Prelude to the Epilouge.
A/N: I'm not really sure when this takes place, or where in the world it is taking place, but it's happening, and it happens fast. May be a little rushed, but what happens now has to happen fast so the rest of the story can actually take place. This is the briefed background story :D
Anyway, Asch is a little OOC, but that's because I believe his character was overly harsh on Luke for things he couldn't control. Asch will understand in the end, that Luke couldn't control being born!! But he can control whether he keeps living or not!
"Akzeriuth, I'm sorry…" Luke muttered in his sleep. Tear looked on with a hint of distaste, but then she felt sorry for the poor boy.
"He is having a nightmare again, should we do something?" Tear was worried about Luke. Ever since the collapse of Akzeriuth, many of the group members had lost faith in the young boy. Luke had even lost confidence in himself, sometimes when he was called, he wouldn't responded, as he stated 'I'm not the real Luke'
Guy, as Luke's best friend, had been through much of the drama's of his second life, but to finally learn that it wasn't a second chance at life, it was merely the beginning for a confused child born for the sole purpose the destroying the Score the world depended on. Guy gently shook Luke, in an attempt to wake him, but when he noticed the Fabre boys tears, he wasn't sure if he could.
The road to Daath was long, and by foot, it was even longer. Luke had become a recluse, hiding in his own misery, and Tear and the others were beginning the worry. Was Luke going to be okay? So much strain was being placed on the seven-year old, but Jade and Anise had confidence in his ability to bounce back, refusing to let up on their harsh treatment.
In Luke's mind, he was unaware of the concern his friends felt, but faced a battle all his own. Every one of his comrades was a shadow of their former self, and Luke was alone to defend himself against their verbal and physical abuse.
"You are not anything more then a replica of my best friend." Guy stated coldly, as he attempted to slash at Luke with his sword (that surprisingly enough, Luke had helped him pay for).
Jade cast a string of fonic artes, aiming at cornering Luke's bleeding form. "Because of your existence, an entire city of innocents fell into the miasma…"
"You aren't my fiancé!" Natalia shouted, firing rounds of arrows, aiming for Luke's heart.
Luke's nightmare was becoming more and more realistic, his wounds aching from the lurid hallucinations. It was no longer a nightmare, but a twisted reality in which he greatest fears were realized. One hateful voice rose above all others, But Luke recognized it as a constant. Asch was yelling angrily at everyone and everything around him, pushing through them to get to his 'worthless replica.'
The battling Asch had done to discover the source of his replica's mental anguish had left him in a very unpleasant mood, but when he realized that this nightmare was much more then just that. Something dark was gripping onto the group, and Asch felt it his duty to warn the small band of travelers.
"Luke, can you hear me?" Asch recognized the situation as no time for taunting, no time for hate, his life, as well as the future of the planet may be at stake with the early death of Luke.
The heavily bleeding and scorched body of his replica was unresponsive at first, his pulse nothing more then a reminder that his grip on life was fading. "This is just a dream Luke, you can't die here!"
Asch was becoming rather frustrated at whatever possessed the shared space between him and Luke. This realm was tainted by a heavy darkness, and whatever it was could affect him as well, if the darkness was not cleared.
But then it hit him.
"Luke! The Curse Slot!" Asch poured seventh fonons into Luke's mental self, as a sort of jolt to revive him. Luke took a deep breathe and shot up, the dark shadows of his allies had vanished after believing him to be dead. The wounds engulfing his body had not healed, but Asch recognized them as mental scars, more of wounds to develop into scars.
"If you can't wake up replica, you're entire group of friend's may die at the hands of Van and Sync, they are trying to destroy you mentally!" Asch was becoming rather aggressive, as was his nature, but instantly regretted his outburst when a sharp slash a crossed Luke's arm resumed bleeding.
With a sigh, Asch resigned to be a tiny bit gentler, until he could get Luke away from this place.
"I can't leave here." Luke said, dejected. "What you have been saying all this time is right, I killed all those people, I ignored you, and come to find out Asch, I took away your entire life, just by being born." Luke's body fell back upon the black nothing, his entire body fading in and out with each breath.
"You must wake up Luke, Van wants you to believe all of this, I can always start a new life Luke." Although Asch didn't want too. "Prove to me you aren't worthless by not fading away Luke, prove to me you are worthy of my respect by living and fighting against this darkness, protect your friends from Van and I will forgive you for something… Something you had no control over." Finally admitting that Luke was not at fault was hard for him, but admitting and accepting were two different things.
Luke rolled his head back in pain, Lorelei attempting to save his isofone. With the golden light of the seventh fonons, Luke accepted the need for him to continue living.
Asch was confused, but the darkness had begun to clear, and Luke faded away to the physical world under Lorelei's guiding hand. "I expect you to tell me what Lorelei is telling you right now next time we meet…. Luke."
