Blatant Fon Master Abuse: The Post

[replicasquared]

[It was strange, the way time seemed to pass in this world. A person could wander in an out of it for a mere instant of their life, and a whole year will have passed here. And though Ion's been through far more than an instant, it's been over a year since he last stumbled through this town. Normally Ion avoided towns. They weren't safe. He could be recognized, and rumors could spread, leading to him being discovered. But this was a special circumstance.]

[There had been no reasoning with her. He'd been a fool to even try... the Anise he had known and loved was gone, her mind too warped by her own guilt and sins to even hear his words. He had left the encounter... enlightened, in a sense. He knew now what his purpose was. His reason for being born... no, reborn in the body of another replica. He was the only one who could put a stop to her. The only one who could free her from her insanity.]

[The only one who could kill her.]

[He brings a hand to his mouth and coughs, doubling over onto his knees. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill her. She was Anise! How could he possibly bring himself to hurt her when she was already in so much pain? Was it the right thing to do? Or was it wrong? Then what was right? He didn't know.]

[All he knew now was that unless he could find a place to stay and tend to his injuries, he wouldn't last long enough to find out. Drops of blood stained his fingers as he coughed. He didn't even have the strength to attempt to heal himself right now, but he had to keep moving...!]


[[ooc: Hello ADR! This Ion's AU information can be found here! It's been a year since I've thrown him in here and his situation hasn't been looking any brighter. Somebody wanna help the little replica out?]]

Comments

[silversnowfall]

[Let's put aside all this strange-place-and-new-experiences insanity for just a little while.

Because that's Ion and something is terribly wrong with him.

Nephry kneels in front of him quietly and recognizes that this is not at all the Ion she knows. That doesn't mean she can stop herself from helping him, or that she ever would.]

Fon Master?

[replicasquared]

[Normally Ion might make some kind of remark about hearing that title again after so long, but right now he was far more focused on trying to stay conscious. His clothes are ripped and torn in places, and even parts of his hair seem singed. It's clear he's been in a fight of some sort recently, and probably didn't come out as the victor.]

[He coughs into his hand again, tightening it into a fist in a poor attempt at hiding the blood. Though there's enough of it around his lips to make the attempt futile.]

...Nephry?

[silversnowfall]

[At least he recognizes her, or...some variation of her.

How will he react to having both of her arms around him to hold him steady? It's basically a hug - a careful one, given the way he looks.]

What happened?

[replicasquared]

[He flinches at the contact, letting out a small sound of pain and clenching his teeth. He's more injured than he looks -- and he already looks pretty terrible.]

...I was a fool. [The words come out in a single breath, barely above a whisper. And for now, that's all he'll say on the matter.] Can you... help me somewhere? Where I can rest... please. I can walk... w-with help.

[He isn't quite aware of the fact that he's stumbled into this particular world again, but at the same time he's aware enough to know that this place clearly isn't Keterburg.]

[silversnowfall]

If I can find one, I'm taking you to a doctor.

[But, no matter where they go she can't carry him. Standing with him and helping him walk will have to do.]

[replicasquared]

[He stands, though not without a gasp and quite a bit of pain. At the very least, his legs are relatively uninjured, so walking isn't quite as much of a struggle.]

You're too kind... [The words come out, more out of habit. After all, for someone to offer him of all people a hand, he who was nothing more than a ghost of a figure and friend who had long since died, they had to be kind.]

[That was how he saw things, at least.]

[silversnowfall]

[There is no wiping this worried frown off her face. She has a few short vague memories about this place here, and none of them include where she might take him for help.

She has to ask someone in passing instead. It sounds like the distance to the nearest medical facility isn't too far to walk; that's good enough for Nephry, because that's where they're going.]

[replicasquared]

[Ion will stay quiet as they walk, his focus on trying to keep himself for fainting right then and there in the middle of the street. He knows if he closes his eyes now without any type of healing, he may not open them again.]

[Almost the moment they arrive at the medical center, a number of nearby healers rush over to take a look at Ion, not even waiting to get him to a room before setting him down in a nearby seat and casting a few powerful healing spells. It's only once he seems to relax a bit and his breathing becomes more regular that they feel comfortable bringing him back to a room. If he had the strength to do so, he would have thanked Nephry now, but as it stands, it'll have to wait until after.]

[Assuming she decided to stay and wait to see him again, someone will come out in around and hour and tell her she's free to see him.]

[silversnowfall]

[Of course she stayed. No matter whether he is the Ion she knows best or not, she would never just leave him somewhere. Especially not in the state he was in. That had been blood on his hands.

So she will thank them for informing her, and quietly make her way back to the room they've designated for Ion.]

