[Log] Pick Your Poison

[theeternalmind]

WHO: Sync, Tear Grants, Ness, Luke fon Fabre, Guy Cecil, Mercade Alexander, Hau Tai Feng, Anise Tatlin
WHEN: Thursday, January 1st
WHERE: The Hub, Otherworldly Plaza
WHAT: With the dawn of the new year, Sync the Tempest announces to the multiverse the existence and intents of the New Order of Lorelei, then invites anyone who's interested to come and speak with him in the Hub. Several people take him up on that, because seriously, who really trusts this guy? A lot of verbal jousting and a kiss or two (!?) follow.
WATCH FOR: POLITICAL INTRIGUE, nobody trusts Sync (and with good cause!), Sync traumatizes Anise, Ness's non-violent methods for punishing jerks, and a bonus Sync(Ion)-and-Anise scene at the end.



============================== News Broadcasts ===============================
Message: 10/2 Posted Author
Advent of the New Order of Lorelei Thu Jan 01 The Associated Press
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Several major news channels report receiving a message from an organization from [plane code: Sync's Auldrant, or Auldrant 3]. The varying newscasters have their own various takes on it, but the video message is the same, and in its entirety is as follows:

Seated upon an overchair is a young man who is maybe fifteen or sixteen; it's hard to be certain because a yellow-and-red mask covers the top half of his face. He has spiky green hair, and is dressed in a black-and-white uniform trimmed in green and yellow. He is smiling widely, and his gloved hands are folded under his chin.
"Hail to you travelers of alternate times and dimensions from we of the New Order of Lorelei! I, Chief of Staff Sync, speak on behalf of our glorious leader, Fon Master Mohs. As, in Hub Standard Time, a new year dawns, we dawn as well with a warning for our fellow worlds of Auldrant, and a message for all with any in an interest in fate, the future, and preserving the safety of those teetering on the edge of destruction.
"To those unaware, ours is a world dedicated to the holy gospel of a scripture called the Score, which protects the people of the world by giving them guidance into the correct future, one that promises peace and prosperity to all. However, heretics who have turned their back upon it have wrecked the balance of the world, turning the air to poisonous miasma and crashing the land into the unstable Qliphoth."
Sync snaps his fingers, and footage of a great city covered in massive aqueducts as well as a sickly purple mist pans, as do shots of a city covered in a massive dome not far from an island nation, and empty-eyed people aimlessly wandering a city full of elevators and aircars. Sync voice-overs for these parts: "The leaders of the once-great nations of Malkuth and Kimlasca listened to these heretics and turned their backs on the Score, and the result? They have inflicted nothing but suffering and anxiety upon their people. To you other Auldrants in the past: Can you permit such things to come to pass? To you other planes, especially in the IPA: Can you ignore a world choking and dying as surely as a drowning man does?"
The footage ends, and Sync is back to his old pose. "The New Order's wish is that our own world return to the ways of the Score, and thus right itself away from the path of destruction and towards the unprecedented prosperity that has long been prophecized. But with the opening of the Gate that connects our Auldrant with the Hub and countless other worlds, including other, less enlightened Auldrants, we cannot simply avert our eyes from the overarching reality."
Sync holds out a hand to the camera. "Thus, we entreat you: Come! Come, sister Auldrants, to seek our knowledge and shun the heretical lies that lurk like venomous beasts upon your path! Come, foreign planes, to seek the knowledge of the Score and know of your own futures, of love and sorrow yet to come! Come to the roof of the Crossroads Hotel in the Hub's Otherworldly Plaza!" Sync spreads his arms, still smiling like a sickle moon. "And let me *teach* you."

(OOC: For more information, contact Sync. For the scene, head to the Hub, Otherworldly Plaza, enter CHL. Come on down!)
==============================================================================

The top of the Crossroads Hotel is cold and windy on New Year's Night, and it is filled with mostly nothing. There are lights, however, including weighted fontech lamps that surround a single young man tossing something up and down in his right hand. He stands on the edge of the flat roof, gazing out at the distant lights of the Hub from behind a mask, as his tailed, white jacket flaps in the gale.
Sync smirks mirthlessly, and snatches the small crystalline stone before an errant gust pitches it out of his grasp.
The God-General honestly doesn't expect anyone not from Auldrant to show up, but he's not closing himself off from that possibility. After all, there's plenty of people out there who are attracted by the prospect of a good show, or just let their curiosity lead them to the latest interesting-seeming thing. He's not going to give them much of a show, considering the setting's already bare, but then, he's not interested in entertaining the easily bored.
When the first people arrive, Sync leans away from the hotel edge and turns around, arms folded over his chest. "I've been waiting," he states, beholding them with a faint smirk.

The 'New Order of Lorelei' did not set well with Tear's frame of mind. But then, lately, there were a lot of things leaving her disturbed. Still, the Fon Master requested her and Anise to check out this thing, and check it out she will. Of course, Anise asked her to go on ahead of her, so she could take care of something - what it was, Tear didn't know, and didn't ask.
Once she reached the hotel lobby, the Melodist took a look around, spotting Sync almost immediately. It's .. prooobably a good thing that they -were- in the Hub and the little brat was safe from violence. Not that Tear was contemplating violence. No sir. Instead she frowns deeply at the appearance of the God General, searching the room for any other God Generals hiding in nooks or out in the open, before acknowledging his presence. Well, the evening should be..interesting!

The Auldranti may be here for dramatic story purposes. Ness is here for the comedy. He stopped by an ATM before heading to the Hub, and his extradimensional wallet is bulging with delicious dollars to spend on questions for this New Order.
Eagleland's Chosen Boy is frowning at a notebook as he walks into the lobby, scratching his chin with the rubber eraser of a pencil held in his right hand. He is also, for reasons best left unexplored, wearing a pair of reading glasses despite not actually needing them to see.
They also don't have any lenses.
"Book on shyness..." he mutters. "...Venetia's measurements for Mercade...something to make Miz Tegawa feel nice..." He might bump into Tear's butt at this point.

Nobody's told Luke that this new Order of Lorelei might be bad news, but something that affected all Auldrants affected his, and he knew he should probably be there for this. Which means he's actually acting in a semi-official manner! .. and wore something different for once, something more Uniform Of Kimlasca-ish but only because this is important to the nation, not really .. him.
Sync was the guy who attacked Guy. He knows that much.
But what did a God General have to do with some /new/ Order? And what's this miasma stuff? It's probably some big problem in other planes but his was just fine so far..
The presence of the redheaded aristocrat might very well go unnoticed, given he's not speaking up yet.

