This is not the home I know

[relinquishing]

Characters: Guy and some of you people out there!
Setting: Room 5-02, the Dormitory levels, Floor 5, and Floor 38.
Format: Preference is brackets, but I'll follow suit.
Summary: When Guy left out on a journey, this is not where he was expecting to end up.
Warnings: Nothing for right now.

ROOM 5-02

[It was a horrifying sensation, not to remember where exactly you were. It was dark and a little bit cold. He could feel and hear. But for an agonizingly long moment, he couldn't do anything else. Words were caught in his throat, and he can feel that flicker of concern rising from deep in his gut. Was it just a nightmare? Maybe he'd drift back to sleep soon...

It's only when that concern slowly turns to panic that Guy's eyes suddenly snap open, breath coming hard as he yanks himself to a sitting position. Was it a dream? Where---

Where is he?

His fingers travel to his neck, eyes scanning the room for anything familiar as he tries to remain calm. These clothes... he's never seen anything like them before. And what the hell was this collar doing around his neck? The note on his bedstand is snatched up and read, but quickly put away soon afterwards.

"Let's all be happy here?" His brow furrows.]

Nice idea. Not sure how happy I'm feeling right now, though. More like I'm being held prisoner or something...

[Happiness wasn't really on his list of things to feel right about now. Not with how little they've seemed to tell him. And especially not if Auldrant's really gone...]

DORMITORY LEVELS

[After a simple change of clothes, Guy goes off to wander. It only takes a little bit of exploring his dormitory halls for Guy to realize just how bare the bedrooms around him are. He can't be the only one around here, right? Peeking in every doorway is starting to get a little tiring, and with no sound and no activity from any of these rooms, he's beginning to get the idea that not many other people live here.

Or, rather, not in this part of the building. Hopefully.

He's not quite in the mood to walk all the way down the stairs. So after a moment's hesitation, he heads upwards, only to find more rooms... and a much larger amount of people. He'll poke his head through the halls of each level, a reigned sense of urgency and concern behind his steps. He will stop if he's spoken to, but for the most part, he looks as if he's searching for someone in particular.]

FLOOR 5

[To be fair, he'd stepped onto the floor purely by accident. And for a very long moment, he didn't regret it whatsoever. The technology that suddenly surrounds him is absolutely astonishing, and had it not been in use, he would probably have been all over it to see how exactly it worked. For the time being, he watches from a distance and observes, awe in his eyes like a kid at a candy store.

That is, until someone directs him to the viewfinders. To see the somewhat familiar terrain of Auldrant in complete ruins, with not even the pool of mud and miasma remaining, strikes Guy cold from the minute he looks. For a long while, it's all he can do - view his world as much as possible and see if anything - anyone - might have survived. The more he watches, the more somber he grows, and he eventually turns away with a bitter disgust.

If this was some sort of joke, it wasn't funny in the least.]

FLOOR 38

[Something about the glass walls and layers of cloud and fog draw Guy off the staircase and into the lounge. He's seen Auldrant in ruins by now, yes. What kind of world had he been dumped on in the process, then?

There may be other people in the room, to which he'll nod his greeting with a tired smile, but he's decided to casually find a spot of these endless windows to lean against, taking a good look down as he does so.]

Man. How high up does this place really go...?

Comments

[bloodyashes]

He knows. I told him.

[And he'd promptly puked, but Guy doesn't need to know that.]

He doesn't know much beyond that, but I made sure he knew what happened, and why he was born.

[Unless one of the others had told Luke more, which Asch strongly doubted, that was all he knew.]

[relinquishing]

You mean you told him he's a replica?

[There's a biting tone to his words. Luke knowing the truth was one thing, sure... and as much as it frustrated him to hear that Luke had to find out from his original, it was probably for the better right now. But still, coming from Asch? That had better not include that damn focus on being a replacement or being a tool.]

[bloodyashes]

He'd started to figure it out for himself.

[Funnnily enough, Asch's expression softens very slightly.]

All I had to do was confirm it.

[relinquishing]

How kind of you.

[He pauses for a long moment, glancing back over his shoulder at the fog below, his shoulders tense.]

I guess he'd have to find out sooner or later, huh. Just don't go throwing crazy accusations at him like you did before.

[bloodyashes]

What, like the truth?

[Signature Asch glare at the side of your head.]

Because ultimately, Gailardia, I always wind up being the one who has to do it.

1/2

[relinquishing]

[...]

