realityshifted | XX1: A Familiar Unknown

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tales of the abyss (d1) asch

XX1: A Familiar Unknown

[There's a seemingly familiar young, red-haired soldier stepping forward from the midst of the Plane. He is unarmed but battle-ready with brows furrowed and stern gaze still locked ahead on an unseen goal. Hiding uncertainty with hardened eyes and set jaw, he takes another step forward while studying his surroundings.]

Dammit.

[What he once thought illusion is now a disorienting reality in tangible form both before and around him. He feels like he knows it; his eyes flash with recognition because he's seen bits and pieces of this before. Especially that 'inconspicuous' shop he's seen time and again.

Then, he turns around quickly, spinning on the balls of his feet. Something's behind him--at least, that's what he thinks.]

Who's there!? Come out!

[Even unarmed, he's a force to be reckoned with. He might not be stuck in that trap in Auldrant, but this could just as easily be another one.]

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[Guy is dressed as a Kimlascan soldier at the moment, though he has the helmet off for now. He stares at Asch's reaction, frowning a little distantly. Somewhat worried, but distracted by the problems back on his own Auldrant as well.]

You're jumpy today. Did something happen?

[The figure that steps out of the shadows, shedding his own star-granted aura glow, bears the regal posture and long red hair of a duke. And for a moment, he might be mistaken for his father-- but no, it's the other Asch. He looks perfectly identical save the red sash tied to his upper arm.

He keeps his gaze even and measuring. He should have expected this, too. It's proof that he royally fucked up his own timeline, isn't it?]

So it's true.

[That's a -- rather interesting reaction. And an abrupt request. Conan obediently steps forward.]

Ne -- are you new here?

[Behind him is a lady, looking a little distressed but no more. When she sees him, the distress disappears and she smiles broadly.] You are back! I had been worried still.

[Asch's eyes widen with both recognition and some measure of confusion after his gaze settles on Guy.]

No. What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with the replica?

[...Just a kid. One who's just asked a pertinent question with disturbing implications.

Where the hell is here exactly? How did he get here? Are "new" arrivals common in a place like this?

But those questions can all be summarized in the following.]

What's that supposed to mean!?

[His eyes narrow. Another replica? No, it can't be. Part of him knows that it isn't, but if that's the case...]

Who are you!?

[His gaze falls upon her, cautious and alert. His eyes narrow as he attempts to mask the unfamiliarity and lack of recognition.

Asch has so many questions and doesn't really know where to start. But he can set the record straight at the onset.]

...You're probably mistaking me for someone else.

[The smile transforms into a look of confusion. He isn't wearing a sash, but that doesn't mean anything; Asch was always prickly and might have thrown it away for any reason.] Or it may be an experiment. Asch?

[The clear change in her countenance is almost relieving; it means there's common ground on which both of them are confused to some extent.]

What kind of experiment? [He tries to ask without asking or sounding stupid, and while he doesn't sound curious or demanding, he also doesn't say this like a question.]

[She is used enough to Asch that she isn't bothered by his manner.] One that has changed your memories. It happened to me, when I was made to think I was the prince of a world I'd never even heard of. [And Asch, her princess in a tower. But she doesn't press that point.]

If you have to ask, I guess you don't know -- so welcome. This is called the Astral Plane.

I'm you.

[This is a little weird. More than a little weird. But he's dreamt this before. It's not completely out of the question, he's heard of this happening.

He crosses his arms.]

You must be another 'me' from another world or a different timeline.

[He briefly considers her suggestion but just as quickly rejects it.]

No, it can't be. I shouldn't be here--I was taking care of something. [Paving the way for the replica, as it were. Probably was going to die because that was the only thing left for him.

That would have been fine except for the fact that he isn't even in Auldrant anymore. He really could be in a world that he's never heard of or even imagined, and that would be the only plausible explanation for this situation given Auldrant was the only world he'd ever known.]

Where is the replica?

[So that's what this place is. That... doesn't really explain anything.]

...And you're from here?

[Another world. A different timeline. Isn't that what everyone's been saying until now? But nothing drives the point home more than personally meeting oneself while still existing--living--as oneself nonetheless.

Despite that, here and now still seems completely unreal and even impossible.]

Heh. Is that so? [This is just... disgusting. Insulting. How could something like this happen?]

And just what was it you were doing in your own 'timeline' before this?

[This Asch stays where he is, noting that his mirror is unarmed. His own thoughts run along the same lines. It's insulting that he's apparently been replaced again, and this time it was really his fault.]

I was trailing Dist to see if he was leaking information to Mohs.

[And before that...]

Something major occurred in my world recently. It was changed slightly from the original timeline. That's probably why you're here.

No. Like you, I came here from another place a few days ago. I don't really understand how it's possible, but it seems that this place is between worlds and people come here from worlds where things happened differently.

The what? [Morgana feels like she recognizes that urgency in him, but she isn't quite sure (and surely, surely he isn't running to his death again) and this notion of 'replicas' hasn't even come to them.] What is a replica?

[...Asch remembers trailing Dist, too; now that he thinks about it, a lot has happened since then.]

Major event--you mean that idiot destroyed the Sephiroth Tree in Akzeriuth. [That stands out as a major event before his spying on Dist.] Or the fall of St. Binah.

[Asch thinks that any of the Outer Lands falling into the Qliphoth would count as a major event. But how the replica saved the people of St. Binah as the town fell makes it sound like a major event, too.]

What do any of those things have to do with me being here?

Then, everyone here is from a different 'world' but somehow arrives here.

[Asch tries to figure out how he could have possibly arrived.

He remembers challenging Oracle Knights. Then, he suddenly had a vision that he can't really remember now. After that, he expected to see be faced with soldiers, but that clearly isn't the case.]

How did you get here? [Actually, he wonders how anyone gets here from their separate worlds.]

There was a shop on the street I've walked down every day of my life that I'd never seen before. I went inside.

[St. Binah? Yeah, that's going to fall soon. But it hasn't fallen yet. Why the hell is everyone from the future?

His eyes narrow somewhat.]

You saw that weird shop, didn't you? The people who own it are the ones who brought you here. You can go back to Auldrant by thinking about it, but you'll never be free of this place. Or them.

It's an experiment. [He practically seethes through the last word.]

[Asch had seen that shop many times in various cities. He'd always felt that it might be following him, but the idea was so stupid that he refused to believe it. Thinking about it, when was it that he stepped into that shop? As far as Asch recalls, it was only in that hazy vision that he now can't really remember.]

So, is that the way everyone else winds up here?

It seems likely. At least, I've yet to hear of any other way -- the first time, I mean. From now on, you can come here by wanting to.

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XX1: A Familiar Unknown

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/equips canon with the Broken Beyond Repair title again

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/joins RealityShattered RPG

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yep that's what it's called

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