This whole New Order of Lorelei thing was really strange. Anise didn't even know there was an -old- one! This must be a strange Auldrant to have to have a new order. The worst thing, though, is that one of the god-generals seem to be in charge.
Well, not the worst thing. The fact that Ion doesn't seem to be feeling well is heavy on Anise's mind. Before letting him go, she made sure to get him to promise he'd rest while she was away and not try to do anything strenuous. It's still worrisome though.
As she walks into the hotel, Anise looks around, eyes narrowing a bit as she sees Sync. Balling her hands into fists, she begins to stalk toward him, a determined look on her face. He's got some explaining to do! Only, something catches her attention from the corner of her eye. Something red. Now, on the one hand, Sync is here. On the other, this is the Hub, and he doesn't seem to be making trouble yet. So after a moment of hesitation, looking between the replicas. "Unnn... umm.. well..." Look left. Look right. Look--
Anise's initial reflex finally wins out, and she dashes across the floor and leaps at the redhead. "Luke-sama~~!"

There was a lot of speculation about this New Order of Lorelei.
Damn, Guy was probably the only Auldrant-native present -- aside from those actually /in/ the New Order -- with any idea just how bad this news could be.
...He probably should have said something to Luke about all of this, except he probably -shouldn't-, too, lest he irreparably damage something, and he doesn't mean breaking someone's mind with really convoluted time stuff. There was a real danger, you just don't mess with things like the future, either let it go its course or--
Anyway, this leaves the blond noble in exile standing at the red-haired ambassador's side, arms folded; at least he's back to wearing the usual white shirt, dark pants, and tawny single-tailed vest and gloves. "I think I'm beginning to understand precisely what I was warned about," sighs Guy, looking a lot more chagrined than he actually feels; it was an understatement -- alternate timelines was HEADACHE-INDUCING. And so was that shrill greeting of--of...
"What say we try to get some answers out of..."
"AAAGH!!"
Yeah, don't mind Guy, he'll be one who has nearly flattened himself against the wall, even if the diminutive Anise was aiming for the red-haired replica.

There's something to be said for the easily bored. Mercade fits that definition... Sometimes.
Mercade Alexander, however... Is not here. There's only a nice billgoard of a bunch of people at a party enjoying alcoholic beverages. Pay no mind to the trenchcoated man on the billboard with a bottle of the very stuff in his hand. Very lifelike, isn't it?
After a moment, the man moves, pocketing the bottle, and casually begins walking out onto a thin cable running between thr two buildings, up towards the roof. How does he /do/ that?

With *that* red hair? Are you kidding? Maybe others don't notice Luke, but Sync spots him immediately. He's not surprised to see Tear, Anise or Guy either; really, he's surprised *not* to see the Necromancer, but they might be either running late, otherwise preoccuppied, or making the others take notes for them. He doesn't recognize that small boy behind Tear, and wonders briefly if he's from another plane; he definitely doesn't have the look of an Auldrantian. But he'll just see. Mercade, of course, is wire-walking and thus not in view yet.
"You're all so *friendly*," Sync remarks with a sarcastic laugh, observing Tear's cold stare and Anise's stalk before she leaps on top of Luke. Guy's reaction to that earns him a louder, more unkindly amused laugh from the Tempest, and he unfolds his arms. "Now, I *could* make a big speech welcoming you all here and introduce myself again--but if you're here, you already saw my announcement, and I don't like repeating myself. You've got questions. I've got answers." He twirls up the crystalline stone and catches it between his fingers, and the Auldrantians should recognize it as a fonstone.
He smiles. "So. Who wants the New Order of Lorelei to read their Score? Of course, I'll take questions about us as well. First come, first served--so Sergeant Grants, by /all means/ step forward."

Were Tear less observant, she might be bumped into. Since this isn't the case, and also being that she can hear Ness mumbling about something or other, Tear glances back to spy Ness. Not wanting to be an obstacle, she easily sidesteps the distracted boy, moving well out of the way so he doesn't bump into her.
In the same motion, she catches sight of Anise as the Fon Master Guardian turns herself into a homing missile and targets ... Luke? Tear hadn't expected to see him here - and the weirdest part is that he's -quiet-. For now. SHe's about to approach to greet the group, but - on second thought, Sync is talking, and Tear stops her path to glare in his direction. Again.
"Read the Score...?" She frowns, "Since when were you interested in reading the Score for the people?" The God Generals were against the Score, last she .. oh damnit, what if he's from an alternate Auldrant where he's actually FOR the Score? Stupid alternate worlds. "Not interested." She says instead, waving a hand dismissively. Besides, she doesn't like his /tone/.
Luke fon Fabre flips a coin and gets tails.

Hau Tai Feng doesn't really care about dramatic intrigue. She doesn't know what Auldrant is. She does not, in point of fact, care.
What she does know, however, is that she has a few hours before her next pickup, and listening to the crackpot Hub cults is always worth at least a good twenty minutes. So the Syndicate runner is seated on a rooftop opposite the Crossroads, crouched and watching with a pair of binoculars.
She has a big bag of kettle corn sitting next to her, and a laptop sitting, closed, on the other side.

Ness doesn't break stride as Tear steps out of his way, and starts chewing on the eraser. When he hears her voice, however, he does look up, blinking a little owlishly as if wondering how she got there. "Reading the Score?" he asks himself quietly, then starts looking around for someone to explain what that means to him. Unfortunately, Luke is occupied with Anise and vice-versa, Tear looks angry, and Guy is cowering in a corner.
Ness sighs. he is /so/ hard-done by.
"Um, Excuse me?" he asks, sticking the pencil behind his ear. "Mister Sync, sir? Ness N. Nessington, Fourside Times-Herald-Expositor-Tribune. I was wondering if you could perhaps tell our readers a bit about what this Score is, so they can familiarize themselves with the services you are offering."
Ness is also trying to make his voice sound deeper. It is not working.

As far as Luke's concerned, Guy's there as a second set of eyes to help his report later on to the King. Confirmation is always good, and if this does go bad, at least they're in the Hub and no violence can happen. "I know what you mean. All these different planes.. it's a pain in the ass. If I didn't like the multiverse I'd recommend burying the Gate." He keeps his voice low; this isn't the kind of thing you really tell other people.
And then Anise comes flying out of nowhere and instinct means Anise is caught instead of sidestepped. "Anise!" Dammit, it's impossible to tell which one he's dealing with, though immediately he tries to put her down and get a little space.
Still-- "Hey, you can't do Score readings for every plane," Luke points out suddenly. "You only have the stone from your world!" But when Ness speaks up to ask about the Score directly, only then does he realize 1. Guy's hit the wall and 2. Score reading might actually /work/ for other planes.