[replicasquared]

[When she opens the door, the first thing she'll see is a good view of just how injured Ion must have been. Despite all the healing he'd undergone, there were still wounds that were either too old to heal any more, or had been so severe they could only be healed so much. Ion's standing with his back to the door, almost completely wrapped in bandages from his wrists to his lower back. The few areas that didn't seem bandaged, mostly along his upper arms, were noticeably scarred.]

[But perhaps almost just as shocking as that is the fact that he is currently standing and putting on his clothes again, as though he has absolutely no intention of staying to rest. This, from the boy who may as well have been near-death an hour ago.]

[He doesn't even react when Nephry opens the door, other than to turn and nod in greeting as though nothing were wrong.] Oh, I hadn't realized... I'm sorry for troubling you earlier.

[the_original]

((OOC: Someone would rather abuse the replica more.))

[A cane tapped lightly against the ground, the owner staring at the quiet spectacle before him. It was...a replica. It could only be, and while he was working on dealing with their existence; he hated them.]

Well, this is hardly becoming of the Fon Master.

[Still, as much as he hated his fate, that seemed distant. He'd been healed here, and while he still wasn't where he should be at his age; he was well enough. He walked over elegantly, the cane tapping like a hammer in the silence. He'd help, if only because others may be watching him, but he was also curious. Curious why he was staring at a panicked replica.]

Don't move and try to relax, I'll heal you.

[Flicking his wrist, the cane extended out into his more traditional Fon Master Staff and he knelt, closing his eyes to concentrate so he could mend what had been done.]

[Though, depending on it's story, he might undo this as well.]

[replicasquared]

[That voice... was his own? Perhaps he was just too delierious from pain to consider any possible alternative. Here was was in the middle of some random village, seemingly dying on the street, and now he was hearing his own voice speak to him.]

[The worst of the wounds were internal. The outer wounds could be dressed and treated with traditional medicine -- he's been through worse, in that regard -- but the internal injuries would have spelled his end without some sort of proper healing. Already, his body begins to feel less heavy and his breathing starts to come easier. And while he's still not quite sure he's at the point where he's fit enough to stand, it's enough for him to lift his eyes up at the one casting those live-preserving artes. Though he may have to blink a few times before he's ready to believe what he's seeing.]

You... you're Ion, aren't you?

[The original? Or just his original? It was only fitting, really, that he wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Though given both are supposed to be dead, he has a reason for sounding a little skeptical right now.]

[the_original]

[There wasn't any hesitation in the boy as he continued his work. How funny life worked; he never expected to go out of his way for one of their sakes, but the replica looked confused.]

I am.

[There was a difference in the kindness the Original and the Seventh showed. While his replica poured his fake heart out genuinely for everyone, Ion himself had a coolness to his actions. An isolating detachment for life that only those in the know could ever see; for all others he was the image of a gentle and loving soul. He intends to make it hard for this one to tell the difference, at first anyway. At last it is done, and he catches this replica by the chin, forcing him to hold his gaze even as that falsely warm smile creeps onto his face.]

Now...Tell me who you are. I think it is only fair that I know you as you know me already. We can perhaps get you cleaned up too.

[Letting go with his point made, he collapses his staff carefully back into a cane once more and leaning on it extends his hand to help the impostor to his feet.]

[replicasquared]

[Ion takes the hand when offered and stands. He's a bit dizzy, partially from exhaustion and partially from blood loss, but he still manages to stand upright on his own.]

[Unlike the replica from which he was created, this Ion doesn't share that same ability to trust just about anyone he comes in contact with. Perhaps it's due to a lingering bitterness at being rejected in the eyes of all his friends as the "real" Ion. Or perhaps it's because the one person he always thought he could trust, in spite of the sins she had committed against him, was now set on killing him.]

[But this felt different. Regardless as to whether this was a fellow replica or the first original, Ion felt a bit more at ease. He couldn't quite explain the feeling, but... he felt that this person standing in front of him was someone he could trust.]

My name is Ion. I'm a replica of the previous Fon Master Ion... created after his death.

[A small detail to add, perhaps, but it's enough to distinguish him from his original.]

[the_original]

[This is his legacy to the world? An endless string of replicas and replacements? What a cruel thing destiny is.]

[Though, hadn't that been Van's goal? A world of replicas, free of the Score. Free of the chains of fate that binds so totally out of everyone's choice.]

You're the third person to take that name. Wouldn't it be better to have your own? A life that's not an obligation to someone else's expectations.

[He knew this because his own replica Ion he'd met face-to-face, and would always like bear animosity to since that had been what he'd been so casually replaced with.]

Walk with me; I'll help you get changed.

[It's more for him to think on. Another layer to make him question his own identity; just who was Ion? The Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei certainly. Yet now there's this third person to bear not only that name, but that face. Once again in the silence, there's that cane, tapping on the ground like a hammer. Perhaps the precursor to an angry beast fitfully and pointlessly lashing out at it's surroundings.]

