As for the question? Because he'd really like to know how close it is to that accursed Valentine's holiday.

... But now that he's got that journal open, he pauses, looks off with an expression of uncertainty towards the village and flexes his left hand, then squints slightly as he works on a filter. Ugh, it's hard to work with this stupid foggy ache in his head. Yet he knows that it'd be dangerous otherwise, especially with the topic of his questioning.]

[Filtered to Jade... and Dist//100%]

Could you take a look at me when I get back to the village? Something happened to me back there... [He does hate getting examined, especially for medical reasons. But this is extremely important.]

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[Asch looks up from his book, giving Luke a thorough once-over, then tucks a mark into the book before closing it and setting it down. Rather than muttering a half-hearted greeting and getting back to whatever chapter he's on at the time, Asch is giving Luke his full attention. That should be a warning sign right there that he knows something's going on.

He sounds... better. A little. But a very light prying at the fonic link, too faint to be perceptible, gives him a better idea of the truth. Something's wrong, even if he's not sure of what just yet.]

You're back late.

... Yeah.

[He knows that sign, but Luke doesn't want to acknowledge it. He knows that Asch should be one of the ones to know, just as he knows Xion should be too. But he just... he can't. His words are stuck in his throat, and he knows that once they're out in the open, then they'll linger and hover over him like a dark cloud above his head. It will always be there, in their looks and actions, and he'll never be able to ignore it.

He doesn't look up. He stares at the floor, silent after his agreement. No explanation, nothing that might spur him on. Nothing. It's all Luke can rely on right now.]

Edited 2012-02-14 09:06 (UTC)

[Asch doesn't even need the link to recognize how Luke is feeling; it's written all over his face. Even so, he pries a little deeper, quietly, letting his presence be known now. Still not forcing anything, and there's no voice in Luke's head, but the connection is there nonetheless.

Silently he studies Luke for a while, his expression focused, eyes narrowed, searching. This... this is familiar. He's seen this before. It's been a long time, but he's seen it.

The miasma, the weakness of his body, this reaction, it's all-

....

Happened before. Oh, hell.]

...I... [Can't say it yet. And neither can Luke, apparently. Shit.] ...If you're hungry, there's leftovers.

[He feels it there, and at first, there's a flare of resistance. No, I don't want you here, I don't want you to see me like this, get out of here, I don't want you to see me dy -

And then it falls away like a wall crumbling down. Whether it's because it's Asch, or because fighting against it makes it worse, he isn't sure. But he lowers his head more, and he feels that connection searching, seeing, learning.

The hesitation in Asch's voice is enough for Luke. He knows. He knows now. He knows what's happening to him and Luke didn't even have to say a word.

It still hurts, even with Asch not saying anything about it.

Luke, in return, doesn't move or speak. He's frozen for the moment - how is he supposed to eat while this is happening? He feels like he won't be able to eat at all at this rate.]

[The resistance seems to clinch the theory into place, and Asch opts not to move, closing his eyes for a moment and focusing on the fonic link. He can feel it now, with Luke's metaphorical wall down and out of the way; he can sense the difference, the unbalanced fonic energy surrounding his replica. He might not have the science and knowledge that Dist or Jade would have, but he knows his replica's fonons better than anyone else. He's been those fonons, in a sense, when they became one. And now, with Luke's body in the condition he's in, and Asch's own body in a deteriorating state-

...Ha. The replica's fear is familiar, yes, and for more reasons than the obvious. He'll keep his own concerns quietly in the corner, though. What matters right now is dealing with... this.

Somehow.]

Hyperresonance. That's how it happened, isn't it.

[It's... not exactly a question.]

[For a long moment, it looks as if Luke still isn't going to move or speak. But after that, he shuts his eyes and nods slowly. There was no use hiding it now. Even if talking about it feels like there's ice in his stomach.]

Did you see that room I was in?

[He doesn't wait for an answer. Even though he didn't feel Asch there, somewhere in Luke's subconscious, he knew that Asch was watching. At least to check up on him, see how Luke would return.]

It was filling up with miasma. After a while I couldn't even see anything. [He squints slightly, around the fog in his head. Yes, that's why he's sick. But the other side of it, the one Asch knows now...] They told me they'd release it into the village if I didn't get rid of it.

[They might have been bluffing. But Luke didn't want to risk it.]

[Asch nods quietly, lightly drumming his fingers against the table for a moment. It might have been a bluff, yes. But...]

They probably would have. I was still here- either way, they'd have witnessed a hyperresonance. You did the right thing.

