Title: Replacements.
Part: 1/2(?)
Rating: R
Characters/Pairing: Synch/Ion, Synch/Florian (one-sided)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Warnings: Some rough moments between Synch, Van, and Mohs. Also some sex and a scene of a fine case of sexual harassment.
Summary: [SPOILERS] After Ion's death, Synch begins to act out, yet tries not to give anything about his attachment to Ion away. Even worse, he finds Florian - along as to why he exists - and attacks not only Van, but innocent Florian himself for being the imitation of the one he had been made to be, along with whom he had been with before.
Author's Note: I haven't written in well over a year, so I'm hoping that this goes particularly well. I'm not sure what I was thinking what I got this idea to write this messed up of a story, but, well, it had to get out.

"...So, there's no way of stopping you," I paused, digging my fingernails in my arms as anger welled within me, "is there?"

The long-haired, slender, feminine-looking male turned away, a look of misery washed upon his face. He inhaled sharply, his breathing pattern sporadic. Pale, bony fingers reached up towards his equally pale face as he opened his mouth to speak, "Oh Yulia," he exclaimed, collapsing onto the floor, "you know I wish there wasn't!"

I took a step towards him, but his hand begged me to halt within a flash. "I've already seen it in my Score." Score. Just the mere mention of the word made my blood boil. "You know that it's inevitable, Synch. I just can't-"

"Score?" I protested, stomping my foot, "Ion, the only reason we exist is because of that damned thing! If it wasn't for that, we'd-"

"We wouldn't be arguing. We wouldn't be breathing, nor would we be standing in this room; we wouldn't exist." In a calm, quiet tone, Ion spake, knowing full well we had completely opposite opinions on the Score. Regardless of how immense my hatred was of it, there was something deep within me that knew that I had to stop, at least for now.

I bit my lip, forcing myself to refrain from speaking about the Score. "How long do you think you have until...?" My voice trailed off, unable to even mutter the facts.

Ion rose, turning towards me, yet refusing to make eye contact. "Any day, most likely." As hard as he tried to fight it, tears started to fall from his eyes, terror reflecting within the green orbs, "I will not lie; I'm terrified of what's to come, Synch. Death. It's going to.."

At that point, I couldn't handle it. I refolded my arms, and made my way for the door. "I need to see Van, now." Bitterly, I lied, refusing to look at the pitiful look strewn upon Ion's face. "And, Ion," I exhaled, a cold, chilling tone in my voice, "death doesn't hurt. It's just the end of a beginning."

With that, I walked out, letting the door, and my emotions, slam behind me.

[ later in the night, ]

I fell to the side of the bed, exhausted and spent. "Do you think this will be the last time we...?" Ion's voice whispered softly next to me as I recollected my thoughts. I tried incredibly hard to think of other topics, but could not.

"I can't answer that," I responded, hoping that it wouldn't mark the ending of anything, primarily of my short-lived happiness. Abruptly, I sat up, knowing that the longer I lay in his bed, the more risk I would have taken of someone figuring something out. Ion mimicked my action, putting his soft, frail hand on my shoulder.

"You're leaving already?" He questioned solemnly, "But Synch, we-" I cut him off with a short, but blissful, kiss.

"You know full well that I cannot stay, Ion." I reached for my clothes, putting them on quickly and haphazardly. "What if someone was to find out about, well, this?"

Ion looked down apologetically, folding his hands into his lap. "I suppose you're right," he said in a low, solemn voice, "I just wish that..." His voice trailed off as I stood up, already making my way for the door.

"I'm sorry I keep doing this to you, Ion." I sighed, leaving his bedroom. I heard him whisper a soft, sincere 'I love you' as I left so crudely, our moment of closeness and so-called romance behind me.

Shamelessly, I walked toward the office door, my hand placed upon the cold door handle. I so desperately wanted to turn around and tell him what he had been begging to hear for so long, yet I just bit my tongue, figuring that when the opportunity was right, it would happen.

I made it about a step outside of Ion's room when I realized what exactly was in front of me.

"Synch?" A stern, frustrated voice spoke downwards at me, "This is not your room. Is something the matter?"

Vandesdelca.

"N-not at all, Van," I responded as formally as I could, begging that he could not smell the sweat and sex my body was so obviously covered in. "I forgot to return something to the Fon Master, that's all."

Van pushed me against the door, leaving o escape for me. "At this time of night?"

