Night 52: West Wing, North Hall 1-A

[zack_fair]

[From here.]Even though the hallway seemed especially quiet tonight, Zack wasn't bothered. He was used to moving around in quiet areas on his own, from caverns to wide open fields to shorelines. He didn't get spooked very easily, and if anything, he felt like he was in his element. He had a weapon in hand was was moving at his own pace, not

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[razing_phoenix]

Leave it to Asch to ignore half of the things that they told him. Granted, in this case Guy didn't mind so much, because the redhead was focusing on the most important thing, which was Luke. He waited as patiently as he could when he saw the God-General shut his eyes, knowing that he was mentally reaching out to Luke in the way that only an original and a replica could. Guy didn't know if Claude had ever had that explained to him, but he could worry about it later.

Though when Asch came back with his verdict on Luke's location, it was even worse than Guy had expected. "He's just gone?" he asked, blurting it out before he could reign himself in. How could that be, when both he and Asch had just seen him? It was possible that he'd been taken by Landel after all (for the third time) and was therefore being blocked away from even Asch, but either way, the end result was that they had no way of finding him.

"Well, if we don't even know where to start, I guess..." He hated to admit it, but they were going to have to go on without him. Guy held back a sigh, not wanting to reveal too much of what he was feeling around Asch. "We'd better just keep going." The question now, of course, was whether he asked the God-General along. There was a good chance Asch wouldn't even want to come, but...

"We're heading outside, over the wall," he explained. "You can either come or do something else, but decide quickly." They'd already wasted enough time, and with the way that the lights were going on and off intermittently, Guy just wanted to get out of this area.

Tomorrow, he would try to look for Luke during the day. Just because Asch couldn't sense him now didn't mean that he was completely gone, but it definitely wasn't a good sign. Guy was managing to keep his cool, but he was honestly sick of this sort of thing happening to him. This would be the third time that Luke had shown up only to disappear again, if he was really gone. It was starting to feel like some huge joke was being played on him.

[full_score]

When Asch closed his eyes, Claude sent an uncertain glance at Guy, but didn't say anything. If his friend wasn't batting an eye at it, then it must not have been so strange for him. Maybe this was some kind of Auldrant thing he'd never heard about before now? As curious as he was, though, Claude had enough sense to keep his questions to himself. He did his best to patiently wait.

Finally, the redhead opened his eye, and to Claude's astonishment, announced that Luke was gone. He blinked, unable to hide his confusion. Wait...what? But how could Asch be so sure? It wasn't like he thought he was lying, but that was a pretty bold claim to make after just standing there for a couple minutes. Were he and Luke telepathically linked or something?

Either way, Guy seemed to take the information at face value, which meant that whatever method Asch had used must have been pretty solid. That realization made Claude's heart sink. "Oh no..."

If Luke was really gone, then that meant he might have been brainwashed and released like Claude's own father had just last night. That would be the third time now, right? And Guy...Claude turned his gaze onto him, concerned. Even if he didn't show it, finding out about his disappearance so suddenly must have been tearing him apart on the inside.

He wanted to say something, anything, and yet his friend was clearly moving away from talking about Luke. Claude wasn't sure whether it was his way of coping, or if it had something to do with Asch hanging around, but he knew he didn't need to press the subject. Maybe he'd get a chance later, but for now he would just have to focus on the task at hand.

Guy was actually inviting Asch along, which probably wasn't a bad idea. The three of them had already worked together in the past (even if Asch didn't remember). Plus safety in numbers was best, especially now that it looked like things might get dangerous for them tonight. Claude wanted to remind him that if he didn't come along, then he'd need to find someone to stick with, but he decided to hold his tongue until Asch reached a decision.

Man, dealing with these two at the same is starting to feel like walking on eggshells, he realized with an inward sigh.

[mirrorbirth]

Wait, what? Asch had expected anger, denial, even a dismissal. Guy's calm acceptance was strange, but even more so was the invitation. It didn't sound particularly genuine, sure, but the fact that it was Guy who was offering made it stand out to him more than anything. "Why are you inviting me?" he asked flatly, brows furrowing a little. He could tell Guy was in a hurry, but Asch couldn't quite bring himself to agree without a better reason than that. A part of him wanted to refuse anyway, unwilling to trust a stranger and someone who had wanted to kill him in the past - someone who still, it seemed, carried plenty of resentment towards him. But Luke had said that Guy had been here the longest, and that meant he was most likely to understand what was going on. It would be advantageous to learn from him. Discomfort was a small enough price to pay for information.