[Though he doubts it's any consolation whatsoever. "Congratulations, you're now dying for the sake of the village!" It hadn't helped in Auldrant, and it's sure as hell not going to help here, either.]

... Mm.

[It was a relief, returning and seeing that the sky was clear. Well, as clear as it can be on a winter day. Hearing that no one was sick, that no one from his world told him about miasma in the air.

But it's true. It doesn't help. He'd do it again if he had to, he knew it, because what's one life against hundreds of others? But he's still dying, and no one knows for sure how long he has or what's even going to happen to him.

... Oh. That's right. That weight in his leg...

Luke bends down to unbutton that pocket, and once he straightens up, he reaches across the table to place something in the center of it. It's something Asch might find familiar; the Jewel of Lorelei.]

This came out of me when I was brought back.

[Well, that manages to get Asch effectively sidetracked. He stares at it for a long moment, surprised - he'd forgotten that Luke had been carrying it after they'd lowered the Outer Lands - then reaches out to take it, drawing it close to look at it properly. So it's like this once again...]

...It's the Jewel of Lorelei.

[So it's true. He is starting to fall apart.]

The Jewel? But I thought...

[Asch had told him that he'll receive it at the Tower of Rem. So why was it here? Why did it come out of him? He was sure that room wasn't the Tower; the stairs he climbed during that experiment didn't look a thing like the room he was in.

So why...?]

It doesn't matter. [Asch offers it back, quietly masking his concern. If Luke was able to summon the Jewel like that, then he's used at least as much hyperresonance as he had when they'd cleansed the world of the miasma before. Even if one were to consider that it hadn't required a sacrifice of thousands of replicas, that the Malnosso were able to get their hands on that much... damn. Maybe they could have filled the village with it.] Put it in a safe place, and don't tell Van or Sync that you have it. It's as important a secret as the Key now.

[Luke slowly takes the Jewel, obviously still thinking and wondering about why this happened. He honestly doesn't even know where the journal came from - after he saw through his hand, it just... appeared there. A mere moment after his hand solidified, there it was in the palm of it. Did it really come out of him, or was it just... somehow pulled from the Tower and conveniently dropped on his hand?

He squints slightly before he shuts his eyes.]

... Right. [Obviously Asch doesn't want to tell him how he got it, so he'll just hold it in both hands and stare down at it before his next question.] What does it do, anyway?

[For some reason, when he holds it, he feels... kind of better, physically.]

The Jewel of Lorelei has the power to disperse Seventh Fonons. It's supposed to work in tandem with the Key when they're activated with a hyperresonance- both were part of the pact between Yulia Jue and Lorelei.

[He lifts his hand, studying it for a moment. The Jewel had left an odd, familiar tingling sensation on his fingertips, and he knows he'd felt it before. The last time Luke had given him the Jewel, in fact... when they'd tried to hyperresonate the barrier. And before then, in Grand Chokmah.

Hmm... maybe that's it.]

...It's also supposed to offer some sort of healing properties to the one carrying it, if it's compatible with their fonon frequency. If you feel anything when you hold it, that's probably it.

[The moment Asch says that the Jewel disperses Seventh Fonons, Luke quickly sets it on the table again and leans back in his chair. For someone who's made entirely out of the Seventh Fonon, hearing that he's holding something that drives them apart is a bit frightening to hear.

But apparently it doesn't work unless it's with the Key, and if a hyperresonance is used. So... it should serve that other purpose, to heal the person who's holding it. After a moment of hesitation, Luke reaches out to take it again. Yeah... he can feel it working already.

It's really tempting to just... keep it on him. In his pocket, or wherever. It feels nice, especially when he feels so lousy. But no, he can't, and he knows it. Not only would it be weird to grow dependent on something like that, but he has to keep it safe. Keeping it on him is by no means safe.]

I guess it's compatible, then. [He's not really sure if it's like the Contamination Effect thing - from what Dist told him, it didn't sound like a good thing. But Jade used it for the spear, right? So Luke isn't certain of it.]

So it seems. [Asch withdraws his hand entirely and rubs his fingers absently against his tunic beneath the table, somewhat bothered. Healing artes haven't really worked on him properly for years now, so why would touching the Jewel cause him to feel anything? Was it because they, too, were isofons? It had been a gift from Lorelei, after all...

This merited some investigation. Not now, though; not with Luke dealing with his own problems. It's better if Asch keeps such things to himself.]

Don't use hyperresonance again, if you can avoid it. It'll only cause your body to deteriorate faster.

... Right. [No more hyperresonance training, then. It kind of saddens him; that's always something he enjoys doing with Asch, despite how much it can frustrate him.