"Yes," I barked back angrily, "at this time of night. I have no other reason of visiting."

A look of disbelief remained painted on Van's face. "Lies. I can smell the-"

"What are you doing here, Vandesdelca?" I spat back, unable to admit defeat, "It's sketchy that you're visiting young Ion at this time, while he's most likely sleeping. What would Tritheim say if he found you here, right now?" I was treading far too deep in water that I knew I shouldn't have tried. However, the instinct to protect my Ion had arisen, along with both of our reputations.

Van grabbed my throat and spat in my face, his voice so dark and bitter, it was frightening. "Don't play protector, you filthy, incestuous whore."Incestuous? "Before you rudely interrupted your superior, I was going to mention that you have the smell of sex on your skin, along with the painfully obvious look of shame written all over your face and eyes." My blood boiled from embarrassment and my heart was ready to explode.

I tried to pry my mouth open enough to speak, yet I couldn't breathe enough to succeed. "You're terrible at lying. Didn't you make a promise that you wouldn't do anything with anyone I told you that you couldn't?"

I wriggled my way out of Van's grasp enough so that I could retort, "A promise you forced me to make, Van. I'm sick of being your slave to-"

The soft hum of the fonic glyph forced Van to release his grip on my neck. "That will be all, Synch," Van said in a calm tone, his eyes burning me with its looks, "You are free to go."

I collected myself as I rose to my feet, shoving my way past Van. "Good evening, Maestro," I acknowledged Tritheim before me and ran to the glyph before he could have said anything.

[ present day, ]

'Ion?' My eyes deceived me as the nude, green-haired, frail boy stood before me. I had seen that naked, beautiful body before me previously. There was no mistake; the body before me was, indeed, Ion's body. However, I knew that the person within his body was not Ion.

"What should it be referred to, Van?" I bit my lip angrily as Legretta so calmly referred to the imitation as an 'it.'

"Who cares?" I forced myself to remain so painfully neutral, "It's just a replacement, anyway. Why does this piece of meat deserve a name?" Inside, I was so angry, I was crying for my mixed emotions, for Ion, for the imitation.

A devilish, almost self-satisfied, smirk painted itself on Van's face as he witnessed my reaction and the look on my face. I knew he could feel how angry and upset I was; he was the only one who had known what Ion and I had, and I knew it made him so very angry, as he could no longer completely control his puppet.

"For now," Van replied smoothly and almost pleasantly, "whatever you like. It's not like another replacement for the defective Ion will last, anyway." I saw him lock eyes with me and flash a painfully satisfied smile to me.

Before I had said anything regretful or caused any bloodshed, I stormed off, announcing that I had other duties to fulfill.

[ ... ]

I had probably stood in the shower for an hour, so frustrated and with so much pent up anger within me. "That Ion... he isn't Ion. Stop thinking." I leaned up against the tiled wall, sighing heavily. "He will never be Ion. You will never feel anything like that ever again. You were stupid to ever think that -"

The click of the shower room door sent a shiver up my spine, instantly silencing any emotions within me. Before I turned to face the showerhead, I saw a flash of red walk in the door. Asch. As calmly and as quickly as I could, I tried to finish my shower before he could question me.

"I-I thought you weren't allowed here anymore," I spoke as sternly as I could, "traitor?"

Asch, mostly clothed, spun me around and glared at me. "What the hell were you thinking, blatantly sleeping with your own replica like that, you dreck? Do you realize what Van will-"

I abruptly cut Asch off, shocked at his words, "I never touched Ion. I don't know where you're getting your so-called 'facts,' but I suggest that you-"

"I have a strong feeling Van wouldn't lie about something like this to Legretta."

I bit my tongue a bit harder than expected. "Why do you bring this up?"

"I'm telling you to let your emotions cool down before you do anything rash." The redhead pushed his long hair out of his face, meeting my eyes with him. "You can't kill Van, no matter how angry or upset you are with the new replacement. Just don't try."

"I-" I opened my mouth to speak, but Asch turned to leave before I could.

"I need to go. I just came here to warn you to watch your back, along with not to kill Van. Not yet." With that, he re-applied his clothes and left. Within minutes, I finished showering and ran to my room. The anger from before still had not yet subsided, and I panicked.

Just as the my fears slowly started to vanish and my heart rate had returned to a normal range, a green-haired figure stopped me dead in my tracks.

"You are..." It spoke softly, calling to me, "Synch."

Part two, coming sooooon!