tampered | Log; ongoing

Log; ongoing

When; August 4
Rating; PG?
Characters;

harmoniae.
Summary; The Akzeriuth Talk, or why that ambassador crap isn't such a great idea.
Log;

Even as the leader of the Order of Lorelei, Ion hadn't really known what to expect after his death. Maybe he hadn't really expected anything; he was a replica, after all, and even if that didn't mean to him now what it once had, he could hardly say that it didn't change things.

But he knew for a fact that he hadn't expected this -- to live again, to live in a world without the Score, in a world without an original whose shoes he would have to constantly struggle to fill; to meet one of the brethren he'd never known and to try once more to reach out to the one he had; to be reunited with two of his most beloved friends.

And above all, he hadn't expected that he would be telling the Luke of months long past about the tragedy that awaited at Akzeriuth.

Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, Ion worried; the information would undoubtedly hurt him, and in those earlier days, Luke hadn't exactly been known for heeding the warnings of anyone but Van in the first place. If he didn't believe it, he would be upset with Ion for what he would see as lying to him; if he did believe it, there was a chance that he would be upset with Natalia for not having told him sooner.

But recalling the tremendous loss of life that day; recalling Luke, how much it had pained him and how desperately he had wished to take it back... If there existed even the slightest chance that Luke could remember what he was told upon returning to Auldrant, that all of this tragedy could somehow be avoided -- Ion was certain that both he and Natalia would be more than willing to accept the consequences of whatever it took.

He took in as much of the scenery as he could as he walked through the city, what little his preoccupied mind could focus on in his hurry to reach the building he sought. Any real sightseeing or exploration would have to wait until later, though he greatly looked forward to them -- even now, he occasionally had to stop momentarily to catch his breath; he feared he was making Natalia wait too long as it was.

Finally, though, he arrived at what he thought to be the building in question, and he approached anxiously but surely as he searched for the familiar form of his friend.

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Natalia waited patiently and eagerly, peering down the hallways every so often in hope that Ion would soon appear. It'd been so long since their last meeting, and it had been much to sad to enjoy. Of course, she wasn't particularly looking forward to the talk - she couldn't stand to see Luke hurt - but Ion surely knew best. Ion would never intentionally hurt Luke, after all.

Another glance down the hall - no, not yet. Though she did hear some footsteps, some mumbled voices, the click of rustic locks. Everything caught her attention.

Oh, she did wonder if she looked presentable enough for their reunion.

Finally stepping into the apartment building, Ion paused for a moment to lay a hand on the wall in the entranceway, looking and feeling -- how long had this place been his friends' home? What kind of memories did they have here?

And then -- there was Natalia, looking every bit as well as she had when he had last seen her, he noted, a relieved smile spreading across his face. He'd always known his faith in all of them hadn't been misplaced.

He came to stand before her, his pale face slightly flushed from the walk over, but otherwise seemingly no worse for wear.

"Natalia. It's good to see you again," he said in greeting, smiling and genuinely glad despite the task that awaited them both.

"A pleasure as always, Ion." She nearly gathered him into a tight hug but restrained herself appropriately. Such behavior wouldn't do, not at all. Instead, she gave a polite bow of the head. "You look well. I'm- I'm really glad."

Oh- it was almost like seeing an eerie but quite welcome ghost, a dream. This encounter reminded her so much of her first meeting with Asch. She hoped Ion stayed longer than Asch, though. Otherwise, their next meeting was uncertain.

She nudged the door open and peered inside, checking for Luke. What terrible news they had, but it was only for the best.

Luke had been hanging out in his room, waiting for Ion to appear. He had his sword polish out and was working on making sure the blade was as shiny as it could possibly get. He was wondering what was going on, though - seriously, Ion wanting to talk to him about Akzeriuth?

He was supposed to be a hero! He was going to meet Master Van there, and then run off to Daath to live happily ever after with him!

Luke looked up when he saw Natalia nudge open the door, and after putting his sword aside, he headed out. ... And he still wanted to know what the hell Ion wanted to talk about.

Ion followed behind Natalia, thanking her quietly as he stepped inside.

Catching sight of Luke -- it was certainly different than it had been to see Natalia, who had looked so much the same as she had when he had seen her last.

Seeing Luke as he appeared now brought back the memories of Akzeriuth all the more.

But Ion offered a warm smile as he approached, tilting his head slightly as he debated how he would begin once the pleasantries were through.

"I'm happy to see you again, Luke."