Luke finally awoke from his nightmare, in a cold sweat. Guy was sitting by his side, and his tired eyes were awakened with the fear in Luke's movements. Young Fabre quickly collected his bearings, making sure to grab his sword to protect his friend's against something he could control.
"Are you alright Luke?" Guy called nervously. "It's not like you to be this worried this late at night."
The readhead flinched away when Guy placed his hand protectively on his shoulder, causing Guy to retract his arm, as if he had been shocked by the contact.
"I'm fine Guy, did anything unusual happen while I was asleep?" Luke picked up his chest plate, but set it back down. The bulky iron would provide great defense, but Luke hadn't fought with it since he left the manor.
Guy heard a twig snap in the surrounding woods, but the commotion Luke had caused awoke some of the others. Natalia and Tear were groggily looking around to discover what cause of such activity, and Jade was calculating Luke and Guy's movements.
Another crack.
Guy reached down to grip his sword, when the unwelcome feeling of the Curse Slot crept upon him. When he was about to call out, he lost control. 'Damnit!' Guy thought, fighting against his bodies movements.
Van Grants made his appearance at the edge of the clearing, calling for Luke's attention. "You are nothing but a replica Luke!" Van called. "You will end up hurting your friends tonight, without even trying, so why not just come with me? I'll make your death as painless as possible."
"I won't give in to you Master Van!" Luke pulled his sword out of it's sheath, and assumed his battle stance.
"Suit yourself Luke, but you die tonight." The image of Van faded, a simple mirage he had produced to distract Luke from the activity in the background. Sync stepped out in Van's place, and with a flick of his wrist, Guy lost his ability to resist.
"Goodbye replica." Sync spat, as if even referencing Luke was a poison. Sync ran off into the woods, leaving a confused Luke.
"Hey!" Luke let his sword drop to his side. "You didn't even hit me!"
Jade suddenly realized what was going on, jumping to his feet. "Luke!"
Guy had drawn his sword, and the dark look in his eyes resembled the shadow Luke had witnessed in his earlier dream. The blond began charging Luke, but the redhead was too shocked to respond. He turned to face Guy, after hearing Jade call to him, but it was too late.
Jade had been almost finished casting Ground Dasher between the two of them when the blade of Guy Cecil drove straight through the abdomen of Luke fon Fabre.
The Curse Slot evaporated in an eerie black mist, and the effected swordsman fell to the ground. Tear and Natalia were paralyzed, too stunned to move. Jade canceled the casting of his spell to avoid any further harm to the Fabre boy, but he feared damage may already be too great to repair.
An eerie sight was the first thing Guy saw upon regaining control of his body. Jade was taking small steps towards Luke, as to prevent shock, but the poor boy remained standing, stumbling occasionally from the wound in his stomach. He coughed, showing some sign of life, but the sign was not what Jade had expected.
Blood was seeping from the sword's sick placement, and with every cough, or gasp for air, more blood was lost from Luke's mouth.
Tear finally cried out, rushing to help Luke against Jade's better judgment. Natalia fell to her knees, the replaying sound of Guy's sword piercing Luke's body was making her physically sick.
"Don't try and speak to him Tear!" Jade quickly followed after her to keep the wound in his abdomen from growing. Luke's knees had finally given out, and Jade and Tear were cautious to catch him and vigilantly bring him to his knees.
"That sound…" Natalia winced. "I'll never forget this sound if Luke doesn't survive…"
But Guy was in too much shock to realize Luke's final conscious words.
"I'm sorry… Guy…."
Tear felt Luke's head drop to her shoulder, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth staining her uniform. "Don't you die on me Luke!" She screamed, holding back her sobs to begin singing her fonic hymns.
Jade knew that if they removed the blade to clean the wound, the blood loss would only increase, and Luke would have no chance. "He will die by morning if we try and heal him ourselves. We need to move now, he needs to get to Daath for medical attention."
"How are you staying so calm! Jade, he is dying! He needs my help now!" Tear wrapped her arms around the unconscious Luke, her tears finally winning. "I can't let him die Jade, not when he is still suffering, when he thinks we all hate him…"
Guy felt his heart rate quicken. "It was all a dream, wasn't it? I can wake up tomorrow, and I'll be sitting by the fire, none of this happened, right Jade?" Guy's arms gave way, and he landed on his side with a loud thud. "I didn't stab Luke. I didn't kill my best friend."
Jade frowned, and pushed his glasses up further onto his nose. He took the brief moments of everyone's mental breakdowns to think, to figure out what he needed to do to prolong death as long as possible.
"We have to get Asch here." Jade said indisputably.
"We have to remove Guy's sword!" Tear screamed once more. She wrapped her hand around the handle, but Jade covered her hand with his.
"We can't do anything except make sure he remains alive. Asch can move him without disrupting the sword, using their dual-hyperresonance." Jade frowned at the newly presented dilemma. 'How do we contact Asch?'