Day 0: Discoveries are Made

[merge_state]

Characters: Luke/'Blade', Jade (closed)
Location: on the streets of Grand Chokmah
Time: late evening, day 0
Warnings: none yet

Comments

[red_under_glass]

What, no Anise? You're missing one of your love interests, Luke. Quite frankly, if Jade's not on *that* list, he doesn't mind in the slightest. That said, even the infamously cold-hearted Necromancer had come to care about Luke, so if they went to a Malkuthian laboratory, it wouldn't be so that Jade could cut him up.

He might joke about it, though. Just because he knows no one can really tell if he is not.

But there is something that he's noticed--something that admittedly was not unexpected, and really, it could be worse, so (as per Jade's usual) the Colonel has said nothing. Still, he's been watching and waiting. Now that they're out alone, it's a good time to bring it up...but Jade is still debating whether or not it's even necessary when Luke brings up a separate matter on his own.

"Hmm? If it's about that, you should probably be fine," the Colonel replies, regarding the redhead, "though I won't deny you peace of mind. You've had several rough experiences." After all, based on his observations of Star, they seemed to have stabilized, and Jade saw no good reason for original and replica of the perfect isofon pair to have any fonic instability after merging...but then, Luke and Asch had always been special cases. Better to double-check.

[merge_state]

"Well, it's just--" Jade was always so damn cool; it was aggravating on every possible level. Luke hunched his shoulders to avoid the urge to blow his top at him -- whatever else, Jade was a friend, and he was trying to help, and Luke needed that help right now.

He hadn't told the girls and the others about... his state. It was too weird to look Tear and Natalia in the eye and tell them that he was both Asch and Luke (could he even call himself Luke, really? was that fair? he'd been wondering that for years now and he still didn't have an answer) and part of him kept hoping that he could still avoid that reaction.

But he couldn't very well not tell Jade. That would negate the whole point of this check-up.

"I don't really feel fine." Luke glanced around, suspiciously, as if afraid that Guy (or Mieu, damnit) would have somehow overheard. "There's-- something you should know before we split up."

[red_under_glass]

If he seems cool, he's sorry. Jade truly is glad to see Luke, even if it's in this state. Considering what the big bang theory had end up to the replica...

But if nothing else, it's easy to see how agitated "Luke" is over this. That's what ultimately convinces Jade that he should be direct to him about it. If he's right (and Jade is 99.9% certain that he is), then this person must be deeply confused about who and what he is--Luke knew nothing about the big bang effect, and Asch had information he ultimately misunderstood.

And so Jade gazes over his shoulder at Luke for a long moment, an odd look on his face that on anyone else Luke might identify as 'concern,' before finally he turns his red eyes back out at the night sky over Grand Chokmah. "I suppose you wouldn't," he agrees. "It's not just you in there, is it, 'Luke'?"

The Necromancer doesn't respond to 'what he should know'. He's just made it clear that he already does. Instead, he pauses, then breathes a bit of a sigh and pushes up his glasses. "I suppose I owe you an explanation."

[merge_state]

Luke stopped still, for a brief moment shocked to have the words essentially stolen out of his mouth, and stared at Jade. If it were anyone else, he might sputter something like, How did you know? but since it was Jade-- He just let the tension ease out of him, and muttered sourly, "I don't know why I'm surprised."

In a way it was kind of a relief. He lunged forward a little, a quick stride to come up to the older man's side, and then said desperately, "Did I trap him inside me? I don't really know what I did, but I thought, maybe-- Can you get him out, somehow?"

Maybe it was a question he should've asked a year ago -- two years ago -- but it hadn't occurred to him that Jade would already know about this, and he'd been so busy struggling to accept it he hadn't even thought there might be another way.

[red_under_glass]

There's a faint laugh from the auburn-haired man as he pulls his hands out of his pockets and folds them behind his back. "I don't know why you are either. You should know better by now."

The quick step forward, the desperate questions, aren't unexpected, though Jade must admit to a certain level of dread. Still, if he knew that that was the reason this person had taken so long to appear before them all, he'd have to scold him quite thoroughly. The former fonic researcher hesitates for a couple of seconds...and then turns to Luke.

