☼ 003 ☼ | Filtered Video

[wilder]

[Filtered to Sheena, Emil, Allen, Cheria, Kallen, Asch, Jade and Nill]

[Kaneis has been busy since the virus started, between looking after his sister and his clinic duties. Both was causing strain, though it was his sister that had him more worried. Already he had to take her to the hospital, and with the news that the UE was behind this? There wasn't a lot of hope for the doctor's pulling out a miracle cure even if you were a trusting individual- which well, is the opposite of what Kaneis is on a good day]

[And so he's been looking for a solution on his own. A solution at the very least, to make sure Seles can stay alive until they find some cure. Thinking through every option, looking into every resource the clinic and hospital has to offer- there's not a whole lot. He's not about to trust offers over the network or from strangers, his world was way too full of people who would take advantage of situations like these. So in the end, his mind keeps falling back to one option he was most familiar with- the option he had really hoped to avoid. ]

[The filter is addressed to the list of people he's talked to before multiple times and knows could maybe possibly have some use. When the video feed comes up- while his eyes have no bags or redness, everything else indicates how tired he is, how deflated. And partly, how disgusted he is that he's been driven to this. ]

...I need help.

[Wow that was really odd to say and probably to hear for a lot of you. He has to take another breath before he can continue]

My little sister showed up this month. You see, ever since we were kids she's been sickly. It was bad enough that after our parents died, she was sent to an abbey in the countryside for her health. So you can imagine with this virus the UE sent... [Yeah, prognosis not so good] She's in the hospital right now, but I'm sure you all know how that place is faring.

[Not well. They could help her more than staying with him could, but...]

There was a treatment back home, something to help her. Our home was isolated for a long time from the rest of the world, but there was this group that'd bring in these things called Exspheres for trade. [He's not gonna talk about the mine, Regal doesn't deserve that kind of reputation connection when he didn't know] Exspheres work a lot like some of the weapons given by the Initiative- if they're equipped with an item called a keycrest they enhance a person's physical and magical capabilities. Think of it like being able to perform like you can when you're running on adrenaline, but all the time and without the extra strain to your body. For my sister, this meant she could actually do normal day activities without her health causing trouble and be less susceptible to illnesses.

Of course, it turned out later they came from something terrible. My sister's a bit ahead of me in the timeline, and she said the King rightfully ordered all Exspheres to be collected and disposed of, so she doesn't have hers anymore.

[There's a pause before he steels himself enough to reach into his pocket and pull out a green crystal and hold it out in his palm for the feed to see]

...But I still have one.

It still needs a keycrest, that's why I'm calling. I don't know if this world has the right kind of ore, or if anyone with the skill to make a keycrest- but I have to ask. If she can get one or some alternative to one, then at least she'd have a good chance of getting through this. Normally I wouldn't condone this, but...I can't really think of any other option. So if someone could make a keycrest or know someone who could or offer some other alternative to help her...

[he sighs and looks down, shaking his head. Even if he has slightly more trust than the random people on the network- it's not complete trust and it shows. Everyone has their own problems and agendas after all. He even wonders how many bothered to listen to all this.]

I know everyone right now have their own problems, so I don't expect catering. So if you help, I'll do whatever you ask in return. Work, money, favors- I don't care. I'm not sick and can be pretty useful when I want. Just ask and I'll do it.

Just please, help her.

...That's all I ask.

[And he'll cut out the feed there]

Comments

[ardor]

[Kallen doesn't say anything else, gripping Zelos's shoulder again. Not much to do but wait.]

[bloodyashes]

I've been resting for days. This is more important.

[Look, Luke, you can encourage the guy to have friends, but when he does? He does shit like this.

Asch shoves his glass of water and meds back at Luke, too.]

I'm not supposed to take any more of these for another hour. I'll be fine.

[Especially once, you know, Kaneis is on his feet enough for the heals - if Luke's paying careful enough attention, he might notice the bit of cut poking out from under Asch's sleeve that really ought to have healed by now.]

[chosenfake]

[He sets the glass near Zelos if he wants it, then goes to his original.] If you don't shut up then you're going to need to-- [Wait, what the hell is that? He tucks the meds in the crook of his arm, then reaches out for Asch's wrist, trying to shove the sleeve back.]

You haven't healed from the duel, have you? You're pushing yourself like this and you're still hurt on top of it.