Natalia stood off silently to the side, a bit nervous of what was to come. She stilled her fidgeting hands, smiling. Wasn't it all right, now that these two wonderful friends were reunited?

Oh, but of course, Luke had no idea that Ion-

No, she wouldn't allow herself to think of that. She could only wait.

"Ion! What's up?" Luke asked upon seeing him. He liked seeing him again, especially considering that he was someone else from their world that wasn't Florian or Natalia.

And of course, Luke was still, unfortunately, completely clueless about what was going to happen in this talk about Akzeriuth. He seriously wanted to know what was up with everyone and why they were acting as weird as they were.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly," Ion said apologetically, his smile beginning to wane almost unnoticeably. "But if it's true that a person can be sent home at any time, I think there are some things you should know before that happens. I don't want to risk missing the opportunity."

He paused thoughtfully; he really did want to make it all as easy on Luke as possible.

"It's rather complicated; do you mind if we sit down?"

"Yes, yes!" Natalia exclaimed enthusiastically, ushering them over toward some chairs. "Let us all sit. That would be for the best, would it not?"

She edged toward the kitchen, trying her best not to seem worried. "I'll prepare us some snacks in the meantime."

And she slipped out quickly, half out of concern and half because it was habit to ignore all protests as she stepped into the kitchen.

[ooc | You guys go ahead and poke me whenever Natalia needs to show up again!]

Luke went and sat down as Natalia ushered him over to a chair, even more curious about what Ion wanted to tell him. He turned pale at the mention of Natalia making snacks. Natalia's snacks were going to kill him someday. Even if Natalia tuned everything out, he still had to protest.

"HEY! DON'T MAKE ANYTHING, NATALIA! I'M NOT TOUCHING WHATEVER YOU MAKE!"

But he turned his attention back to Ion once Natalia was out of the room.

"So, what's up Ion?"

Ion laughed softly as he took a seat, happy to see this familiar dynamic. Natalia's cooking was still familiar too, of course, but he couldn't imagine ever being so bold as to say anything. After all, he liked to think they should be grateful for anything they received.

Even if it wasn't always pleasant.

"Luke," he finally began after some hesitation, looking down at the staff he held in his hands with concealed uncertainty. "You're aware that people from the same world can come here from different points in time, aren't you?"

But Luke had gotten sick off of eating her stuff in the City, and he really didn't want to repeat that incident anytime soon. Natalia cooking was a very bad idea.

"Well, yeah. Everyone's said something about it already. What's that gotta do with anything?"

"I've come here from a later time than you have. I've already been to Akzeriuth."

It was reminiscent of the way he read the Score to the citizens of Auldrant, really, although in those cases, the people had always wanted to hear what lay ahead. But Ion had believed that the Score had held only one possible future, that the futures he foretold could be changed if the people willed it. And he had to believe the same about this.

He finally raised his eyes to meet Luke's. "A great tragedy occurred there after we arrived, and I hope that by telling you what happened, you can avoid its repeating when you return."

"... Seriously?" He blinked, although he honestly should've been expecting it since Ion opened the conversation with the thing about people from different times.

"Well, what the hell happened? Didn't we stop whatever the hell was happening?" What if something had happened to Master Van? Was that the great tragedy that Ion was talking about?

"No, we didn't," Ion answered, already seeking out his words carefully.

"In attempting to neutralize the miasma, the city was destroyed," he said, his voice soft. "Because the people of Akzeriuth were not evacuated beforehand, they all perished when the land collapsed. We only survived through the protection of one of Tear's fonic hymns."

He stopped, searching Luke's face for a trace of understanding as he awaited his reaction.

... What? That can't be possible, though! Master Van said that everyone would be fine and that he'd be a hero! This had to be a huge lie or something. Master Van wouldn't do anything that'd kill all those people!

"No! They should all live! None of them are going to die, Ion! Everyone's going to be fine and the miasma thing is going to get better!" He said, in complete denial of what his future was to bring. Master Van's plan was going to work.

"Luke," Ion said, his still-soft voice taking on a slightly sterner edge. The disbelief was to be expected, of course, but...

"You spoke with Van before you left for Akzeriuth, didn't you? And he told you that you could be a hero if you used your hyperresonance to neutralize the miasma. That you should do it before the people were moved out of the city."

Only after had any of them learned the details; if, by revealing these things that he shouldn't have known, Ion could show that he had seen the outcome of these events, if he could at least put some hint of doubt into Luke -- maybe that could be enough.