[replicasquared]

...you aren't the first person to tell me that. [And it still somehow hurt to hear again, all the same.]

Though I suppose it bears mentioning... I was born with the same memories as the replica I was created from.

[Though there's a temptation to say "your memories", he's still not entirely sure this is the 7th replica or not. But he had a feeling that wasn't the case. His memories and the 7th's memories are one and the same. And he think he'd be able to recognize himself if he saw him.]

[That and, unless his memories are faulty in some way, he's fairly certain he's never walked with a cane.]

[the_original]

...Oh?

[With his back turned, Ion's smile grew cruel for a brief moment as he could tell there was ache in that statement.]

Then tell me of you and your Original's life; there are many variations of us here. Perhaps to represent the true nature of the Score. [It's garbage.] That it's not hewn into the stone of destiny. [Except to the ignorant.] That it's as the water, changeable and directable. [Except for the weak.] This place is perhaps Lorelei's representation of the choices of fate, and it's inherent branching and diverse nature.

[This is his truth as he saw it, the great epiphany he's come to realize, but he'll never share it except to inflict his hate and malice on others for their blind acceptance of what had been, and even the agent of change who set all in motion cast him aside for his bid for glory to celebrate his genius.]

Just because this would so mess with him♥

[for_her_master]

[The devil watched him, red eyes following his every move. He was one of the interesting ones who's blood smelled so sweet. In fact, it was the smell of his blood flowing free that attracted her to him. Her master was no where in sight, making it up to Anise to find her on entertainment. Stepping out in front of him, she grinned at the boy, gently taking his bloodied hand in her own.]

What is a sweet little lamb like you doing out her all along?

Everyone loves to torment the poor little greenheads...

[replicasquared]

[The moment Ion lifted his head to see who had taken his hand, his face paled and his blood ran cold.]

No...

[He thought he had more time. He thought he had run away fast enough. He thought he would survive this, but that didn't seem to be the case at all. His mouth hangs open with a silent scream, his body shaking and shivering until finally, belatedly, he tears his hand back from her grip and scrambles backwards.]

[He was going to die. She was going to kill him and he was going to die. That's why she was here, wasn't it? He truly was an unlucky replica, wasn't he...]

[But no. Perhaps this was fate. After all, just because he was going to die here didn't mean he'd have to die alone.]

S-Stay back...!

guilty pleasure?

[for_her_master]

[Anise blinked as he suddenly pulled away, looking down at her hand remnants of his blood stained them. Casually she licked it off, looking all too pleased after before her eyes followed his retreating figure.

She didn't do anything and already he feared her? No fun, no fun.]

Already I strike fear into you? We've barely even met.

Channeling the inner yandere in us all!

[replicasquared]

[That... is enough to make him pause. As delusional as Anise had become, she's never denied knowing him. Something was different. Something was wrong. And given this was Anise, that only made it that much more terrifying. Just how more unpredictable had she become!?]

W-What are you talking about? [His voice is heavily strained, making it clear he's in pain even if it weren't obvious before.] Do you... not recognize me?

Sorry, I've been recovering hard core from a con ;-;

[for_her_master]

How can I recognize you if I don't even know you?

[She had heard of the boy, yes, but that was far different from knowing him. Anise had to know all the powers that be to stay at her Mater's side, he goal was to help him take them all down after all.

Tough, the devil had come across someone with the same face as him, but her pet and him were hardly the same person. Tilting her head curiously at his action, she couldn't help but notice he was straining himself a bit hard for being injured.]

So where all are you injured?

[failguardian]

[There's a rush of dizziness as she opens her eyes. Dizziness quickly transforms to panic as she realizes she has no idea where she is.]

[And panic gives way to something else entirely as she sees the slumped figure.]

Y-you're...

[It can't be. He's dead, she killed him, or as good as. It's her fault, all of it, why is he here now is he a ghost she's dreaming isn't she this can't be real he's dead-

[She takes a step forward, shaking.]

Ion...

[replicasquared]

[Ion jerks his head up when he hears him name being called, eyes widening as he realizes just who it is standing in front of of him.]

[Anise.]

[All at once, his expression changes from one of surprise to one of fear. With a gasping breath, he staggers backwards, coughing hard when he lands on the ground once more. Blood was tricking down from his lips.]

[He was going to die. She was going to kill him. And he wasn't strong enough to defend himself. Not when he was this injured... even attempting fonic arte right now would certainly spell his end.]

How... [His voice is weak and strained.] H-How did you find me?

[mysterical]

[She still hadn't gotten used to this place, whatever it was. And considering that she was dealing with the whole problem of a Van that didn't want to take over the world. So, she was out walking to clear her head.]

[A familiar head of green-gray hair made her stop in surprise. Surely...]

Fon Master?

[Hadn't he died?]