[He's mad, but also a bit guilty. There's two sick and hurting redheads in this room and only one nurse!Luke.]

[clinical]

[While those two behave as they naturally do, Jade concludes his testing and walks back over to Zelos with his keycrest.]

Nod if you want me to put it back on for you.

[He would normally just make the call that Zelos is in too much pain to do it himself and consider himself in the clear after all he has read on keycrests, but given the pain in it being removed, he does not want to accidentally make Zelos pass out from pain or something. So he will make the call of letting Zelos be in pain for about two seconds extra to make sure that there is not going to be Stupid Decisions, Part Two.]

[wilder]

[Let a professional guy who actually read about exspheres put it back on him, or risk doing it himself when he's in incredible amounts of pain so he might accidentally mess it up and get them all killed? Well, this is a tough choice]

[Within a second, have a definite nod from him]

[clinical]

[With Zelos's permission, Jade carefully puts the keycrest back in place. Dissecting corpses is more delicate work, honestly.]

[wilder]

[The moment the crystal is back on him, it feels like a wave of relief. Like his head breaking surface after being underwater for too long. He makes a gasping noise as he tries to catch his breath, though it's not as pained sounding as it was a few seconds before. ]

[Not only that, but the overall shock of the experience? Causes his golden wings to come out of his back at a very rapid pace, flapping frantically and possibly knocking over anything within reach of them. Because seriously it felt like they just got detached then reattached that was terrible. Try not to get smacked by them Kallen!]

[bloodyashes]

Going down the stairs isn't pushing myself -

[Whatever else he was going to say, it's pretty quickly forgotten when Jade gets to work. Holy. Fucking. Shit. That was not what he expected.

Any questioning will have to wait, though, because all that flapping? Stirs up enough dust to send Asch straight into a really bad, kind of gross coughing fit.]

[chosenfake]

[Yeah, Luke's argument is invalid. Kaneis just grew wings.

KANEIS JUST GREW WINGS.

Luke jumps back, nearly falls over--]

Whoa!! That's-- what-- a-are you okay?

[WINGS JUST GREW OUT OF YOUR BACK DUDE]

[clinical]

[Jade's eyes widen in surprise. More facts just clicked together.]

And do you have any more surprises for us, or will this be enough for today?

[Jade's helpful.

As if to counterbalance that, he also sets a glass of water on the steps beside Asch, for when he's done coughing.]

[wilder]

[Zelos meanwhile is initially oblivious to all your freak outs as he catches his breath, blinking a few times to get his sight readjusted]

Jeez...that hurt a lot more than I thought it would...not doing that again...

[Annnd right around that time he'll bother to notice that everyone is staring at him, and more importantly that his wings came out]

[...Oops. They will suddenly fold against his back, as if that will hide the fact he has glowing wings. Y e p.]

Ahahaha...I think I'm out of them for now.

[bloodyashes]

[Asch coughs wetly into his elbow a few times before grabbing that glass, thanks Jade. He downs about half of it before trying to speak.]

Planning on explaining before someone dies of old age?

[Spoilers, it'll be Jade. At least now Asch knows why he was interested in you, dude.]

/slams in here

[ardor]

[Kallen has already stepped back, not looking surprised in the least. She glances at Zelos when Asch requests an explanation.]

If you make me explain again, I'm going to start charging a service fee.

[chosenfake]

[Luke is still staring pretty hard. Don't think he's forgotten about Asch-- anything but, judging by the way he stands nearby-- however, Kaneis is sort of the priority right now.]

Did the pain stop? If you need a little while, it's okay.

[clinical]

[He's just going to wait here. This should be good. It may even be better than Guy coming out as a Malkuth noble.]

[wilder]

[He almost really wants to snark at Asch, for demanding an explanation. Wow talk about demanding dude. But...the fact that this is to help Seles holds him back. They're doing him a favor, he doesn't want to screw that up]

Heh heh...sorry Kallen. And I'll be fine Luke, stop fretting already.

[Well, it was fun while he lasted he guesses. There's not exactly a lie he could come up with off the top of his head that would even be believable for wings. Ugh...]

My name's Zelos Wilder, not Kaneis. I was never a mercenary or anything like that. I'm the Chosen of Mana...even if that probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you guys.

