Hope nods quietly and does as instructed, petting her gently. extracting the Swords. and the plush from earlier, he sighs and returns them to Luke, as well as the Knife he got from Lightning. "I'm the one with the most votes at the moment, last I checked, so Luke I feel like I have to return these to you." his face bears a somber expression. one of failure, and one of a kid that had nothing left. "You shouldn't stay too close to me, unless something drastic changes, theres no way You'll see me at the end. Unless I'm As luvky as Mulan, which I doubt. *he sighs a bit, Slowly coming to accept his impending doom.* Sorry Luke."
@CrimsonLaurana
Luke smiled at Hope. "You should keep the swords. You never know when you'll need something to help you. You should keep the plush as well so you know there's someone that cares for you no matter what happens." He stated sadly. "I will keep the knife if you wish and use it so that your memory of your friends will always be active. I hope that you find what you're looking for in the portal and as this may possibly be the last time I see you, I'm going to give you another hug." He hugged Hope for a moment then let go, setting the small plush doll back in Hope's hand. "It's yours now." He smiled at Hope and ruffled his hair. He then turned his attention to Mulan. "It is a good thing that you could tell him the truth. That's a strong quality to have." He smiled at Hope, Mulan, and the others. "Well, I'm off. Wish me luck!" Luke said cheerfully as he walked towards the portal. He beamed cheerfully over his shoulder and stepped through.
The first thing he noticed after going through the portal was blackness. He thought for a few seconds and then discovered his eyes were closed. He didn't remember closing them though. He blinked open his eyes and searched the surrounding area for any monsters or people and then tried to figure out where he was. It was warm and had flowers around. "I guess I'm either in Tataroo Valley or in Tear's selennia garden in Yulia City. I feel wind so it's prob? Badly the former." Luke murmured to himself quietly. "I'll go check and see if the Rotelro Bridge is rebuilt yet. If it isn't, I'll go straight to Chesedonia and stock up on food since I'm running low." He walked down the road aways and came to the ruined bridge. "Well, I can't go this way then." He turned around and headed back up the road, aiming for Chesedonia as it would take a little while to get there. He continued along the road for a few hours until he came up to the entrance and entered. He went to the grocer first and stocked up on all the food he could hold in his wing pack. He then went to the weapon stall and decided to browse the weapons there. He bought a few daggers, a new sword, and a few blade sharpening and cleaning kits. He strode along to the inn and rented a room for the night because it was getting dark and he did have somewhat of an idea where the 'black microphone' was located.
A few hours later, he awoke and left the Inn. He had decided the night before that he would go to Baticul to searched the city. He believed that is where the microphone he needed to collect was located. He traveled along the road to Baticul, fighting monsters, collecting items, and just enjoying the fresh air around him. As Luke came to the entrance to Baticul, he saw a man with crimson hair by the gate, speaking with one of the city guards. 'Oh, damn. Asch is here. I better go through the other entrance to the city.' He thought quickly as he turned around and walked off. What he didn't know was that the redhead in question had seen the flash if Luke's hair out of the corner of his eye and after Luke had turned the corner, Asch had turned around to speak, read yell, at him for his disappearance.
Luke went around to the side of the city that faced Malkuth and climbed up the ladder that was there. He opened the iron door and went inside, pulling the door shut behind him with a short 'click'. He couldn't see very well in the low lighting, as the barrels they had lot before had burned out, so he cast a quick Fireball and kept it floating above his hands. The place smelled just as bad as it had the last time he had gone through this tunnel, possibly even worse than before. He killed a few small monsters with some weaker spells and proceeded farther through the tunnel. He got to the end of it after about an hour or so and followed the sunlight to the opening in the wall. He went through it and walked onto the cable car that would take him to one of the lower levels of the city. It took him to the bottom-most sector of the tiered city, where the colosseum and shops are. Luke decided to browse those shops to see if he could find some new clothing as his was starting to fade and tear. He found the clothing store easily enough and walked inside, only to try to leave when he saw Asch again. As Asch had heard the door open, he turned his attention away from his perusal of the clothing and towards whoever had entered. When Asch saw who it was, he growled and stalked up to him. "
Do you have any idea how long we looked for you?! And you turn up here of all places. What a laugh." Asch said angrily. "
Do you know how worried Tear was? Do you know how worried Natalia was?! Hell, do you have any idea how worried I was?!!" Luke had shrunk back during the confrontation and tears had started forming at the corners of his eyes as Asch continued his fit of rage. Luke waited until Asch had gotten further in his speech to where he closed his eyes and ran out of the building as tears streamed down his face. He could hear Asch following him but he didn't care, he just wanted to get as far away from the city as possible. As Luke tried to exit the city, his arm was caught in a strong grip and he was jerked around slightly to face his captor. He struggled for a short time then gave up on trying to get away but didn't look up at his original, tears still falling. Asch calmed down slightly and sighed loudly. "
I wasn't trying to scare you, dreck. I was just trying to get a point across." Asch stared at his replica dejectedly. "
Guy, Natalia, Anise, Jade, Ion, and I had just left the Qliphoth on the Tartarus when we got a message from Tear that you had gone... missing from Yulia City. Guy had planned to meet up with you at Aramis Spring after we dropped him off at Engeve." He said haltingly. "After we got the message, we all decided to look for you. We looked everywhere we could think of and finally stopped the search after a couple months. We thought you might have gone to the Qliphoth and thrown yourself into the toxic sludge, but I could feel you were still alive somewhere." Luke brought his left hand up to wipe the tears from his face, as he had stopped crying after a few minutes of Asch's story. Luke smiled slightly at Asch. "Thank you for looking for me, but can you please let my arm go now?" He asked quietly. "I'm starting to lose feeling in my hand." Asch looked down and noticed he had held on a little too tightly. "