"Let me explain something to you--and I'll try to phrase it so you can understand," is said in a tone serious enough that Luke should be able to tell right away that Jade's not making fun of him (for once). "A long time ago, I came up with a theory on the behavior of perfect isofons and how they interact with one another, called the 'big bang theory.' You never heard anything about it, Luke, but Asch went to Dr. Spinoza--and heard a misleading explanation. That's why I'm clearing this up now. I trust you remember the cheagle Star, from Ortion Cavern?"

A pause to let Luke say yea or nay. Jade's expecting the former, but if it's the latter, he presses on regardless with a quick reminder to precede it, as well as (if necessary) a brief reminder on the usual patterns of replicas and their originals. "Essentially, when a given lifeform has a perfect isofon, the original's power will slowly decrease as it approaches the time of the 'big bang,' while the replica's increases. Asch thought that this meant he would die, which was the cause for his reckless behavior.

"The truth is, the original does die, temporarily--and then so does the replica. The replica is then taken into the original's body, giving it all of its strength and vitality. The replica's consciousness is lost, and the original is essentially brought back from the dead."

A pause. "But the big bang didn't happen with you. The proof, Luke, is in that you are here at all."

[merge_state]

Luke listened to the explanation, a little numb but managing to nod when prompted. He remembered the cheagle (Asch remembered the cheagle) and the big bang theory, the one that Asch's voice in his head had been so frustrated about all these years. But all that suffering, all that time he (Asch) had thought he was going to die -- and actually he would've been just fine?

Except for that one quirk of chance... Luke murmured slowly, "So if he hadn't been getting weaker because he was supposed to-- take my place-- then he wouldn't have died in the first place." And it would've been him (Luke) (the replica) who had died.

Luke rubbed his head, uneasy. That didn't actually made him feel much better, and a part of him felt much worse, but he forged on, "So, what did happen? His consciousness doesn't... feel lost. I mean, I remember everything."

[red_under_glass]

"Under normal circumstances," Jade stresses. "You're hardly normal, Luke." ...Was that a jab? It could go either way, either for the situation to be too serious to merit jokes, or making a joke to lighten the gravity of the situation. Either way, it's hard to tell by his expression, particularly when he continues, "Actually, I had...hoped that you would prove me wrong. It looks like, at least in part, you have." The red-eyed man adjusts his glasses. As he does, he adds, "And proving me wrong is a feat previously considered impossible, Luke, so don't go thinking unnecessary thoughts."

When Jade returns his hands to behind his back, his expression is back to normal. Actually, he's frowning slightly, not so much as Luke as the question. He shakes his head. "I'm afraid I don't know. Perfect isofons are a rarity, so it's difficult to predict what might have occurred." The colonel regards the redheaded young man in front of him, considering. "You have Asch's memories within you...yet your dominant persona is that of 'Luke,' correct? When you remember the things Asch experienced, how do you remember them?"

[merge_state]

So tempting to make a dry comment about Jade's infallibility, but fortunately he was quickly distracted. Luke frowned himself. "I guess. I--" He hesitated, just long enough to be noticeable, before setting his jaw and insisting, "I think of myself as 'Luke'."

The redhead sighed, folding his arms a little and glancing off to the side, thinking. "It's just like I lived them. Like I was really there. I can remember taking Ion to unlock the seals, and I know every word Van ever said to either of us. I actually think my memory is clearer than it was before. Like I could maybe remember right up to my birth..." Although which birth he meant...

As he spoke, his voice grew calmer, more even. Apparently not noticing or thinking it strange, he glanced at Jade, his expression composed, waiting for some sort of verdict.

[red_under_glass]

Jade regards the redhead. He thinks of himself as 'Luke'... "I see."

He watches the glitter of moonlight on the sea as the man next to him describes his experiences. It's not enough information to make a solid conclusion, but for his memories to be that clear, for both of them, and for Luke to remember Asch's memories like he lived them...

A glance at the redhead--and Jade frowns at what he sees. He's seen that expression before, but rarely on Luke's face. The tone of his voice, too, as he'd spoken. He 'thinks' of himself as... "Hm."

"Based on what you've told me, I'm actually somewhat concerned about the possibility of psychotic episodes brought about by having two discrete sets of memories. But you don't seem unstable, merely uncertain." A pause. "Normally the contamination effect should make the original and replica merge almost instantaneously. But for two years to pass before you reappeared... What were you doing all that time?"