The speeding Anise cligns onto Luke when she's caught. "Hi, Luuuke~" She looks up and grins widely. It really is hard to tell which Anise this is, isn't it? Well, she won't give any hints that easily! Even as she's put down, Anise sticks close.. but she doesn't latch on. After all, there's no Natalia here to pick on about that, and Tear's distracted, and... wait. That was a yell before, wasn't it?
Leaning to the side, the pigtailed girl peeeeeers toward the wall. Then, suddenly, she breaks into a smile. "Guy!" No, don't worry. She's not going to pounce. She just stays next to Luke and lifts a hand to wave. This isn't -her- Guy, but it's definitely -a- Guy, and apparently all Guys are the same in her eyes.
Once she's done her greetings, though, Anise turns again to face the masked replica. "Sync! What are you doing here? Don't you get into enough trouble on Auldrant?"

Mercade continues walking across the wire, the wind whipping past him as he steps up and alights on the other side. From there, he quietly walks along, staying in the background past Sync and the others. He's not sure what to expect, though the advertisement was rather dire. A God-General starting some new cult or sub-branch of his order? He can only wonder what te parent organization must think. Mercade, nevertheless, watches the interplay among who he can only assum are mostly natives to the Zone. "They know him too." He comments idly and quietly to himself. Still, he doesn't step forward yet. He wants to see more before he calls any additional attention to himself.

It is very thoughtful of Tai Feng to make herself eminently ignorable! If she's just going to watch to alleviate her boredom, then she's free to as long as Sync doesn't have to do anything else. Mercade is likewise not taken note of beyond a subtle glance in his direction and a brief spark of recognition, so he is free to listen and observe as much as he likes.
"Ever since the Order came under new leadership," the Tempest replies to Tear, watching carefully under his mask for her reaction to the tip of his hand, before chuckling. "Really, Sergeant? Aren't you from the Intelligence Division's First Platoon? And here you are, refusing an opportunity to gain intelligence out of hand. If *I* were Fon Master Mohs, I'd be ashamed to have you as a subordinate."
The green-haired boy then turns his attention to Ness. If he were actually taking this seriously, he'd probably be offended; instead, he's just vaguely amused. "'Services'? You make it sound like a business. We're a religion. A pretty world-specific religion with two thousand years' world of history, so despite all the talk earlier, frankly, if you want to ignore us, you can feel free to. Basically, the Score is a faithful revelation of the memory of our world from its birth to its destruction."
Luke has his outburst then. Without missing a beat, Sync nods to him and goes on, "Naturally, since it relies on the planet's own memory, it's not going to be as effective for other planes. That's why the New Order of Lorelei encourages those of other planes to come to our Auldrant and spend as much time there as they like to see it for themselves, as well as make their mark there. After all, even the opening of the Gate was foretold."
Sync holds up the fonstone, which glows a bright white as the scripture upon it activates. The Scorer intones as he reads: "'N.D. 2018: The rumbling of earth beneath the sea of sand will reveal a gateway to another world. One youth will seek it, another will take chase, and both will pass through to the infinite lands beyond.'"
The glow then subsides. This reading may or may not be total bunk. Either way, the Tempest still looks at Guy shaking against the wall and smiles widely, and unpleasantly, at him. Then Anise interrupts. The white-jacketed God-General levels her a *look*, while inwardly amused. He's well aware which Fon Master Guardian *this* is, having ordered her not all that long ago to come investigate him. Oh, replicas.
"And why shouldn't I be here, Anise? What about you--don't you have a Fon Master to protect?" There's a hidden edge there, but the only one who should realize what it is is Guy. Really, Sync's just having fun at her expense.

Were she still loyal to Mohs, she might be offended by that statement. She doesn't see her own Score being read as having any relation to gaining intelligence on the New Order of Lorelei, though. It was pointless and.. she really didn't want to know. There is a brief glance around again, a slight twitch of her eyebrow, but otherwise no reaction to the comment. Her gaze slides towards Ness briefly, then back to Sync, "What new leadership is the Order of Lorelei now under?" Certainly not in _her_ Auldrant.. she didn't hear anything of this.

Ness begins writing hurriedly in his notepad, as he is still pretending to be a journalist because it's easier than admitting he doesn't know something. He nods periodically - the best thing to do when you want someone to think you are paying attention - but if anyone looks at his notes they are going to see something like:
-book on shyness
-Venetia's measurements (pretend it's for Mercade)
-something to make Miz Tegawa go ^_^ (may be crack)
-how tall will I get?
BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS
BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS
BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS
BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS
BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS
He stops writing after a while and frowns, opening his mouth to ask another question...dangit, Tear got in. He's supposed to have a followup! Hasn't she ever been to a press conference before? The young boy sulks and begins drawing something on a fresh sheet of paper, biting down on his lower lip as he concentrates.

What was that about alternate timelines being a pain?
Yeah. Guy recovers, by which one means he lets go of the wall once assured nothing female will be invading his personal space. Right, Anise, you just stay riiiiight over where he can see you, and still dodge if you make any sudden moves. Sync gets into enough trouble on-- "Which Auldrant?" okay, Guy HAD to ask. Even though he has the feeling Sync probably would make that 'All Auldrants, All the Time', and maybe add a few other planes while he's at it, if he got bored enough.
"Mohs, a Fon Master?" muses the blond under his breath, cupping his chin with one hand with brows knitted in contemplation. "Looks like mere adherence to the Score on Auldrant isn't enough... is he really going to involve the entire Multiverse?" He cuts himself off as Sync reads the Score. "..." Guy slowly lifts his head to stare at the God-General, and folds his arms. "Luke," he adds quietly, "This situation isn't very good. Diplomatically speaking, we can't take any action for or against this New Order without speaking for the organizations -- and country -- we represent. We have to be careful."
To Tear, Guy says, "Mohs, apparently, has become Fon Master."

Now, had Luke already known that replicas weren't part of the Score and more importantly that Sync /is/ one, that reading given could be easily proven meaningless. But he /doesn't/ know, and the lack of information on this matter means he has to actually consider it beyond 'this guy attacked my best friend'.
And he thinks about it. He's been thinking about things a lot more than he probably *should* be about a whole lot of things, most of which is entirely the fault of those who had come from other planes and pointed out something was going to happen in *his* Auldrant. Anise and Tear unsurprisingly seem to know more about what's going on than he does, and he has to accept that. He doesn't like it. Visibly doesn't like it.
So maybe their questions will get answers. "If the new Order and the old Order are working together," he says after Guy gives his reminder that being stupid would be costly, "Then if we tick these guys off Daath from /our/ world might get pissed too." At least he keeps his voice low. "We need to find out more about this miasma stuff anyway, it might be important."

Sync is not something Tai Feng cares about yet. Politics politics politics blah blah, this guy isn't as crazy as they usually are, it's sad. Though, foretelling the Gates themselves? What? Even Tai Feng knows how unlikely that is.
Her eyes narrow, thoughtfully - and then they flick over, spotting a man on a wire walking toward the meeting. "Eh?" she mutters, puzzled. Should leave the acrobatics to the professionals, she thinks, allowing herself a smug grin.