[razing_phoenix]

Guy actually couldn't blame Asch for wanting to know why, since they had never really been on good terms. Still, Guy knew how to be practical, and he also wasn't really asking on his own behalf.

"You don't have to come," he said again, to reinforce what he'd mentioned before. "But I think Luke would have wanted me to keep you out of trouble, and seeing how this is your first night, well..." If anything, that was going to cause Asch to want to go on his own even more, but that wasn't really Guy's problem.

"We're heading to a dangerous area, so the more people, the better." They'd aimed for a group of three, but that had been stopped due to Landel and whatever he'd done with Luke. Guy's fist tightened around the hilt of his sword. Asch was about the worst replacement he could have asked for (which was, in a distant sort of way, funny to think about, seeing how they looked almost identical), but he didn't have many options right now.

"Like I said, either come or don't, but either way, we need to get moving." They'd wasted enough time already, and he needed some sort of focus to get his mind off of Luke's possible disappearance, and the fact that it might be permanent. He could always come back again, but there was just as much of a chance that he wouldn't.

Why the hell was Asch here when Luke wasn't? It really rubbed salt into the wound, but Guy tried to keep his composure nonetheless.

[full_score]

Yeah, this was just a tiny bit awkward. Claude couldn't quite put his finger on why, but Guy's attitude seemed to shift whenever Asch was on the scene, almost like someone flipped some kind of switch on him. And Asch? Well, he was always kind of an abrasive person anyway, but Claude couldn't shake how annoyed he'd gotten that time he'd mentioned how much Guy worried about Luke whenever he disappeared. Then again, with the way Asch had rudely referred to Luke as "replica" just now, he was starting to get some idea of where the tension might have originated from.

He knew he probably should have stayed out of it and just left this to Guy and Asch, but Claude couldn't help but speak up. "You'll need to find people to travel with either way. Doing this alone isn't a good idea. After what happened just now, it's pretty obvious that Landel is going to try to pull a fast one on us at some point tonight."

It wouldn't have been the first time. Claude just hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be as frustrating as the random portals and language block. Or as brutal as that night Guy nearly died, even if Landel later claimed he hadn't intended for that one to happen.

[mirrorbirth]

He didn't need help. Asch wanted to make that much clear, and attempted to do so with his expression; any offer Guy might have to "look after" him, Asch wanted no part of it. Not when he had no idea what Guy would do. He couldn't trust someone who hated him, who once wanted him dead, to watch his back.

But they did have valid points: this place was unfamiliar to him, and something strange was definitely going on. If he was going to venture out and explore more of the facility, he would probably need some sort of backup in case something went wrong. Why chase death when you have willing (...somewhat) companions to chase it for you? Though he didn't see what was so dramatic about mad ramblings, violence, and broken lights, he couldn't help but feel as if something was off. It wasn't a night to be alone and unarmed in a strange place.

If nothing came of it, he would know who to avoid the night that followed, and would have only wasted a few hours with them. It wasn't a huge loss, in the grand scheme of things.

Knowing he had a limited time to decide, he finally responded with a curt nod, pointedly focusing his attention away from Guy. If he was going to be antagonistic the entire time, Asch would just have to ignore him. "I'll go with you. For now."

[razing_phoenix]

It took some urging from Claude and a fair bit of brooding over it, but Asch eventually agreed to come with them. That did take Guy by surprise for a second, but he had to remind himself: Asch had been trying to work past everything that had made him bitter about his life, and that was apparently still a work in progress.

Granted, Asch's apparent death had thrown a wrench into that whole idea, and so all of Guy's words to Natalia about how he'd do what he could to forgive Asch had fallen flat. Now that they were all stuck in this place, it had been simple to fall back into old habits; that was the case for both of them.

It was good to see some change in Asch, that he was agreeing to go along when before he would have marched off without another word. Guy nodded, not being able to manage a smile even so. He was putting it behind him more and more every day, but it was a work in progress for him too, and he knew that. What he really needed to remind himself of was that he didn't need to be blaming Asch for Luke's disappearance.

"That's fine," he said. "Both Claude and I have been here for a few weeks now, so we know how to handle ourselves. Just follow our lead." There was probably a very small chance of Asch agreeing to that in practice, but Guy figured he might as well give it a shot.

Either way, it was time for them to stop loitering around in the hall, and so he led both Claude and Asch out of the door and onto the field. It felt almost like a betrayal to be heading out with Asch instead of Luke, but Guy knew that was all in his head. Luke would have been happy about this, right?

[To here.]