How did Ion even know that? He wasn't supposed to know that! No one except Master Van and him were supposed to know that, since they were going to sneak off to Daath after fixing everything! Did Natalia tell? Even after they did that whole pinkie promise thing.

Well. He just had to keep lying and being stubborn. It's supposed to be a secret, and dammit, he was going to keep it a secret!

"Well, yeah! He's my Master! Why wouldn't I have talked to him? And he didn't say anything like that!"

That brief instant of surprise wasn't lost on him.

"I know that you trust him, Luke. I also trusted him, and that..." Ion paused, fingers clenching around his staff as he frowned to himself. If he hadn't opened that door--

"I'm to blame as well."

There was much more to be said, much more that he wished he could convince Luke to understand, but-- there was no sense in upsetting him by telling him everything at this point, Ion decided; of revealing how terribly Van had used Luke, of revealing the extent of Van's plans. That much, he was sure, Luke wouldn't believe, and if he were to make him angry over such a perceived lie, then any slight progress he may have otherwise made would likely be nullified.

"Luke, I consider you a beloved friend. I know that you haven't known me very long -- that I'm nothing like Van is to you -- but I hope that you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't lie to you and that I want the best for the people of Auldrant."

He looked sincerely into Luke's eyes, green meeting green.

"I request of you, the Kimlascan goodwill ambassador, on behalf of Daath, that you temporarily evacuate the people of Akzeriuth before anything else. Should anything bad come from it, I will take full personal responsibility. And I humbly request it of you, Luke, as your friend."

Luke was finding everything pretty damn hard to believe - even if this was Ion that the information was coming from. He was not happy about how Ion was telling him Master Van couldn't be trusted. It was Master Van, and as far as Luke was concerned, the older man could do no wrong.

But... Ion was saying that he was to blame? Why the hell was he to blame? None of this stupid stuff made sense to him! Luke was confused, that much was for certain. He knew he could trust Ion, but he also thought that he could trust Van. Why the hell did this stuff need to be so damn confusing?

And now Ion was asking him to do something on behalf of Daath. It went completely against the plans that Luke had agreed to with Master Van. The older man had said that keeping everyone in Akzeriuth would be for the best! If Luke went against that, would Van take him with him like he had initially wanted to? Luke wasn't sure.

But he did know that he was the Kimlascan Goodwill Ambassador, and that Ion was asking him on behalf of Daath.

He was silent for a bit before speaking again. "... Yeah, sure." He agreed.

Ion's eyes brightened, his worry finally beginning to fade as his features relaxed into a warm, grateful smile, a faint pink tinting his cheeks. This was all he could really ask for, after all, and he trusted that Luke -- even this Luke -- would keep his word.

"Thank you very much, Luke. You're a good person; I always believed you'd do the right thing."

Even if Ion thought he was being a good person, Luke didn't like the thought of going against Master Van's wishes, especially since he probably spent a lot of time coming up with the plans he had! Why'd Ion have to make this whole thing so hard? Hmph.

"Yeah, alright." He sighed. There was a possibility he might not even have to deal with Akzeriuth anyway, if the whole thing about not being able to escape from the stupid City thing unless it wanted you to leave was true.

Natalia peeked around the corner, wondering if it was now the right time to appear. She did have a plate of cookies ready - purchased ones, thankfully. She had to applaud Ion's method of explaining the situation, and she hoped that his warning would return with Luke to Auldrant. A different future may be in store for her, but she wouldn't mind. Not at all. If such a course were to save hundreds of lives, it was worth it.

Smiling, she slid into the living room and made herself known. "Here are your snacks, my friends."

"Ah-- Thank you very much, they look wonderful," Ion smiled as he looked up at Natalia from his seat, setting his staff on the floor beside him and graciously taking a single cookie from the plate that she offered.

"And Luke," he said after a significant pause, holding one hand beneath the other to shield his friends' floor from crumbs, "if there is anything you wish to know about the future I experienced -- not necessarily now, but anything that may later come to mind at any point -- please feel free to ask me. I won't tell you things that you don't want to know, but if you do choose to ask, I promise I won't hold anything back from you."

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Log; ongoing

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/sneaks back up for a minute while stuff is baking

sdgalskd SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

IT'S OKAY <3

<3

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SLKKGJSd sob I'm so bad at this. 8( I'M SORRYYYY

IT'S FINE REALLY <333

THINK WE SHOULD POKE JANE FOR NATALIA TO COME BACK?

HI GUYS

SUP