Mercade finds tihe interplay rather fascinating. He continues to listen to the challenges and retorts... Sync seems to be more than capable of handling himself against the slings and arrows of outrageous commentary.
What's more interesting to him is the glowing object. As Sync reads the Score, Mercade flicks a hand, producing a small crystalline sphere the size of an eyeball. Casually, he looks through it at Sync as he intones... And arches an eyebrow. Was he surprised at what he saw? Maybe. Nevertheless, Mercade keeps it in hand even as Tai Feng begins looking over at him. He doesn't seem to notice the attention, instead stepping forward. "So, it seems you all know each other. This is all well and good, but it's obvious that you guys aren't going to be able to get all of the rigamarole dealt with here - We /are/ in the Hub, after all." He smiles. "My apologies for interrupting... But I am intrigued by one of the assertons that has been made so far. Are you claiming that actions from otherplanar visitors will eventually become known in the Score?" Ness gets a grin and nod of acknowledgement as he asks his questions.

When the Tempest speaks up, Anise POINTS! She points accusingly! "F..f-f-f--fon Master -Mohs-?! He's not a Fon Master! He can't even--" Pause. Anise breaks her own thought process and clears her throat before she lets slip something she isn't supposed to be able to know about. "Isn't Grand Maestro enough for him?"
She crosses her arms and huffs at Sync. "I know my job! Ion is safe and sound in bed right now. And don't you say anything bad about him either!" Her arms uncross and she POINTS again. "Since when can you read fonstones, anyway!"

Apparently Tear didn't hear Sync inviting her to question him on the New Order itself, nor has she caught the rather blatant mention of *Fon Master* Mohs. The look he gives her reflects this. /Maybe she heard it but it was so absurd it passed through her consciousness without getting absorbed,/ he reflects. /I know *I* wouldn't be able to believe it./
"Weren't you paying attention, Sergeant Grants?" he says coolly. "I said it in our announcement and I said it just now--I represent *Fon* *Master* *Mohs*." Guy speaks up then, and Sync chuckles, turning his regard towards the swordslinger. "Looks like someone pays attention, anyway."
Which Auldrant indeed? If only you knew, Guy. It strikes Sync as curious that it seems like he's faking knowledge about this--unless it turns out this is actually one of the *other* Guys, which is hardly outside the realm of possibilities. ...Yeah, alternate timelines really *are* a pain.
Anise's outrage about Fon Master Mohs prompts a laugh from the cynical replica. At least *she's* finally caught on! And it looks like she's caught the loop in that--the Grand Maestro isn't a Seventh Fonist, so he can't read the Score. Funny how that works, huh? "Because the position of Fon Master became vacant, Grand Maestro Mohs had an arte imprinted upon his fon slots to give him the ability to use Seventh Fonons, thus giving him the power of a Fon Master. Ask the Necromancer for details." And another chuckle. "I always have, Anise. Obviously, I'm a Seventh Fonist. My abilities were just always employed in different ways before now."
He then glances at Ness, who's sulking now that Tear's taking up his question-time, which might be for the best considering he's not paying a bit of attention anyway. And, in turn, considering Sync isn't taking him particularly seriously (though his guard remains up), who really cares. Even if that line Sync pulled about getting people from other planes to come visit, especially considering their effect on previous Auldrants, really was a good one. "What else did you want to know, 'Mr.' Ness?" the God-General decides to go ahead and ask him anyway, because why not. "I'm not getting *any* kind of a challenge from the people from the younger Auldrants, so go ahead, give me your best shot."
Masked eyes flick over towards Luke and Guy. It's unfortunate; if it weren't as windy as it is, and they weren't sticking to the back and keeping their voices down, then he'd probably be able to overhear their conversation. The Tempest isn't overly concerned by this. He can just as easily ask them about it later.
Then the black-haired Scion steps out of the shadows, and the God-General turns a faint smile his way. "Mercade Alexander, how nice of you to stop by and visit," he remarks. "No, I'm happy for the interruption; it's nice to have someone who's actually paying attention to what I'm saying. As for your question: it stands to reason, doesn't it? If the emergence of the Gate is in the Score, as is the fact that me and one other passed through it, why wouldn't the Score tell of anyone who passes in from it?"

THAT gets a reaction. Enough that Tear shoots Guy a sharp look, "What?" Mohs? Fon Master? But _ION_ is Fon Master. She glances towards Anise, who brings up another good point, as well as getting defensive over Ion. But the thought of Mohs being Fon Master is troubling. So where Sync - and Guy - were from, either Mohs was already Fon Master in Guy's world .. or something happened to Ion in his world.
Of course, this is already confirmed by Sync himself. Let the others argue and counterpoint - Tear is silent, studying Sync with a flat gaze. There were things she wanted to ask him - but she's no intention of saying them -here-.

Ness stops his drawing (a rather charming depiction of a stick-woman Tear making googly eyes at something he hadn't got around to drawing yet) when Sync addresses him irectly. "Well, actually, I did have a few questions," he says, flipping back through his notes. "Butts butts bu....wait, that's not it," he mutters, flipping back another page.
Ah, there we go.
"Could you give us a demonstration, then?" he points at the fonstone with his pencil. "If what you say is true and everything's foretold, then what do you see in my future? I've passed through Auldrant before. I ate a fried chicken on a string and I told Miss Anise about how pretty she was, ans she giggled." Ness is still not rich, for the record.
He quickly adds one more thing. "Oh, I had to stop by the bathroom on the way back, so I think part of me is technically still there now. I'm not sure if that helps."

Interesting that Tear assumes Guy heralds from the same world as Sync. He's just as surprised as she is! ...Except his surprise is more of the 'quiet, maybe a little pensive' sort. It's possible Jade said something, not terribly likely, but possible. ...And there IS the fact that Guy doesn't give an appropriately STUNNED AND APPALLED reaction to the implication that Ion had vacated the position, considering that could be taken as, oh, say ... SPOILERS: HE DIED. But then AGAIN, Guy could also still be pondering that stuff about Mohs, and the Score involving people from beyond the Gate.
Timelines are so fun!
"It might be possible," Guy says, "But there's no way to be certain, and I doubt Sync's going to let us borrow the fonstone to verify its contents. Furthermore, there's no guarantee that the fonstone he has now has anything about you," is added for Ness' benefit.

The younger Auldrants can't take the risk. If even Luke recognizes that fact, then the rest of the planet was likely to as well. While Sync deals with the number of questions and doubts thrown at him, the young nobleman actually turns away and walks a bit of a distance away from everyone, filing away what he'd heard - and changing his radio's frequency. This mess with other Scores and the impact it might have on the world was a little bit beyond anything he's dealt with so far.
It's convenient how modern technology means he doesn't have to bungle through it on his own. He can ask for immediate advice on the matter, relaying the conversation so far in low-voiced repetition, much of it paraphrased for the sake of the person on the other end of the line.
He'll be back in a few minutes.

