Day 39: Music Room

[lady_general]

Lunch had been fruitful. Celes had chosen not to eat, but that was fine enough for her; she’d eaten plenty at breakfast and it was not very good manners to eat while discussing war (for Celes, it’d always given her a bit of a stomachache), or plotting. Especially if one was in mixed company. Her nurse escorted her to the Music room, citing that her

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[heliokleptic]

Asch was here. Luke just... breathed on that idea for a minute. He had thought it was possible, then known it was possible thanks to Anise. He only just now realized he had been avoiding contemplating it. Asch being gone hurt enough. Thinking about having missed him, about Asch possibly being dead again...

But if Asch was here, now, and alive. It meant... he was back. And Luke felt... not 'whole'. He wasn't broken without Asch, he wasn't empty. But at the same time Asch was something irreplaceable to him and knowing that he was back felt like... relief. Relief on almost the same level as realizing he himself was alive. Luke didn't even have to consider it as he made a mental promise to himself; he'd never lose Asch again. If the other hated him, he could handle that. But he wasn't going to let him die in this place.

Luke took a deep breath, and felt like he might be shaking a little, but it definitely wasn't from anything other than a very pure, disbelieving sort of gratitude.

"I'm glad. I mean... not that he remembers dying." Luke wasn't sure if it would be kinder to have forgotten that or not. Being told about it from a second party had to suck too. "I'm glad he's... okay."

[razing_phoenix]

That was Luke through and through. In a way, Guy felt like he had to be wary of Asch on his friend's behalf. Maybe Luke didn't mind if his original verbally abused him, but Guy certainly did. He wasn't going to stand for that sort of thing. At least there was a good chance Asch would be too busy with Landel's itself to zero in on Luke too much. Plus, with Van being here...

Well, that would open up a whole other can of worms for Asch and Luke. Guy had seen the way that they had fought for the man's attention, and there was a good chance that would continue here. Almost all of them had their own problems in relation to Van, come to think of it. That was what had made the final battle with him so bittersweet.

"I wonder if he feels the same," he muttered, more to himself than to Luke. "Oh, but you should know... I'm not sure if Anise told you, but they do some pretty nasty things here. Like brainwashing people and experimenting on them. When you were here before, you... were taken for experimentation. Me, Asch, and a good friend of mine who I met here went to rescue you, but we only got to you after they forced you to perform a hyperresonance."

He still had to wonder if that was what had caused Luke to disappear, or if it was just a fluke. It wasn't all that important now that Luke was back, but if they decided to take him again...

Well, he was going to cross his fingers that that wouldn't happen. How often did they experiment on the same person twice?

[heliokleptic]

Luke didn't miss Guy's muttered comment, but didn't respond to it either. He didn't expect Asch to be glad his hated replica was alive. That both hurt and annoyed him. It wasn't like he was okay with the way Asch treated him, but he would rather yell at Asch every day than never see him again.

Anyway, it wasn't like Asch didn't have his reasons.

Luke looked up, refocusing on what Guy was saying when it got to the part about how he'd been experimented on. In a way, it wasn't really the first time. Hell, his very existence was an experiment. But the way Guy said it, it sounded too much like what he'd heard about Van and Hod... He swallowed hard. Obviously, the building was still here but... "Dammit. They didn't..." The last time someone had made him use an hyperresonance, an entire city had been destroyed. "Did I... hurt anyone?"

[razing_phoenix]

Considering the sort of damage Luke's hyperresonance had caused in the past, Guy could definitely understand the younger man's concern, and so he quickly reassured him with a shake of his head. "No, well... no one but yourself." He didn't like thinking back on the state his friend had been in when they had finally gotten to that room upstairs, but Luke should know about it.

"I'm not quite sure how it works," he admitted, "and you didn't want the news spread, so I never got to ask Jade about it. But since there are little, if any, Seventh Fonons on this planet, the hyperresonance caused you to react with yourself, and it caused a lot of damage. When I got to you afterward, you looked like you were fading in and out. I mean, you were around after that and you seemed fine, but... I do have to wonder if that had to do with you eventually disappearing."

