kaisou | closed; it doesn't get easier the further i run

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closed; it doesn't get easier the further i run

WHO: Luke, Zelos, Asch, and Belle
WHERE: Random Play (Belle's video rental store)
WHEN: Early March
WHAT: Luke realizes that the weird guy he met once is not a stranger, and Belle & Zelos realize Luke has a twin.
WARNINGS: Possible talk of child abuse, maybe-murder, infidelity, swearing... Wilder Sr. was a piece of WORK.

[action;]

[With Luke on the network, that might necessitate a change of plans. Yes he took this job so he could look over the deteriorating situation in Kaisou, but the real reason was because he found out Luke was attending college here and he wanted to keep an eye on his long-lost brother. Of course, he never spoke a word of this to Nephrite, but he found out anyway. Asch is fairly predictable as far as motives go.

More importantly—he has other family here, too. But he isn't sure how to approach them, and he's not sure he even wants to. His mother's family was... nonexistent, or so distant as to not care, abandoning a single mother at the first opportunity. His father's family... well, if they were anything like him, Asch sure as hell didn't want anything to do with them.

But Random Play flashes its neon retro lights at him friendly-like, twinkling like an arcade star in a dark velvet galaxy of gray, and he finds himself drawn to it once again. The first time he'd only showed up for a few minutes and quickly hurried away when he saw movement. This time he stays longer, arms folded as he looks at the old movie posters taped up in the windows.

What if he did go in? What would happen?

He turns away after a moment and sighs, slipping his hands into the pockets of his long dark coat. He should do something productive with his time, like finding a proper place to stay. Chasing ghosts never gets anyone anywhere.]

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[He has the decency to sulk at that as he realizes he wasn't as stealthy as he thought. Sure, he can move without making any noise... but that doesn't hide him from cameras. He should've known.

Oh well.]

I see. [He clears his throat.] I'm with the Black Order. I'll get straight to the point, then: this city keeps getting worse and worse in terms of Spirit Vein contamination. It's all hands on deck after last year.

[He crosses his arms. More information isn't a bad thing. Maybe they can help him keep an eye on the other thing he's here for.]

So this is... [... awkward.] ... the family business?

The Black Order, huh? [Interesting, though Zelos has had limited dealings with that faction] Yeah, we've noticed. Belle here just helped out in a situation involving a black hole at the edge of town.... if you can believe that.

[How did they reach a point in their life where a "black hole at the edge of town" is a coherent sentence.]

Oh, yeah I guess. It's technically Belle's, but I help out some days. Though really I got my own personal side hustle on-

[Wait a second, Asch looks so young]

... How old are you exactly?

Edited 2025-03-11 05:30 (UTC)

I didn't do much, just kept track of people inside! [Which is a vast underestimation of what she was actually doing, but she's not about to tell Asch the sordid details of Ragna's rescue and the worst livestream ever.]

But yeah, you could call it that. Zelos does promotion, I do the managing and ordering of new movies—

[Eous, meanwhile, peeks up from behind the counter and calls: ehn-ne-na. (Hey, someone new's coming in!)]

Hold on a sec— [Turning now to greet the new customer with a bright smile only to freeze in place. Oh shit.]

...oh, I forgot I told Luke he could come over whenever...

[Luke is having, by all accounts, the worst day of his life.]

[Except, maybe it’s not even that. Maybe he had a bunch of worse days when he was a kid, who was apparently kidnapped by an evil organization and experimented on. A past he keeps telling himself must be made up because there’s no way it’s real.]

[He doesn’t want to go home, but he doesn’t want to stay on campus either. So he ends up wandering until he remembers the video store someone showed him on the app—-seems like a good place to kill time, maybe rent a movie, definitely clear his head.]

[It’s not like today could get any crazier.]

[As he opens the door, he shouts inside. Partly to be polite, and partly because he needs to say something to anyone, if only to get out of his head.]

Hey is anyone——

[He stops the moment he steps inside. It feels weirdly like he’s walking onto the scene of one of the soap operas his mom likes, except for everyone looks like him.]

Here?

[Asch starts to mention that he's not stupid, he's read the reports and they seemed credible (if not a bit vague), but then Belle turns to the new customer and his gaze follows, as one does, and—]

[Time stops for a moment.

He's reminded of a time, in a life that wasn't his, that they first met in the rain. They traded barbs, clashed swords, and then Asch went on his way. But there is no escaping this awful destiny. No matter what, they are both strangled by the same damned red string.]

[... He didn't plan for this.

He doesn't have a plan for this.

He could explain everything, but he's so overwhelmed by the rug being pulled from underneath him that he lashes out.]

What the hell is he doing here?!

[Don't ask Zelos, he looks briefly as dumbfounded as the rest of them. This was NOT supposed to be part of the plan. The plan was to focus on Asch first, not have the second on waltz in right now!!]

[But the dumbfounded look quickly goes away. Zelos has been faking it until he makes it since he was a preteen- so of course he's going to try this tactic]

Haha, looks like fate decided on a full family reunion! What are the odds!

Hey Belle, what do you say to closing the shop early? You know for uh, Mardi Gras?

