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[mirrorbirth]

[It's early afternoon. The journal flies open and turns on abruptly in mid-air, a blast of resonating energy having blown it away from where it had been placed. As it flies, a few flashes of red, white, and black are visible, and when it lands, Asch and Luke are in the distance, swords clashing, the rec center just beyond where they're fighting.

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[Luke had not seen this coming at all. One minute the two of them sparring, then there was that familiar light and Asch's yell, and that feeling of his fonons being stressed, the thing that had knocked him out last time this happened.

All Luke could think was "Not again..." before everything went black

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[Asch has a very different thought in his mind as his location is forcefully shifted; after the flare of light and the abrupt jerk of the hyperresonance, he wonders just how many villagers are about to die. To his surprise, though, when his senses return to him, he can't help but notice that he's falling. He squints at his surroundings, quelling his urge to panic (as Luke flails and screams beside him- great, he's still stuck with the idiot), and once he catches sight of the water below he does several things as quickly as humanly possible-

There's not enough time to twist into a dive, so he straightens his body, arms flat against his sides, and inhales deeply. This sort of fall is bound to send them pretty far down.

The water is cold as he hits, almost enough to knock the air out of him, and his body is aching all over, but he knows he got off lucky. Spreading his arms to slow his descent and kicking his legs, he makes a run for the surface.

Now where did his stupid replica end up?]

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[He's still down in the water, Asch. Once his breath was forced out, he automatically tried to breathe in, only to cough once the water hit his gag reflexes and clamp his hands over his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut and twisting and shaking in the water over his lungs suddenly feeling like they'd burst. Luke knew that he had to find air, and one arm stuck out to flail to the side in an effort to swim, but he wasn't sure how, he didn't even know which way was up, and eyes stung from the sea water and all of his senses seemed to have been shaken - was he going to die here?

It certainly felt like it. If the water wasn't going to kill him, then surely holding what little breath he had would do it. He was sure of it, and he hated it, he didn't want to die, but...]

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[....Yeah, it figures.

Asch only takes a moment to determine this, taking another deep breath and diving back down into the water. He's probably stunned from the fall, and belatedly he remembers Luke mentioning that he can't swim well. No wonder he's sinking.

With a hasty arm around his replica's waist, he turns around and kicks for the surface once more, pulling Luke along until they both reach it.]

I swear, replica, if you're not breathing...!

[You'd better breathe, dreck, he can't give you mouth to mouth in the middle of the ocean. Not that he'd want to at all. Ewww.]

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[Something - or someone - grabbed him around the waist and made him open his eyes again, and that's all Luke could register before his vision didn't make sense anymore. There were spots of colors, reds and blacks and blues mixing in with everything else, and then it darkened when everything else faded, and he lost consciousness just as his body took in a deep gulp of water.

Above the water, Luke's head drooped, and his body remained limp in the water. Well, if Asch can't give mouth to mouth, then he'll have to do something, because Luke certainly can't breathe on his own with that water in his lungs.]

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[Idiot... that idiot...

Asch curses inwardly, giving Luke a good, irritated shake before shifting him around so that both arms are around Luke's waist. This would be a hell of a lot easier if Guy had been there- he was the one trained for aquatic rescues, after all. Still, Asch hadn't grown up on an island for nothing. With a fist to Luke's lower chest, he gives it a good hard thrust with his thumb, his legs still kicking furiously to keep them both afloat. This'll all be for nothing if Luke ends up ducking back under the water.

He'll keep it up until Luke breathes again, but hopefully it won't take much. At least he wasn't under for long.]

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[It only takes about four of those until Luke's body finally kicks into action, and he jolts awake as the water is forced out of his lungs to cough it up, then take in a deep, near choking breath of air. Air, air. He spends a moment just coughing, getting the rest of the water out as well as being overwhelmed by the amount of air he was taking in, and he shakes his head to try to get his wits set straight again.

Once he feels right enough to figure out where he is and who's with him (and discover that he's parched despite taking in so much water), he's a little surprised to see just who rescued him.]

Asch- [Oh jeez, maybe talking wasn't a good idea - he turns his head away to cough again. Ow ow ow. Now everything was hurting.]

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Don't say anything, you'll choke again. [Asch shifts his grip to hold Luke with one arm again, using the other to help himself stay afloat. Scanning their surroundings, he spots the shore, and... damn. They're pretty far out.] If you can talk, you can kick. You're not light, you know.

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[Kick... right. Luke isn't completely clueless about swimming - he'd been taught the basics during their journey, but they didn't really have time for anything more than that. He nods as he takes in deep breaths, still letting out quiet coughs, and he kicks awkwardly in the water while one arm reaches out to aid him. He's staying afloat, but with the way he's doing it, he probably couldn't keep it up for long.]

Wha- [Cough. He was about to ask what happened, but he remembers now. An incomplete hyperresonance... the same thing that ended up turning his life completely upside-down.]

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[Asch grimaces, starting to work his way towards the shore, tugging Luke behind himself. Just floating there and trying to talk things out will just exhaust them, and then they'll both drown. The last thing he wants to do is die like this with his replica.]

Dammit... if we'd been just a little further west...

[Though he ought to be grateful- too far west and they'd both have hit the shore or the mountains, and they'd probably be really hurt or even dead.]

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[Luke just lets out a quiet groan of agreement as he tries to help the best that he can. He's weak, though, and exhausted and thirsty, so he can only do so much.

Damn... He should've known something like that would happen. There's always a chance of it happening when two seventh fonists clash together - he'd just been lucky all the other times he'd fought Asch or even Van. It figures that it happened now of all times... Hopefully no one saw that light.

The thought makes him look down where his journal is kept, then let out another quiet groan of realization. Both of the journals he carried on him were probably completely soaked...]

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[...Okay, this is getting too hard to work with. After a while Asch stops, grabbing Luke by the wrist and turning around, pulling Luke's arm around his shoulders.]

Just hold on like this and keep your head above the water. Do you have your journal on you? Check if the village is still there or not.

[Which is probably alarming to hear, but Luke knows all too well the destructive power of hyperresonance. It would be nothing new if they'd left nothing but a gaping hole where the entire village used to be.]

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[The new position makes Luke pause for a moment, but then his head clears and his eyes widen at what Asch says. That's right... Even if it was incomplete, it was still a hyperresonance, and considering the destructive power that it has...

Luke brings his leg up as much as he can in this position, unbuttons and opens up one of the deeper pockets, and pulls his journal through the water to inspect it in the air. Yes, it's thoroughly wet, but upon opening it, Luke finds out that it works. If the frantic yelling of their names says anything, anyway, and he has to wince a little from all of that noise.]

Looks okay- [He's down to clearing his throat now, though his voice sounds rough and quiet.] to me.

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[Whoa, okay, lots of people yelling in his ear. Kind of unpleasant there. Asch scowls and leans his head away from the journal, irritated. It's hard enough to carry the both of them back to the shore without a microphone set to max volume at his ear.]

Will you tell them we're fine so they stop yelling?

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[He nods, though Asch might not be able to see it, and gets to replying to people. He's in no shape to do it, but might as well let everyone know that they're okay.

Once he's done with one, though, there's a SHRIEK from Xion, which makes Luke just about toss the journal in surprise and let it land in the water beside them. He stares for a second, then curses, coughs, reaches out and grabs the journal to respond to her. Yeah, sorry about that scream, Asch.]

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Stop coughing in my ear!

[That was probably loud enough for people to hear, but whatever, they can deal with it.

Geez, are they really going to have to swim all the way to the shore like this? What a pain...]