Luke had never come to him as a visitor or anything like that, so Guy didn't even have any idea as to where his friend had gone during all that time. It was even possible he'd been at the institute all along, but they had been holding him somewhere while they messed around with his memories: taking away some and adding others. There wasn't much point in making conjectures like that, though.

[heliokleptic]

"I... reacted with myself? ...Guess that's one way." Luke had never considered the possibility of what might happen if he tried to use a hyperresonance while he was here, but he supposed it made sense. He could remember what it had been like to see through himself after he had nearly died at the Tower of Rem, but here it wouldn't take that much. He shook his head. "At least no one else was hurt."

It didn't make sense, though. According to what Guy had said he'd nearly died... maybe had died. But then why was he back here. And... how could he have forgotten something like that? It was true that Luke had spent most of his life believing he'd had amnesia, but after learning the truth, and experiencing these things for himself, he found it hard to believe he could just... forget.

"I don't get it... but if I'm here now, I probably didn't disappear... right?" Except that this place had already proven it could reverse those effects. But he'd rather believe he hadn't died twice. It was so frustrating though, Luke grimaced. He couldn't even properly reassure his friend. "Sorry, I just... can't remember any of this."

[razing_phoenix]

Guy shook his head when Luke apologized. "Don't worry, it's happened to a lot of people. It's not something you can help." He could understand how frustrating it must be for his friend to be told that all of this had happened to him and yet have no recollection of it. Guy probably would have reacted in a similar way.

"Anyway, it's hard to say what happens to people when they suddenly go missing like you and Asch did. I think some people are brainwashed into thinking that what the nurses are saying is true, but I'm not sure if that's the case with everyone." He shrugged, feeling somewhat guilty that he didn't have all the answers this time. Then again, this way he and Luke could be confused together. He wasn't sure how much of a consolation that was, though.

Guy wracked his brain for anything else that Luke might need to know. There was a good chance Anise had already briefed him on a lot of it, so he didn't want to waste time repeating things he'd already heard. There was one thing Guy needed to know about, though. "Do you have any idea of what you're going to do tonight?" he asked. "I'm sure Anise told you that you'd have to have a death wish to go out on your own."

[heliokleptic]

Luke made a face and looked away, feeling a lecture coming on. "She mentioned it, yeah. But uh... I was thinking I could just run away." He had run away from pretty big monsters before. He could be pretty fast. "I wanted to go visit Ion with Anise, then the Emperor." The first wasn't really up for debate, though he wasn't going to phrase it to Guy like that. But Ion had died and... if he had to be a little risky to go see his friend again, it wasn't the type of choice he would second guess.

Still, he rushed on, hoping Guy wouldn't try too hard to dissuade him. "And uh... I met a guy named Ed, he told me he could make me a sword if I could bring him some metal. And then Anise told me there were metal pipes in this closet. So I thought I would try to get some of those." And then he would have a weapon, and feel a lot more confident.

[razing_phoenix]

It looked like Luke had already formulated quite a few ideas about what he wanted to do with his first night, and while that was a good thing, Guy also had some reservations. He let out a sigh, not wanting to deliver more bad news but knowing he had no choice. "About the emperor... he's not here anymore. I checked his room last night right when the doors unlocked and he wasn't there."

Considering Ion was in a similar state, it might be the same case there, but Guy didn't go as far as to say that. There was still a chance the Fon Master would be all right, but he wasn't going to bet on it. Anise and Luke would have to find out for themselves tonight, as troublesome of a thought as that was.

"And running away might work, but it isn't the best solution," he warned. "I'm pretty sure a friend of mine got a weapon made by that Ed guy, though, so it's worth looking into. Do you even know how to get to that closet, though?" Luke had a tendency to jump into things, so Guy wanted to make sure his friend thought it through a little more beforehand.