[Zelos it's not even a Tuesday. But listen if he knows anything about Wilders THIS IS GONNA GET MESSY LETS NOT GET MORE PEOPLE CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE]

I wasn't planning on having the full family reunion now!

[There's a thread of panic in her voice because she absolutely did not expect Luke to be coming in quite this soon. She'd figured college would be keeping him busy! Apparently it didn't! But she nods, recovering quickly, and immediately starts herding out all the other non-redheaded customers with Eous's help.]

Sorry, sorry, we're closing up for the day! For, uh—prepping for Alfred Hitchcock Day! Yeah. [Wah-nah ehn-ne! (Come back again on March 12!)

As soon as everyone's out she shuts the door and just puts her back against it. The smile on her face now has a slightly panicked tinge to it, as though she's realized she's much further out of her depth than she's used to, but she's determined to see it through.]

Okay. Uh. We should probably take this to the staff room. We have a sofa there!

[But man does she need to take a seat.]

Edited 2025-03-11 18:13 (UTC)

[Luke has exhausted most of his emotions at this point, so about the only thing he can imagine is pettiness.]

[When Asch asks him what he’s doing here, the pettiness comes out in full force.]

Shopping? It’s a free country, Y’know.

[And then, it hits him just how similar they all look.]

[Like carbon copies of each other.]

[And suddenly Luke isn’t in the room at all, he’s rushing forward to try to help Fon Master Ion, but someone is blocking him——]

[No, that’s not right. He’s young, and there are strange men at their house and——]

[L̴̛̳̖̜̜̬̅̓̿͒̉́͊̏̃͌͘͜͝͝ę̴̤͖̤̻̣̖̹̯̥̃̓̌̽̀̒͜͜t̷̢̧̛̞͕͖̹̹͎͚̔͗’̵̧̡̛̬̫̩̼̰̙̙̥̖͓̭̤͎̿̃̑͛̈́̓̃͠s̵̥̈̊̈̾̓͋̽͌́̕ ̷̠̹̙̯̟͋̽̈́͋͐͗̚̕̕͜p̸̞̞͕͍̜͎͇͈̩̰̟̹̥͝͝l̵̛̬̖̽̑̋̅à̷̢͓̩͕͍̗̠̞̟͈̈́̌̌̑ỳ̵̢̨͓͛̆͂̕̚͜͠ ̷̨̳̣̮̩͉̮̻̾̓̋͒͘̚ͅh̴̟̼̜͈̩̙̼̆̒̐́͗į̷̖͚͈͇̞̟̟͈̜̝̞̜̊̈́͐̽͗̏̌̄͐͜ͅd̶̳̯͈̗͎͕͙͈̩̺͉̈́è̴̦̣̰̋̈́͆̓͠ ̷̡̛̱͔̬̪̯͖̭͇̣͎̙̟̍́̑͆̌͛̑͐̃͜ã̵̜̮͙͇̥́̌͑̿͊̔̆͛͒͘n̷͓̺̹͇̫̬̝̲͔̞͚̍͂̆̇̆̂͆͗̏̓̚d̸̜̤̞̺̫̾̎́͜͝ͅ ̷̨̗̋̍͌͜s̵̛̥̥͚͕̭͆̓̒̍͆͝͝ȩ̸̨͕͎͇̝̣̲̻̳̤̲̥̬͕͌͂̅̆̅̇̊́͘ë̵̛̺̱̟̪̠̫̏̓́̀̉͠͝ͅk̵̦̟̹͎̦̺̰̜̏̇̍. ]

[And the sharp pain is back. He barely got it under control before, and now it’s back.]

[He can hear the words floating around him—-family reunion, back room—-but he’s in too much pain to properly process them.]

[As it is, he can barely do anything more than clench his head. He is not doing okay.]

[shitshitshitshitshitshit. Look at him. He's crumbling. Asch knows exactly what's happening. He knows what a Seal is, he knows what it looks like, and he knows just how devastating it can be... and it'll be worse if it's forcefully removed.]

Damn it! This is bad. He doesn't remember—

[Luke looks like he's about to fall over. Asch is caught, for a brief second, because he knows his presence is only going to make this worse. But Belle is busy ushering customers out of the store, and Zelos doesn't know.

So it's Asch who runs forward instead, straight at Luke, and tries to grab him in a fireman hold (13). You're a sack of potatoes now, kid. Struggle all you want.]

Where's the staff room? I'll set him down.

[Ah it's escalating quickly and Zelos has no idea what's going on. But he does see Luke suddenly grabbing his head in pain and Asch.... fireman carrying him??? Like a potato sack!]

H-Hey! Watch his head, Asch!

[But he'll run over to the staff door by the desk, opening it for Asch]

In there! There's a couch!

[As soon as everyone’s in the staff room, Belle’s coming in last, beelining straight for the fridge to grab some water. She presses the glass into Eous’s hands, so the Bangboo can deliver it to Luke once he’s more settled.]

Settle him on the couch and get him to lie down, I’ll put a bag of ice chips on his forehead. Maybe cooling him down will help with the headache. Zelos, you have earmuffs around here, right?