"Perhaps it does." Mercade nods in agreement. "It mainly depends on the exact metaphysics behind what the nature of the prophetic aility stands. I don't understand it well enough to make a guess, but I would have to assume that for anything an extraplanar does would have to be rather significant for it to appear. People from other worlds likely don't have the same 'impact' as it were as people born and raised within the influence of the Score."

That gets another point. POINT! Anise takes several steps toward Sync, hand first. "I... wh.. you..." She pauses partway there, though. "What do you mean it became vacant? Where's Ion? He's supposed to be Fon Master!" Even if it isn't her Auldrant, it's still Auldrant, and Ion is her responsibility. Any Ion! "Oooh... You're lying! I know you are!" She stomps her foot on the ground once, arms falling straight and stiff at her sides, body leaning forward slightly. Sync has probably seen it before.
Her potential tantrum is halted, momentarily, as she hears Ness, though. Blinking, she turns to face him. "It's you! Look, you shouldn't believe anything Sync says. He's a liar and a bad person!"

Oh, Ness, every word you speak just impresses Sync all the more. (Impresses Ness with his idiocy, that is.) But he recognizes a trap when he sees one, so Ness isn't a complete buffoon--or maybe he is, and just didn't think his request through completely. Either way.
"Judging by your remarks, I doubt the Auldrant you passed through was my own, so I doubt I could read any of the things you did on a *different* Auldrant. Just like how you can't expect a replica who's lived a different life to remember the same things as the original," he adds casually, glancing Tear and Anise's way. "Oh, excuse me, you wouldn't know what replicas are, 'Mr.' Ness. Go ahead and ask Col. Curtiss about that, too. If you don't know him, I'm sure any of your friends in the IPA will know." He has no idea if Ness is in fact friends with any of these IPA guys, or how many of them are in fact IPA, but that's why Sync is making offhand remarks and watching for Ness' reaction.
"Not necessarily, though you're not far off the mark," Sync tells Mercade, looking his way. "For major events, yes, you'd need a major happening. But the Score is precise to the point where you can refer to it to decide what to have for dinner that evening. But as Guy says, you need the right fonstone. I brought this one along to demonstrate what I already said about the Gates." He returns his attention to Ness. "If you want a Score reading from *my* Auldrant, I'll be happy to invite you to Daath--here and now, if you want proof that badly. I'll of course send word ahead so the New Order knows to expect us, and are properly alerted in case of, say, monsters attacking us on the way there."
Because *certainly* no one in *present* company would try to jump Sync the moment they were out of the Hub and in a place where combat's allowed. Certainly not!
Then once again, Anise is jabbing a finger in his face. Showing a touch of impatience for the first time since everyone assembled, Sync brushes her hand down. "Fon Master Ion is dead," he tells her point-blank. "He was murdered."
And yes, the Tempest has seen Anise's little tantrums before. It almost merits an amused smile, before she trashes him to Ness and he laughs outright. The irony of being called a liar by a spy and traitor is just too much; he can't *not* laugh. The temptation is extremely strong to tell Anise--even if it's just by whispering in her ear, because that's too good a piece of information to give away out of turn--just *how* Ion died, but Sync maintains his self-control on that point. "That's just hurtful, Anise," he says instead, opting for subtlety. "How would you like it if I said the same about you? Incidentally, didn't your *parents* ever teach you not to point?"

Ness has a bit of an advantage over Sync in this vein - the Chosen Boy's worldview is fairly expansive, owing to his living with the Gates for a decade and in a very strange world, to boot. Oh, right, and he also has cable. "Replicas?" he asks, tilting his head. "So clones, basically? Yeah, that makes sense. They're different people, after all, just started out sorta the same." The boy shrugs and jots down some more notes (read: starts sketching Sync with giant beaver buck teeth and a harelip).
The remark about the IPA, additionally, passes right over Ness's head. He doesn't react to being accused of possessing IPA membership for the pure and simple reason that he didn't know it was supposed to be a secret - he's not really the type to hide and lie and scheme, after all, preferring more direct methods such as walking up to evil and punching it in the nose. He does recognize Jade's name, though, so that gets a nod. "I met Jade when I ate the chicken," he says, nodding. "I'll ask him about it if I have any more questions."
And Guy will explain, probably.
Ness nods politely to Sync and walks toward Anise, flashing her a quick grin before assuming a falsely serious face again. "Hello there, pretty young miss!" he says seriously. "Ness S. Gamecube for the Threed Chronicle-Examiner-Journal. Might I ask you a few questions about this Mister Sync? You seem unfond of him. Is it because of his terrible personal grooming habits or some other, deeper reason?"

As she thought. Tear winces slightly, even hearing the confirmation from Sync. Ion, dead. Her left hand twitches into a fist briefly, and she steps forward, moving to put a hand to Anise's shoulder. Both to get her attention and to keep her from hauling off and clobbering Sync, Hub defenses be damned.
"Anise." The brunette leans down and whispers something to the smaller girl, then straightens and fixes Sync with a long, unreadable look. Another brief pat to Anise's shoulder, and without a word to anyone else, Tear walks out of the lobby.

From afar, Tear Grants (Tear) told Anise, 'Keep your cool, I'm going to look into some things. Let me know how things go here later.'

"I have to admit, I'm rather intrigued." Mercade comments. "You see, I've often done some studies of prophetic abilities due to some... personal situations of mine. I might have to stop in at one Auldrant or another to see what there is to see." He smiles, almost unnaturally pleasant to the God-General in the face of the unrelenting tide of animosity from the others. "I know your situation must be a difficult one to have so many people interested in causing trouble for you." This is, of course, rather obvious. "Perhaps we can speak at a later time in the future when you don't have the interest of your... Should I say rivals? They certainly don't seem to be friendly with you."

If Anise weren't so worked up and upset already, she might fall for the pretty line again. Or pretend to, depending. Ness might be rich someday! But she's a little preoccupied now. She doesn't even notice that the name and newspaper he's giving her is different from the one he gave Sync just a few minutes ago. "It's because he's a horrible person and he's out to.. to..."
Anise blinks and lets her voice trail off. She turns slowly and -stares- at Sync. "Ion is.. is... he's.. No! That can't be true!" She pauses as Tear leans over to whisper to her, letting her head nod just slightly. No, she won't do anything rash. Not that she -can-, in the Hub. So she just stares at Sync, her legs wobbling slightly. "No..." Hands come to cover her face, and she just... lets herself slide down to her knees. "You're lying.. you're lying!"