[relinquishing]

[He stiffens immediately, his tone growing cold.]

There's a difference between truth and belittling.

[Said in the tone of "you cross that line far too often and you know it". This wasn't about him, Asch. Don't go making it about him.]

keywords

[bloodyashes]

And there's a difference between lies and omission, but I doubt he appreciates either.

[Not taking any nonsense here. This is how he's decided to care, and he's as stubborn as ever when he sets his mind to something.]

I haven't told him. For now, I'll leave it to you.

[AKA, you tell him and soon, or Asch will do it for you.]

This conversation got so serious so fast

[relinquishing]

[Sorry, that's not gonna happen. This isn't Auldrant. It wasn't important for Luke to know there and it certainly isn't important now.]

And you expect that to just accomplish something? Because it won't.

sob it did

[bloodyashes]

He has a right to the truth. That's the only way anyone can expect him to make decisions for himself.

[Decisions that aren't fucked up manipulations, anyway. After a moment, Asch smirks.]

What, scared he's going to leave you?

[relinquishing]

Don't be stupid.

[Standing at his full height now, a hand on his hip and looking anything but amused at the redhead in front of him. Resorting to taunting? Really? Grow up, Asch.]

Do you really think that something like that's going to do anything useful around here? What he does with what he knows is his choice, but making things more complicated than they already are isn't really on my priorities. Frankly, it shouldn't be on yours, either.

So just drop it.

[bloodyashes]

[He was being serious, actually, not that Guy would believe him if he said so.]

And if oh, say, Sync show should up next?

[Asch knows what that curse slot is for and what it does, he'd heard Sync planning to use it before.]

Don't you think it's better to prepare him for it now, instead of having to do damage control afterwards?

[relinquishing]

That's a pretty big "if".

[He's been able to keep it under control so far. He'd prefer it stay that way. If Sync came around and decided to meddle, that was a different story. But right now, Sync wasn't here. So right now, it certainly didn't matter.

Maybe he'd look to see if someone else around here could remove it. It's high hoping. But he's got plenty of time, as far as he can tell.]

[bloodyashes]

And are you willing to take that risk? Willing to stake Luke's life on it?

[There's a repressed anger in that tone. Don't you dare accuse him of caring, though.]

Because I'm not.

[relinquishing]

I'm not going to kill him.

[It's sharp and immediate, followed by a passive attempt at a smile that would seem out of place on anyone else, save for Guy.]

And I'm not asking you to trust me. If you care that much, keep an eye on me. You'll be doing that anyways, right?

[bloodyashes]

You'd try.

[There's a pause, and then Asch shrugs slightly.]

Or it could be me, if I'm closer, I suppose.

[relinquishing]

Or nothing could happen at all.

[If you're going to be stubborn, Asch, then fine. But regardless of any anger he may still hold, he is not a killing machine. Don't talk about him as if that's all he'll become.]

[bloodyashes]

I'm rarely that lucky.

[By rarely, he means never.]

At least here, death doesn't stick, or so I keep hearing.

[relinquishing]

Death doesn't stick? What, as in people can't die?

[He has a hunch that's not quite it, if Asch is getting so up in arms about one or the other of them being killed.]

[bloodyashes]

[And indeed, he's shaking his head. Minus that strangeness with that little girl - ]

They just come back.

[relinquishing]

...How is that even possible? There has to be some sort of catch.

[To bring a dead man back to life... that would require necromancy of some nature, right? But really, could that even be accomplished?]

[bloodyashes]

I don't know how it's possible, but apparently Luke's already been through it once.

[Casual spoiler Asch the Bloody. He crosses his arms, a disapproving look crossing his face that's not directed at Guy at all.]

[relinquishing]

[That inhale of breath is sharper than he'd intended.

Luke... had died?

He has to actively think on something else to get his posture to relax and his fingers to stop clenching so tightly to the hilt of his sword. Easy, Guy. No need to get angry.]

How? What happened to him?

[bloodyashes]

I don't know the details. It was before I got here.

[Luke hadn't even told him intentionally; he'd seen it watching that thread on the network. He didn't think Luke had left it out intentionally, just out of his usual stupidity, but still.]

I can't imagine he's eager to talk about it.

[relinquishing]

If that's the case, then how the hell did you manage to find out?

[Eager or not, Luke would always end up spilling issues... given enough time and a little bit of pressure. But to Asch? Give him a break. There was no way.]