[heliokleptic]

There was a momentary pause when Luke realized he wasn't getting told he was being stupid, which meant his plans had some merit, and he smiled. He must've gotten a lot better at this planning ahead thing if he wasn't getting beat over the head with any mistakes he was making. Though, Jade was usually the one that did that. Maybe Guy was just feeling nice.

Scratching a bit at his cheek he turned back, the information about Emperor Peony being gone was troubling too. "Emperor Peony is... gone? Like I was gone?" Normally he would have been happy if it meant the Emperor had returned to his kingdom. Now really wasn't the time either Malkuth or Kimlasca could afford to be missing it's leaders. But if the Emperor just disappeared, who was to say he was even alive? That was a grim thought and Luke's mouth set in a hard line.

"I guess if he's not there I won't visit..." He paused, then moved on. "But I still want to check on Ion with Anise. If he's still there, I want to see him, and if not... Anise might need me to be there." He shook his head, Ion would probably still be there. Why would both of them leave at the same time? ...Why would both of them be asleep at the same time...

"Uh, as for the closet, Anise showed me the location on the maps. It's on the second floor, west side." His reply was a little stark, though. Now he was just going to worry about Ion until he'd seen him. "Uh... what do you mean running away isn't best? I can't really fight without weapons or fonons."

[razing_phoenix]

"Yeah, probably the same idea," Guy wearily responded in regards to the emperor. Even though it would be nice to assume that the man was in a safer place now, that probably wasn't the case. Maybe Peony would go through the same pattern that Luke and Asch had, and end up back here in a week or two with no memories of his first time here.

Guy already knew there was a chance the same thing could happen to him, but he wasn't going to worry about that. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it, so there was no point in getting worked up over it.

"Yeah, you should definitely go see Ion," Guy agreed. It was good that Luke was being realistic about it, and he was probably the person who could console Anise the best if the worst happened. Guy would cross his fingers, but after witnessing so many of his friend's disappearances, he couldn't be too hopeful.

If Luke knew how to get to this closet, then that was probably fine. It was wandering around aimlessly that usually led to trouble, but that also didn't mean his friend would be in the clear. "I'm just saying that you should really have a weapon if you're going that far, or at least go with someone who has one. Maybe your roommate?" he suggested. Luke probably hadn't met his roommate yet, so there was no telling what the person would be like, but maybe Luke would get lucky. Guy considered himself pretty fortunate to have been put with Okita, even though the man had his fair share of problems. Didn't everyone?

"I would go with you, except that I already made plans with people and I can't exactly back out," he explained. He could have invited Luke along instead, but he could already tell his friend was set on going to Ion's room, and they couldn't wait around for him to finish with that. While Guy would have liked to spend some more time with Luke, it just wasn't feasible tonight.

[heliokleptic]

"Don't worry about it, it sounds like everyone gets pretty busy as soon as night comes." Luke smiled automatically, gesturing with an open palm and tried to sound reassuring. It felt weird to be going off into a dangerous situation without Guy by his side, but Guy wasn't his servant anymore and more importantly, Luke didn't need to be babysat. It seemed strange, and he would have liked to go with his friend, but without a weapon himself he'd probably just be a burden. That was another reason he wanted to be armed as soon as possible. If this place was that dangerous, he couldn't help anyone if he couldn't even protect himself.

"Anyway, Anise has plans too. So I'll head upstairs after we check on Ion. And if I can find someone else who wants to go, it's better have help, right?" Luke considered the people he had met so far. Anise and Guy had plans, Ed seemed like he knew his way around pretty well, but Luke wouldn't be able to ask him for help unless they just happened to run into each other. He'd been ushered out of his room before he met his roommate, and had no idea who they were. If they weren't a fighter, Luke didn't want to endanger them by bringing them along.

And then, of course, there was Van. Luke was pretty sure that even unarmed Van could hold his own against most monsters. But he wasn't sure he could trust his back to the other, and more importantly, didn't know if he wanted to help Van get armed anyway. He sighed and decided to bring it up. "Master Van is here... I don't know if he'd be willing to help us or not. But... I didn't tell him about how to get a weapon yet. There isn't really any reason we shouldn't work together, but..." But he didn't trust Van to not still take an opportunity to stop them, especially if he couldn't remember that he had already lost.