"Sync, that's far enough!"
Er, that would be Guy, who indeed will be doing a lot of explaining, but later. Right now, he's trying to avoid a situation that might land Anise into trouble, or worse -- activate the Hub security system. He's heard STORIES about that! Though in reality, it probably wasn't nearly as traumatic as the aforementioned rumors claimed to be. He doesn't approach any closer than a few steps, and even that leaves ample room to avoid any sudden and threatening moves from the ladies. He'd have asked Luke about this earlier, but he's using his radio, and ... actually, he has a sinking feeling on who it is he might be speaking with right now. "Tear."
How to go about this..? "I think we've heard enough. Besides, Anise, Ion needs you right now. Why don't we go back and see him?"

Luke misses the conversation about replicas! Although he has a vague idea of what they are, that's really as far as it goes; he neither thinks of them or wonders about his own history as it applies to them. Instead, he's busy getting advice from wiser heads than his own, and what he's told makes a whole lot of sense.
Satisfied with the answers he gets, the redhead rejoins the conversation somewhere around 'fon master Ion is dead'. Tear and Anise were from future planes (not Guy!) so they're glanced at for verification of this; Ion's a really nice person and Luke liked him, and if there was a way to prevent murder, he was definitely going to have to find out!
It seemed there was a whole lot of bad things they were going to have to try to prevent. In spite of the general unpleasantness going around, he merely looks worried.
It gets worse when Anise goes to pieces. That's to be expected, she and Ion were really close. "Anise.." Sometimes he wished he'd bothered to get to know she and Tear better, at least he'd have some idea of what to say or do when things go badly. "..hey, come on." This being nice thing isn't easy. He's going to lift her to her feet unless prevented, though! "Ion's still okay, right? So we just have to make sure he stays that way. Don't worry."
Have they heard enough? Guy's given a long look; he knows something important's being left out again. He's getting a lot better at realizing when he's being left out of the loop on purpose.
As for /Sync/.. "Kimlasca will want to send a representative to your Daath to verify the problems your world is suffering, as well as several other versions of Auldrant to determine where things went wrong. As far as I know, nobody's gone against the Score yet, which might be why our world's still safe and in one piece, but if we can prevent future problems then it falls on us to do what we can to keep the people safe." Now, you KNOW those aren't really Luke's words; while he cares about his people in a distant sort of sense, this is a far more personal sort of concern. Or seems to be anyway.

Sync is waiting for Anise to accuse him or one of the other God-Generals of killing Ion, or perhaps of just lying about it outright, and is not disappointed. Because he's a sadistic little schadenfreude-loving bastard, he takes savage pleasure in her distress. Serves her right. So when Guy snarls at him to STFU already, Sync smiles--ah, so he *is* his world's Guy--and makes an ironic little bow.
Meanwhile, the fact that Ness knows immediately what replicas are is a little surprising, but Sync takes this to mean that he a) is connected with the IPA after all (since like hell Jade would talk about it without having it dragged out of him), and b) he doesn't care if Sync knows it. And the fact that Ness basically ignores his offer to take him to Daath to get his Score read in favor of asking Anise to insult Sync right in front of him also tells Sync definitively that Ness never had any intention of taking this seriously. It was, granted, pretty obvious from the start, especially with the fact that his name mysteriously changed, but he at least *pretended* like it mattered to him. It's for a wider variety of reasons that Sync doesn't take offense when Ness basically says he smells, one of which being that there's no point in getting angry at this kid here.
Instead, Sync turns towards Mercade, returning that pleasant smile for one of his own. Of course he's getting a wave of animosity! He's pretty much taunting all of them like a mutha, which is one of the reasons why he doesn't care that Ness is insulting him. (It helps a lot that he's one more secret away from making Anise cry.) "I'm sure you get a lot of the same," he remarks, then chuckles. "Sgt. Tatlin has issues with authority, and Sgt. Grants *generally* just isn't a friendly person. Now that I don't have a reason to keep quiet, I'll be happy to speak with you again, Detective."
He retrieves a piece of paper and a pencil stub from a pocket, glancing over at Luke as he returns from his private conversation to the group--and notes in particular Guy's statement, of which he is not very thrilled--but continues as if normal, and jots down his frequency thrice, then tears the paper in three. One strip is given to Mercade, one to Ambassador Luke, and one held out to...Anise?
"If you really think I'm a liar, feel free to talk to me one-on-one about it," Sync says casually. Then he turns his attention to Luke. Hm. He's sounding much smarter than usual, which probably means he's getting advice fed to him. He's got a feeling he knows from whom, too. But Sync does not remark on this, and instead replies, "We'd be only too happy to enlighten your Kimlasca about the problems Auldrant will face as a result of defying the Score; the New Order's wish is to ensure that the world becomes virtuous once again. If what you say is true, Luke fon Fabre, then the New Order of Lorelei will do everything it can to help you. We'll discuss it further over the radio, or one-on-one; this isn't the place or time for diplomatic talks."
With frequencies handed out--though if Anise won't take her share, Sync will just take it back and rip it up--the God-General regards the crowd. "It looks like I'd better call it a night here; enough's been said and done for now. Before I leave to continue my work, does anyone have any final questions?" (He may be a jerk, but he's perfectly capable of being civil when the situation calls.)

One secret away from making Anise cry? If it's -that- secret, it would do more than just make her cry. No, Anise is already crying on the inside. The only thing that's making her hold back is that she doesn't want to give Sync the satisfaction of seeing her cry. That, and Guy just stood up for her! "Guy...?" She slowly lowers her hands and sniffs softly. Despite her attitude at times, she really is still just a kid. In fact, if she weren't suddenly distracted by Sync holding something out, she'd have leapt up and tried to cling to Guy, and we all know how badly that would have ended. So perhaps Sync has unwittingly saved the day!
Rising to her feet, Anise looks at the paper, looks at Sync... and lifts her hand to slap his away. "I'm not talking to you." With as much dignity as she's able to muster, Anise turns to walk out. "You're right, Guy. I'm going to go make sure Ion is doing well."

Sync pretty much has Ness pegged, actually - as soon as the Chosen Boy found out that he couldn't ask about Venetia's boobs or answers to the plot hook he's stuck on in his world, he pretty much decided to create his own amusement. He wasn't having much luck, either, as the rather serious implications all of this are decidedly /not/ going over the heads of his companions.
It would take someone far, far denser than Ness not to note that Anise is about to cry, however.
The Chosen Boy's eyes widen as he sees Anise's face, and he follows her gaze back to Sync. He scrolls back through the masked kid's dialogue in his mind, probing the part of his brain he devotes to actually paying attention to the world around him...and his jaw muscles twitch with anger. He watches her get up to leave, squares his shoulders, and slowly marches toward Sync, his hands clenched into fists.
"Men shouldn't make girls cry," he growls. "Apologize to her now, or I'm gonna whup your butt."