The wings are...sort of part of that.

[Look, he's trying but there's a lot to explain okay]

[bloodyashes]

[He's always demanding, dude. Comes with the entire Asch package.

Now that his lungs are in working order, Asch slumps against the stairs, folding his arms and ignoring the incoming replica moming.]

You're right, that doesn't answer a damn thing.

[It answers about as much as "scion of Lorelei's power" would to Kaneis in turn, anyway. Pretty much exactly jack shit.]

[chosenfake]

[... Luke is totally fretting. He makes a face that indicates he's pretty guilty, but he shuts up about it.]

You kept it a secret and you changed your name. I don't know your reasons, but I can't really blame you. [a touch quieter, as he remembers something--] The last time I heard anything about being 'chosen' on my world, it wasn't a good thing.

[wilder]

[he'll give a look over at Luke] Heh...you're not wrong.

[ugh, he hates explaining, but he doesn't have much choice does he?]

It's a long story, but...to most people, Chosens are known as children of angels sent to save the world by becoming angels themselves and awakening the goddess Martel. Even the Chosens are raised to believe that.

[he shakes his head]

But it's a fraud. My world doesn't have fomicry, but it's believed that if you can get someone with a matching mana signature- think of that like a fingerprint- you can use their body to resurrect the dead under the right circumstances.

Well, someone with a lot of power? Decided he wanted to do just that. And so he made up the story of the goddess Martel, the church of Martel and the order of the world so he could create a lineage that could be used to bring back his dead sister - with no one suspecting a thing.

[bloodyashes]

Perfect isofons.

[The phrase slips out before he can stop it, and Asch glances at Luke, and then a longer one at Jade. He doesn't need to explain that train of thought - if "mana signature" is anything like fonon frequency, then he's sure Jade, at least, is thinking the same thing.

It's possible for them to occur outside of fomicry - Asch himself is evidence of that - but the amount of time it would take to produce someone with the same frequency organically...]

Sounds like the guy had a lot of time on his hands.

[A rough snort follows, with a choked off hitch in the end that only barely doesn't lead to another fit. They know for certain that that old story is true, but Asch isn't going to be the one to say so. Not right now.]

[chosenfake]

[Luke's breath catches in his throat. Asch says what he's thinking. Either way, it's not a good situation.

Why is it that someone always has to play god? The reminder is painful. It's not that Luke regrets that he exists-- he's past that point-- but to hear that something similar happened on someone else's world... it feels like a blow to the stomach.]

So the Chosens... they're like replicas.

[Born only to die, or to replace... Luke has his own existence now, but still-- but still. No wonder Kaneis changed his name. No wonder he didn't treat Luke strangely, even though he knows his secret.]

You're like me.

[clinical]

[Jade has quietly observed, letting the others pry into Kaneis and Kaneis reveal what he felt he needed to explain. Frankly, Jade only has one question he thinks they need an answer to; Kaneis has no obligation to say what he has. So he has preferred to sit back and enjoy the show.

This comes closer to home. He meets Asch's gaze, and his eyes fall on Luke.

Jade's hands stay in his pocket, and he waits for Kaneis to decide if he will say more.]

[wilder]

[he has no idea what Isofons are but sure Asch, if it helps you understand the concepts go for it. Call it that.]

Like I said, a lot of power. Immortality was part of it.

[he's not going to explain how. Because yeah, he doesn't trust you people enough to advertise that he has an immortal making rock on him. People go crazy for that stuff]

[He'll look over at Luke. Stop looking at him with those puppy eyes god. He knows why this might be upsetting to the kid though]

...Yeah, I guess so.

[What did you think he's gonna just spill more unless prompted? Haaa]

[bloodyashes]

[...Welp, yeah, immortality is plenty enough time.

Sorry, though, Kaneis, Asch is going to metaphorically prod your soul rock until it spits up the relevant answers.]

Doesn't explain those.

[Replicas do not get wings. If they did, Luke would probably literally hover over him. So there's clearly something else, something more directly tied to the gem on the other redhead's sternum.]

[chosenfake]

[Luke falls silent for a moment, not sure of how to proceed. He never knows the right thing to say. His hands, now fists, faintly tremble at his sides.

All of this makes him feel sick.

So what are the implications for Kaneis-- Zelos? What are the implications for his sister if he puts that thing on her?]