[razing_phoenix]

Even though Luke seemed genuinely okay with the fact that Guy was already tied up for the night, he still felt bad about it. He didn't want to leave his friend to try and contend with the night on his own, but he had no other choice. When it came down to it, Guy knew that Luke could take care of himself, but after just getting him back, he figured he was allowed to be a little protective.

Anise was tied up, too? He couldn't blame her for having something to do, but it meant that Luke was probably already out of options for who he could go with. "Yeah, you should definitely find someone," he insisted, even though he knew it wasn't always easy to do that when people usually made plans in advance. There had to be some other fairly new patients who weren't quite as settled, though, right?

The moment Van was mentioned, Guy's expression hardened and he gave Luke a warning stare. "I don't think that's a good idea. We should keep our distance for now, Luke." He could concede that it might be in their best interest to pool their efforts with the man eventually, but he would rather wait and see what Van did here at Landel's before settling on anything.

"You could always try posting to the bulletin board to ask if someone else is heading that way," Guy suggested, realizing that Luke might not even know about the board yet. "And you'll meet your roommate at dinner tonight, so you could ask them about it too." It might take some extra effort, but it should be possible for Luke to find someone. Guy couldn't accept the alternatives.

[heliokleptic]

Luke winced a bit at Guy's flat denial of working with Van, but couldn't argue it. It was true that if Van wanted to be an ally he would be one of the best, but it was also true that he had no reason to assume that. He shouldn't take a gamble like that when the situation was already dangerous enough. "Don't worry, I won't yet. But... you should talk with him soon, Guy. I told him how everything ends, but he didn't really... I don't know how much he believes me. Of course, I'm just the useless replica, he might listen to you more." And despite Luke's words, he honestly didn't sound bitter, a bit tired at best. He'd accepted what he was... or really, everything he wasn't, to Van a long time ago. But there was a good chance they would need Van's help in the future, and Guy would have the best chance of getting it.

As far as finding someone to help him through the night though... "Maybe I'll try the bulletin. People use it for that?" Anise had shown it to him, and it looked like a really useful place, but he hadn't stopped to read much of it, all of the slips of paper were a little overwhelming.

[razing_phoenix]

"Don't talk like that," Guy said sharply when Luke started going on about how he was useless. While his friend was stating it as a simple fact, that was almost more worrisome. It meant that he believed it, and believed there was no way to change it. Hadn't Luke learned by now? Hadn't he realized that he'd saved the world?

He couldn't get hung up on that, though. Instead, Guy sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know I need to talk to him," he confirmed, even though he definitely didn't like the idea. He wasn't going to hide from the man, though. He just had to tell himself that there was nothing to be scared of. It was just that looking Van in the face dredged up all sorts of memories Guy didn't want to face.

"Yeah, people use it for pretty much anything," he said in response to Luke's question about the bulletin. "It's worth a shot, anyway." It was less secure than picking out someone face-to-face, since people were known for being deceptive on the board, but they were out of any other choices.

Before he could continue, the intercom went off, which meant this conversation was going to have to end. Guy didn't want to be separated from his friend after just getting him back, but it was inevitable. "All right, Luke, dinner's next and night will come after that. Be careful, and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He was just going to have to believe in that.

[heliokleptic]

Luke was going to explain that even if he didn't believe he was useless, Van did. So to Van he was still a 'useless replica' and probably wasn't going to be seen as anything else. Guy worried too much. But before he got the chance, that annoying director was on the intercom again, and Luke forgot what he was going to say, listening to the announcement and making a face.

One thing he did remember was that he was hungry. He'd barely eaten during the previous meals.

He sighed, but still smiled for Guy. "I'll be fine. We can talk more in the morning." If he was awake at all, anyway. "You be careful too."