Sorry." He stated embarrassedly. "
I didn't mean to squeeze so hard, I was just trying to keep you from leaving before I got to speak with you." He turned a disgruntled eye to the small cried that was forming around them. "
We should leave this place, there's too many people here." He told Luke as he nodded towards the store the had left from. "
You look like you need a change of clothes anyway." Luke smiled slightly at his original. "Yeah, I do. I've been in the same thing for the past several days and it smells pretty bad because of that." He told him willingly. "The reason I'm back is because the first person I meet up with here is going to help me find a couple of strange items and that will get me back to where I was." He turned his gaze to the side as he watched Asch from his peripheral and they remembered the shop. "I'll tell you more later, after I find your item. I need new clothes and a way into the bedroom in the manor where I spelt for seven years and you did for ten." Luke found three full shirts colored black, three pairs of pants in tan, a coat without coattails, and a two pairs of shoes. He paid for it, slightly smiled at Asch, and left the store silently with Asch in tow. He used the elevators to get to the highest of the tiers where the castle and the Fabre manor are located. He changed into his new clothes before exiting the elevator as he had stuck his old clothes in his bag as well. Luke had noticed a slight pull on his fonons as soon as he stepped out of the elevator and followed the sensation to the right side of the front of the castle. There he found the first 'black microphone' but he knew it wasn't his to keep. He wandered back to where Asch was standing by the fountain and showed him the strange object. "This is what I'm looking for. There are two of these in Auldrant and now I need to find the other one." He said quickly. "This one is yours. I guess the people at the place I was have a strange sense of humor." He pulled Asch closer and tucked the microphone in Asch's bag then turned towards the elevator again. "Since your microphone was found here and I don't feel any residual energy from another microphone anywhere around here, I'm going to head to Grand Chokmah to check an see if mine is there. If it is, we can leave here. If it isn't, we'll probably need to check Choral Castle." Luke walked into the elevator and was about to push the down button when Asch decided to enter as well. He followed Luke to the ground floor and into the cable that lead to the port. "
If you think I'd let you out of my sight right after you returned, you have another thing coming." He said iratedly. "
Besides, someone needs to be by your side through this ordeal." Asch commented softly. Luke beamed at Asch and got two tickets for the ferry to Grand Chokmah for right then. It would take a few hours by boat to reach it though.
A few hours later, Luke and Asch got off the ferry and headed towards the palace grounds. Luke had commented while they were on the ferry that he wanted to see Peony's rappigs while they were there. Luke walked slightly ahead of Asch and tiptoe to the door quietly. He pulled the door open a bit and peeked in. He saw all the rappigs cuddled up together on Peony's bed with Peony. Luke shut the door and grabbed Asch's arm. "Did you feel that?" He asked suddenly. "I think that' the other microphone." He pulled him further down the hallway. "It feels like it's coming from this way." He commented as he pulled him further along until they came to a door marked 'Colonel Jade Curtiss: Third Company of the Malkuth Army'.
Luke opened the door and walked in. He saw Jade behind the desk, seemingly asleep, and quietly walked to the back corner of the room. There he found what he was looking for, tucked it into his bag, and started back towards the door when he was stopped by the noise of boots touching the ground. He turned and saw Jade awake and staring at him unnervingly. Luke backed away from Jade and tried to open the door, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance and chucking of Jade's spear. Luke ducked down as soon as he saw it leave Jade's hand and put up a Guardian Field for his own safety. "What are you doing Jade?" He asked, slightly freaked out. "Why'd you Chuck your spear at me this time?" Jade just kept staring at him for a few more moments and Luke got more and more terrified of what would happen. He looked up incredulously when Jade threw back his head and laughed, happily he might add. "Colonel, you are starting to scare me." He stated quietly. "Are you sure you are all right?" Jade stopped laughing and turned his attention back to Luke. "
I'm perfectly fine, Luke. No need to get worried about an old man like me." He told him stoically. "
I'm just happy that you're all right and have come back in one piece." Luke was slightly appeased and let down his shield, but not before making Jade retrieve his weapon. Asch rushed into the room right after, pulling the door out from behind Luke, causing him to fall back and knock Asch to the ground. "
My, my. Children these days are so lively, are they not." Jade asked them both. "
I would help you up but I'm an old man and it would strain my joints terribly." Luke sighed exasperatedly at Jade's antics and got off of Asch. "Sorry about that." He said as he helped him off the floor. "Jade is very violent when he gets surprised." He looked towards Jade. "I met one of your universal counterparts and he was kind of strange." He said nonchalantly. "I also gave him one of the three extra pairs of glasses you had me carry for you as well. I gave him the oldest pair since he'll have to change the glyphs himself and some of them were worn off of them." Jade pushed up his glasses and made them flash. "
How different was he from me then?" He asked curiously. "
And those glasses were given to me by Dist. Thank you for getting rid of them for me." Luke nodded at him. "Instead of being a Colonel in Malkuth, he is the co-owner of a transdimensional company that provides other reality with goods and services that they couldn't get before." He told him happily. "I had a very interesting conversation with him and you're welcome." He turned to Asch then. "We need to get going Asch, if we don't want to miss our ship to Chesedonia." He said as reached over to hug Jade briefly and grab Asch's arm to tug him along. "See you later Jade~! Have fun with your new information~!" He called down down the hall as he and Asch left the hallway. Jade smiled a true smile and said to himself. "
Oh, I will Luke. I will."