"Oh, occasionally. I mostly bring it on myself, though, so I can't really complain!" Mercade accepts the paper with a smile and tucks it away. "I don't believe I have anything else for the moment Sync. It was a pleasure meeting you once again." With a tip of his hat, Mercade turns and begins walking towards the roof access. He'll wait for the others in more... comfortable environments. That and he doesn't really want to be present if someone DOES decide to test the Hub's security.

Luke accepts the slip of paper, pocketing it after a moment for later reference. Whether or not he's ever going to use it remains to be seen. And after a handful of moments of utter silence, chooses to believe that Anise was simply stressed out over thinking of Ion as being hurt and not deliberately ignoring him in favor of Guy. Whatever she'd hated him for, that was some other Luke, that had gotten dealt with. So it had to be distress.
"There's no telling that your Score is the same as ours either," he says, sounding a bit distracted. "Chances are good they're only the same on the really big details and not the little ones, but it's a good idea to check and be sure." Which'll require multi-Daath cooperation.
But that's fine. It'll have to be. He's not making these decisions after all, he's just putting together as much information as he can. Ingobert would make those decisions himself - but Luke's certain an envoy will be sent to the different planes now. And soon. ".. I don't have any questions."

It's just as well that Anise slaps Sync's hand away. She definitely won't want to hear that secret. Reducing the strip of paper to shreds with a faint but smug little smile, the God-General nods to Mercade. "I'm not surprised to hear that, Detective Alexander. You seem like the kind of guy who likes getting into trouble." Which isn't even a threat, considering this is a guy who chased Sync across the Hub just because he seemed kind of suspicious. He'll give him a nod back, and then regard Luke.
"That's reasonable," Sync tells the redhead, debating whether to let him know he knows about Akzeriuth, then deciding to save it for another day. If Luke never contacts him, well, Sync has *his* number. To cover his ass, though, he adds, "If I don't hear from you soon, I'll look up your frequency on my own time. And in that case, good night."
He turns to leave as Ness stomps up to him and gets in his face. Sync looks at the Eaglelander, recalls how he repeatedly called Anise pretty, and draws a couple of minor conclusions. This doesn't change what he says, though, which is a dry, mild, "One, Anise didn't actually cry. Two, even if I did apologize to her, she wouldn't accept it. Three, apologizing now would be a bigger insult to her pride, because as it stands, she can hate me in peace. And four..." A taunting sickle of a smile, just begging to be punched, as he looks down his mask at the shorter boy, takes a step backwards into an offensive/defensive martial arts stance, and makes the 'bring it' gesture. "I'd like to see you try and whup me."
Of course, Sync has absolutely no intention of fighting Ness. But it would be funny if he could taunt Ness into throwing a punch, dodging--or, hell, even letting him have the punch--and watching him get carted off by Hub security before hurrying back to his business.

Though Ness is not actually sweet on Anise - as we mentioned, not rich and has a kind of sort of girl who is a friend who may one day become a girl who is a friend and a girlfriend at the same time - he is rather a bit protective of the fairer sex in general, on account of having been raised right by a loving mother. And so he really, really does not like to see them cry. And whatever Sync's fancy words might say, it is fairly obvious to Ness that the green-haired bemasked boy wanted to upset Anise. You don't have to be psychic to sense the smugness boiling off of Sync.
Since Ness is actually a psychic, this also helps matters.
The challenge, however, stings Ness's masculine pride, and his eyes crackle with energy as he stomps toward Sync, raising his right fist angrily. He accelerates into a run, leaps up toward Sync and---
It is at this moment, dear fellows, that two paths diverge in history. An angrier, less trusting Ness - one who had been betrayed by those he thought friends and tormented by the darkness currently silent inside him - might have slugged the green-haired boy and security be damned. This Ness, however, is less experienced with the darker side of his soul and his world, less prone to insane rage than indignant fury.
There is a difference between the two. Among them is that the indignantly furious Ness decides to do the most aggravating thing he can think of to Sync, which at this moment is kiss him on the lips. "Bet you I could, big boy," he adds, winking coquettishly.
Ness successfully targets Sync with his *SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH* action.

[OOC] Luke fon Fabre says, "........"
[OOC] Luke fon Fabre says, "OH MY GOD C_C"
[OOC] Sync says, "Ness, why you gotta be so gay."
[OOC] Jade Curtiss says, "...."
[OOC] Anise Tatlin says, "....."

Tai Feng, down on the roof opposite, spits out a mouthful of kettle corn and laughs uproariously.

Well, radioing people back and forth is fine, it's not like anyone can hurt him over the radio or anything. "Yeah, sure." He had to get home, make a report ... figure out what to do about Guy not being Guy. That bothered him more than this whole Score business did. There's something wrong with the world when the only person that seems to be honest with him is Jade Curtiss.
He'll think about it later. And instead heads for the exit, only to pause out of morbid curiosity when Ness and Sync seem likely to break into fighting. Which is right about when Ness chooses to kiss the God-General instead, and Luke can only gape in obvious horrified shock.
Of all the things he /did/ expect to see tonight..

Sync has to admit, he never expected to get kissed.
Pushing for the sake of getting the freak away from someone at least is more than allowable by Hub rules, because when Sync finds that Ness's "attack" is actually a "smooch," his reaction is pretty much what Ness probably predicted it would be, which is 'asdgklas GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS.'
After the God-General spits and wipes off his mouth, and has a sudden surge of 'want to kill you' (which Ness will probably sense, which will probably do wonders for his fury), Sync searches for a proper retort, and finds it when the psychic boy goes '*giggle giggle ♥*' at him. It, curiously, comes with a flash of surface thoughts, which Ness may or may not be able to pick up on. And so Sync shrugs and waves a hand as he starts to walk past him, ignoring Luke's look of horror--he's not sure if he's vindicated or pissed off about it (though he'd definitely be pissed if he could hear Tai Feng's howling over the wind), and that's not what's in mind at the moment anyway.
"Actually, forget it; you're not my type. I'm more into" (a girl in black carrying a doll with pink--) "long hair." He then gives him an askance look. "Don't take that as an invite to grow it out."

Ness also doesn't think much of the idea, nor of whatever Sync had for dinner. Belatedly, he also hopes Sync isn't a vampire.
The Chosen Boy wipes his mouth and offers a smirk Syncward as the God-General walks away - the green-haired boy is taking it well, Ness will grant him that. "I like hats, actually," he says. "So long hair's pretty impractical." The young boy's grin turns a little dark. "But I'm sure we can talk about it later...Mister Sync."
Ness glares after the God-General for another few seconds, and then smiles and starts walking away, whistling happily. In his mind, Anise is already half-avenged....though there was something kind of familiar about that girl....