[merge_state]

Luke shrugged, dismissing the question without otherwise reacting to it. "It did happen right away-- I've been like this for years now. But it wasn't easy-- especially at first."

He looked distant for a moment, scowling slightly as he thought back on the first weeks, months, when every time he'd so much as felt thirsty he had had two different reactions to it... Luke muttered, too quiet for anyone farther away to hear, "I thought the only way to fix it, to feel like a single person again, was to try being a new person, so that -- neither of us had a strong attachment to our surroundings. ...I even went by a different name."

It felt like so long ago now; he couldn't even remember 'whose' idea it had been. Probably his. But it seemed like he'd been wrong-- he was here now, and he'd talked to Jade and Guy and Natalia and even Tear...

[red_under_glass]

That would actually be Jade's suggestion as well. Since he is both Luke and Asch, and neither, to see if he could allow the personae to merge and allow him to be one. It seems it didn't work. The so-called Father of Fomicry folds his arms and holds his chin in one hand in thought.

"...I'm sure you've already reached this conclusion, but this isn't a problem that can be easily solved." Jade slips his hands into his pockets and turns his thoughtful frown to the redhead. "I'll give this more thought. For now, let's focus on getting you through that examination." The brunet starts to walk in that direction, giving Lukeandasch time to walk alongside him. "You'll need to tell the others sooner or later. If no one else, Tear. She's the one who's been suffering most."

Jade, closet Luke/Tear fan? Never! For one thing, he's certainly not in the closet about it. "What name did you go by, incidentally?"

[merge_state]

Luke tilted his head back. The name still stirred something in him, deep and peaceful and quiet. It hadn't been a bad few years, after the rough start. "...Blade."

But the mention of Tear unsettled him, and rippled the surface of emotions that had been so peaceful only a moment ago, and the redhead glanced to the side uneasily, moving with Jade at an easy pace. "Yeah, I know," he said, quietly. It was why he'd finally managed to come back, even worried that seeing her (seeing Natalia) (them) would only send him back to those early confusing stages when everything had torn him two ways.

It was so strange, though, to have seen her... like that. "She looked pretty good -- Tear, that is."

[red_under_glass]

Blade. Jade can't think of ever hearing any reports or rumors about a redheaded swordsman going by that name...but this doesn't strike him as completely odd. If he'd waited this long to return to the people most important to him, no doubt Luke would have been trying to avoid contact with other people entirely. On the other hand, what's the point of giving yourself a new name if no one is around to address you by it...?

He shuts his eyes briefly, then glances at Luke as they head along. He can see that conflict on that face--and no wonder. Luke loved Tear--but Asch loved Natalia. That actually wasn't a conflict Jade had considered until this moment. ...But then, Jade never was good at romance himself, so he'll pretend he didn't realize.

"She's always been a strong woman. I haven't spoken to her much since Eldrant fell, but it seems like she'd been holding up until you appeared. Certainly there was no lack of things to do."

[merge_state]

Luke rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen up the tense muscles while he thought. It had been so long since he'd seen any of them -- they'd all been practically unchanged. Tear, in particular, had surprised him. He'd expected... Well. He hadn't known what to expect. He'd been avoiding thinking about it for so long.

Rubbing the side of his neck, he asked, "I guess, but-- she looked good. Like she wasn't even in any pain. Has her condition gotten better?"

[red_under_glass]

Jade furrowed his brows at that. Condition...? Of course there had been a point at which Tear had had chronic miasma poisoning, but she had long since had that cleared up...thanks to the Fon Master. Yet the colonel couldn't think of anything else Luke might mean. Were his memories a little muddled after all? He'd said that he remembered things very clearly, but it was possible that they were clear but patchy, and so when strung back together, they gave him a false impression of matters.

"What are you talking about?" Yes, better to probe and find out for certain. Frankly, Jade had trouble believing that hypothesis. Luke had been with Tear so much that how could he not remember if everything was supposedly so clear?

[merge_state]

He was braced for a lot of things -- "oh it's turns out it's in remission" -- "we've developed a treatment for it" -- "oh, that? I cured every disease known to man two years ago" -- but calm inquiry... Luke turned to frown at him. What the. He knew Jade was a callous bastard, but it was one thing to be a callous bastard and another thing entirely to just forget about a companion's terminal illness--

"Her miasma poisoning! How heartless can you get," he said, dourly.