Luke shuts his eyes, done with talking about this. Maybe he should eat... but he doesn't particularly feel like getting up now that he's sitting heavily in the chair. Ugh...]

[Asch watches him for a moment, expression shifting to appear more thoughtful, then coaxes Tsuae off his lap, standing up and heading to the kitchenette. A minute or so later he returns with a bowl of the stew and a glass of water, sliding it in front of Luke before wandering back to the pot to clean up.]

You need to eat, replica.

[Luke glances at the bowl and glass of water, then looks down at his lap again. Yeah, he was thinking about eating, but...]

I'm not hungry right now.

Whether you're hungry or not, you have to. [Asch taps a spoon against the side of the bowl meaningfully before offering it out to Luke.] Nourishment is part of what holds your body together and keeps it working properly, or did you forget?

[Luke gives a very light wince in response to the tapping noise. He knows that, of course he knows that, but he really, really doesn't want to eat. He isn't even sure if he can keep it down - His stomach had been empty for a while and he still nearly threw up when Dist told him the news. Not to mention that he already feels ill...

But Asch is right. If he doesn't eat, he'll just feel worse. No need to starve himself just because he's dying.]

... No. I know. [So, he scoots forward in his seat and slowly, slowly begins to eat. Considering he's already a slow eater, this might take a while.]

[Asch leaves him alone with his thoughts as he eats, cleaning up the remains of the stew and washing the pots and dishes from earlier. It's soothing work, and the scent of the dish soap is a refreshing distraction from the morbid topic they'd just discussed. He's never been good at comforting people; never tried, really, except for his bare bones attempts with Guy and Natalia in the past. He doubts there's anything he could say that would make his replica feel better.

...Still. When the dishes are finished, he lets his hands rest for a moment in the warm water, elbows on the counter. His voice is quiet when he speaks up again.]

It seems awful at first, but in a place like this, it's not so bad. Like a long sleep you can't wake yourself up from.

[... He swallows and presses his lips together, gripping the spoon tightly in his fingers and keeping his eyes down on the table.]

Like a long sleep...

[Luke's voice seems a little dry, even after he just had a few mouthfuls of stew pass over it. In sleep... there was nothing. He's sure that you don't dream while you're dead. So when he dies, he'll just... be asleep. No memory, no sense of conscious or life, nothing.

It's why he felt so sick from each and every person he killed back on Auldrant. He took away their right to enjoy their life. He gave them nothing. Nothing but sleep.

His stomach is churning again. He shuts his eyes, and he feels his face burning even hotter thanks to that feeling.]

I just... [His voice wavers, but he moves on after that pause, uncaring.] I keep wondering if... if it'll hurt. O-Or even...

[He trails off, though there's lingering fear in his posture alone. Will he really come back? After a week, will he wake up with a penalty, or... will he just be asleep forever? Dist made it sound like the latter, saying that Luke would cease to exist. It was an awful choice of words, and Luke can't help turning it over and over in his head.]

...You'll come back. [He knows this fear, so when Luke trails off, Asch makes a guess of it. There's so much lingering in the fonic link now that it's almost painful. Familiar. He knows what it's like to feel your body coming apart at the seams.] Everyone does. They take something from you and send you back like it never happened. Death is so pointless here.

[Unfortunate, yes, and even the lack of finality about it can't stop it from causing as much of a grand upset as death back in Auldrant, but... it's so temporary. There's no rest, no end to everything, no peace.

He kind of hates that.]

How do you know? [His voice shakes a little, and he doesn't bother to try fixing it, because something else hits him. He meant to ask how he knew Luke would come back, but that's pushed aside for now. He looks up, eyes wide with fear, and... something else.]

How do you know what it feels like?

Edited 2012-03-01 09:33 (UTC)

[Asch doesn't have a good answer for that, and Luke's expression - what he can see of it, out of the corner of his eye - is strikingly telling, which means that no amount of dismissals or backpedaling will get him very far. How else could he know? What explanation could there be, besides experiencing it for himself? Did the replica think he was somehow immortal until now?

People live, and people die. It happens every day, on every world. He should know that better than anyone, after Akzeriuth. Death is inevitable, even for the strong. In this world, at least it barely even matters- one week, some small, temporary consequence, and that's all. Why is it even worth worrying about?

Because he's never felt it. Because for Luke, the fear of death is still very real. Because he cares, enough for the deaths of the people he l- ... cares about to matter. Asch realizes this. He recognizes it.

Even so... he doesn't have an answer.]

024 [Voice/Video]

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