It tasted better going down, maybe. (Sync is actually quite a good cook, all considered.)
"I'll be happy to, 'Mister' Ness. I'm sure we'll have *plenty* to discuss," he says, continuing along...to the edge of the building. Before anyone can comment on it, he hops off nimbly to hurtle down. No need to hope for his imminent death; he had this route planned out ahead of time, and he's going to need the speed boost it'll give him to get ahead of the others. Good thing Anise is so *slow*.

[SETTING SWAP TO THE TARTARUS ON AULDRANT 1]

It really is a damn good thing Sync is so fast.
It's also good that, by the time he finishes outrunning Anise and the others all the way back to the Tartarus, he is winded enough that he really *does* feel like collapsing, which is quite in character for a Fon Master who's begged off meeting this mysterious representative of the so-called New Order of Lorelei on account of feeling so ill. How *does* he manage to get aboard the Tartarus, you ask? Well, it's mainly by doing something freaking crazy, which we won't go into detail on but involves scaling the side of the land dreadnaught.
By the time he's finished all that, changing out of and hiding his God-General outfit, wiping himself down with a clean towel he had handy, and changing into Ion's robes, his body feels like jelly. Just letting himself black out immediately and fall into sweet sleep is highly tempting, and the feel of the bed when he collapses into it is too good for words, but the replica forces himself to stay awake. The promise of potentially getting to see Anise's tears is incentive enough, and after several moments of catching his breath, Sync forces himself to sit back up again and wipe his face off again.

Something that also helps Sync get back first is that Anise had to stop along the way to cry her eyes out, with nobody but Tokunaga to comfort her! But she wanted to make sure that she wouldn't cry in front of Ion, so she really needed to let that out.
When the Fon Master Guardian finally does return to the Tartarus, she looks much better, though even an Ion who didn't cause her to cry in the first place might be able to pick up on little things like that touch of redness in her eyes.
"Ion~" Slowly, Anise pushes the door open to check if the Fon Master is awake. She smiles when she sees him, rushing over to sit down beside his bed. "Are you feeling any better, Ion?"

That certainly helps, and though Sync may not have the privilege of seeing Anise's tears firsthand, he'll at least get to spot that puffiness and redness in her face. It helps that he's looking for it.
The exhaustion means that the replica's response to Anise's arrival is delayed, which is just as well. "...Oh, Anise," he says, pushing a tired smile as he lifts a hand weakly. "Yes, a bit. I'm afraid I didn't rest very well, so I'm thinking I might take a short walk on deck--" because that's actually a much better way of cooling down a body that's been put through an extremely strenuous workout than just stopping dead, even if he kept himself moving as he swapped identities "--and grab a bite to eat. I'm feeling rather hungry, which I think is an improvement."
He pauses then, and regards the dark-haired girl, folding his hands in his lap. Yes, she definitely is showing signs that she's been crying. Internalizing his glee, the Faux Master lets his expression cloud. "...What about you, Anise? You seem...upset, somehow. Is it something to do with that New Order of Lorelei that Sync talked about?"
Despite still being a little upset from what happened tonight, Anise still smiles at the very person who made her sad. "I can have food brought down here if you're hungry, Ion." She reaches out to take one of his hands and squeezes it softly. "I'm... not upset." See? She even gives another smile. Totally not upset! "But Sync is a mean, bad person. I don't think you should get involved with anything he's doing."
Anise pauses, leaning in to look right into Sync's eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling okay, Ion? I don't want you walking around outside if you have a fever!" After a long stare, she suddenly moves forward, pressing her forehead lightly against the fake Fon Master's. The best way to check for temperature is to compare directly!

"Thank you, Anise. I'd really appreciate that." He's not even lying about it; Sync is starving. It happens when you've got a highly active lifestyle, and scarfing down a cheese sandwich before causing all the trouble he did earlier isn't going to fuel him for long.
He's a little startled, though, when Anise takes his hand into hers. Considering his last intimate contact was when Ness suddenly thought it would be a great idea to smooch him, one can't blame him. At least he doesn't flinch, and when he gets over his surprise, he regards Anise's face, which isn't *quite* clear of tear tracks despite her obvious efforts. "...Anise..."
Avoid Sync? Don't mind if he does? 'Ion' nods once, still affecting worry. "...All right. I'll stay away from him. I--no, I don't think I'm coming down with anything," he adds with a little laugh. "I'm just..." And as he searches for the appropriate excuse, Anise leans her face in towards his and presses her forehead on his. Considering recent events, there is one thing that this makes the young God-General think of, and he gets significantly more embarrassed than he was last time.
...But this has its advantages too. The replica lets Anise stay there for a moment--his forehead *is* quite hot, for the record, and he *does* look rather feverish--and he lifts his free hand to her face. "There are still tear tracks left on your face," he says softly, rubbing them away with the pad of his thumb. "Anise..."
And then Sync leans in and kisses her gently.

It's really hard to see things too close to one's face, but Anise has quite a concerned expression as she feels how warm that forehead is. "Ion, I think you have a fever. You shouldn't leave the room, okay?" She starts to pull her head back, but pauses and blinks in surprise when the hand touches her cheek. It's a very personal touch, and Anise can't help but blush... even if she doesn't realize she's blushing. Probably a good thing Luke isn't here to see it and pick on her. Or Natalia.
Anise smiles and closes her eyes. "It's nothing. Just sometihng that irritated my eyes, that's all. You don't need to worry." Her eyes open, just in time for a sudden, unexpected kiss.
So unexpected that Anise just... doesn't react for a moment, save for that small blush spreading out to turn her entire face red as a tomato. When she finally -does- react, she's very flustered, and quickly pats her hands against her lap. "I.. Ion! What was... ah! I'm going to go see about your food. I'll be back soon!" Really, what -was- that? Anise quickly gets to her feet and turns around, slipping out the door... then pauses right outside and leans against the wall for a moment.

There will come a time later when Sync reflects on this moment, and thinks to himself, 'Oh geez WHYYY did I do that!?'
For the moment, he just allows himself a smirk and a mental screw-you to Ness, and he sprawls down on the bed. So he's hot enough to feel like he has a fever, huh? He wonders how he's going to deal with that come morning when he's obviously just fine.
While he's thinking about that, he ends up backsliding into the sleep his body is demanding. He'll wake up easily enough if Anise returns with food and wakes him up, though. But considering what Sync just *did* to her, it might be that Anise won't bother once she sees him conked out.

It takes perhaps a little longer than it should for Anise to return with food. When she steps in and sees 'Ion' asleep, though, the girl just quietly tiptoes over and sets the food down on a table within reach of the bed. She hesitates a moment... then reaches up carefully and pulls the covers up to his shoulders.
With that done, Anise pulls a chair over and sits down, pulling Tokunaga around to her lap. It isn't long before she falls asleep herself!