Luke kept tugging on Asch until they were outside Grand Chokmah and let go of his arm. "Come on Asch, we need to get to the ferry and get to Tataroo Valley before the sun sets today or I'll probably stop existing." He said as he started walking. Asch splattered for a second. "
Wait, what?" He asked Luke startled. He caught up with Luke and stopped him. "
What do you mean by that?" Luke turned to him and frowned slightly. "I'll tell you as soon as we get on the ferry, okay?" He asked quickly as he grabbed Asch's hand. "I'll tell you everything as soon as we're sadly aboard." Asch stared at him with confusion but relented. "
All right, but you'd better tell me then." He got a nod from Luke as an answer. They got tickets and boarded the ferry. They then went to the room they were sharing and sat at the small table provided. "
All right then. Talk." Asch demanded. "
Tell your tale and let's be done with it." Luke nodded and took a sipping of the water bottle he had pulled from his pack. He rolled another across the table to Asch and began. "You remember the day I vanished clearly, as you said. I remember it differently than you do though." He said slightly sorrowful. "I remember being in your head and all that went on up until you and the others went to the upper lands from the Qliphoth. Right after you passed into the waters above, I felt myself slipping away from you and back into my own mind. Where I was taken will probably make you think I need psychological help. I woke up on the ground outside a metal building of the likes I had never seen before. It was very solid and cold looking as well. I was invited inside and told I was part of a Tour of the place. The place is called the Fuse Facility and within the first few hours, I had scoured the library for books and the like to find out where I was. After we are called together and taken to another set of room, I went to the computer room to learn more about the facility. The computer wasn't locked or logged out so I searched artes and information on it. I found out a lot of weird things and a few of my friends found a dead girl in the small closet-like area in the room. A friend, named Pietro, wanted to look up who had killed her on the computer and I looked through the books I took from the library. Then one of our friends was murdered execution style and we had to vote on killing another. Then we got taken to a few more places and finally I'm here, looking for the microphones and we have to go back to Tataroo Valley because that's where I woke up." He took a large gulp of his water after his non-stop talking. Asch looked at him strangely. "
All righty then. You got stuck in a very strange place." He commented softly. "
I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. You were probably so scared when you got stuck there and even more so after the murders." He took a sip of his own water. "
Do I go with you then because of the microphones?" He asked Luke. "
If so, I will help you all I can. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder." Luke beamed at Asch and hugs him quickly. "Thank you. Thank you. Oh, thank you." He trilled happily. "I'm not going to be alone anymore~!" Asch smiled at him fondly and patted his head.
They both then heard the captain say the were landing at the port of Chesedonia. Luke gathered his things and left the cabin with Asch not far behind. "We should hurry." He said quickly. "We don't have much time left." As they made their way to Tataroo Valley, they saw a familiar figure traipsing around the selennias. It was Tear. Luke's eyes lit up but stopped when he remembered why they were here. He was heartbroken but he had to do this or he would lose other friends. He steeped himself and walked up to her. "Hello Tear. I'm back for a bit." He said as she turned to meet his gaze. "I just wanted to give you this plush doll of Mieu because I know you enjoy cute things." She looked at him with tears in here eyes as she took it. "
This isn't goodbye, is it?" She asked, trying to hold back tears. "
Because if it is, I'm going to smack you." Luke stared at her and smiled. "It's never goodbye." He said strongly. "Just always a see you later." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back eventually and the first person I'll come to see will be you." He told her happily. "Then maybe we can help each other understand life, the universe, and everything." He let go of her and walked to where Asch stood. "We need to leave now or we'll be stuck here forever." He said as he walked across the foiled to where he woke up the day before. "Just grab my hand and we'll go through."
Luke opened his eyes and saw he was on the other side of the Bridge. He smiled and turned to look at Asch and was glad to find him still in one piece. He had crossed the bridge and found a familiar companion in doing so.