[Reducing light and sound should help too, if she’s recalling correctly. Anyway, she’s just going to grab for a bag of ice chips in the freezer.]

Asch, can you explain what you mean about “he doesn’t remember”?

[Despite the rough way he grabbed Luke, he's more gentle as he lays the poor redhead on the staff couch, feet up, so Luke doesn't go rolling off it. Assured that his mirror image is being taken care of, he takes a few steps back.]

... We shouldn't talk about this here.

[If Luke tries to make sense of what Asch has to say, he'll only make his headache worse.]

I'll be outside.

[He steps out of the staff room and goes to lean against the front counter instead, arms crossed, looking like he stepped out of one of those old noir movies with his big black coat and suspiciously slicked-back hair.]

Yeah, they're next to the couch on the end table.

[Which sure enough, they'll be a nice pair of ear cancelling headphones sitting there- the expensive kind. Some days angel hearing is a lot okay

Once Luke is squared away, he'll follow Asch back to the front area of the store.]

So... not to pry, but just what was that?

[Oh, these are really expensive earmuffs! She puts them on Luke, then sets Eous down close to him.] Look after him, okay, Eous?

[Eous, in a hushed voice: eh-nhe ehn-na. (Okay, I will, he's worrying me.) Belle gives it a quick little pat on the head, even more concerned now that her Bangboo's voiced its worry. With that, she turns the lights in the staff room down and joins her other two brothers outside it.]

He was doing fine when I spoke to him over the network. There wasn't a hint of—whatever this is.

So. What's going on with him?

[Well. Cat's out of the bag now. This concerns Luke, but it also concerns their new half-siblings. He wonders if this is precisely why Nephrite told him to 'have fun' when he set out on the mission.

... Damn it. He probably saw it coming, too.

Asch can feel his own headache coming on, but it has nothing to do with memories.]

... Luke doesn't know he's my brother.

We were born twins but we got separated when we were younger. Some people showed up and killed Mother, then they tried to kill us. I got left for dead. [He doesn't like thinking about that.] But for some reason, they took Luke away instead of killing him, too.

When I was older I found out it was Krusnik that stole him. I don't know what those bastards did to him, but they definitely messed with his memory. He got sent away to live with some new family like nothing had happened. When I ran into him again, he didn't recognize me at all.

[There's anger beneath the surface, barely-restrained, but it isn't directed solely at Luke. More his own inaction, his own inability to protect his brother back then, and his own foolishness now.]

[Oh... he does not like this story. It hits far too many familiar notes than he's comfortable with. So Zelos is mostly quiet while he listens, and his expression uncharacteristically serious.

And in fact when it comes time to speak, the usually very verbal Zelos only asks for clarification]

... Krusnik? And they are?

[Zelos was otherworlder, and he tried to stay out of the darker sides of this world. It's not a name he's heard come up before]

[Krusnik. The name doesn't trigger anything but the vaguest recollection—there'd been some kind of cult in town that spooked a couple clients? One that had been very quickly taken care of. She frowns now.]

Why would they steal him? What does Luke even have that would be interesting to anyone? By all accounts he seems perfectly ordinary.

[Focus on the puzzle. Focus on the mystery. Focus on that and not the quiet fury inside her heart that makes her blood boil when she thinks of it, because Luke is her little brother and the thought of anyone hurting him—

Her expression goes tight. Her shoulders tense.]

In fact, why would someone go after you two at all? [A stray thought: would the sperm donor...

No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't. He's a massive prick but he has standards, doesn't he? But even this Zelos had said—

She can't, won't think about that line of thought much further here and now. For now:] And do you think you're both safe now, from whoever it was? [If not—there's a look in her eye that Zelos might be very familiar with. It's the one she wore when she gave him the proof he needed, the calm determination to protect, however she can, what she has left.]

Edited 2025-03-12 03:24 (UTC)

He's not ordinary. Assuming he remembered his past life, like I did, then he probably had the power of hyperresonance. [He doesn't really want to explain it in its entirety so he just goes for the quick version:] It's an extremely destructive kind of magic based on sound waves.

If they had any idea at all, then that was probably why Krusnik took him...

[... Ah. Right.] But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Krusnik is—or, was—a cult with labs all over the world that performed illegal experiments. They liked to use children, especially those who wouldn't be missed.

[He scowls.]

They were fairly active until recently. Krusnik decided to kidnap people in Kaisou and managed to make enemies of essentially everyone, from what the report said. ... Krusnik may not be a problem anymore, but the ripples of the crimes they committed will be felt for a long time.

I can handle myself as a member of the Black Order. It's him you should be concerned about. He's never held a sword in his life, and even if he had, he wouldn't remember.

[A cult that performed illegal experiments.... particularly on children. That's a heavy story for anyone to hear. One that leave anyone normal aghast, but Zelos gives a much more subdue reaction, eyes looking far away for a moment.

Content Warning ahead for a flashback involving a body

The cottage was completely falling apart from years of neglect, cobwebs and dust were everywhere. But what stood out most was the smell, the smell of death and decay that came from the bed. The girl, who looked no older than a preteen, continued her tasks with zero awareness of the state of her home... or that the person in the bed had long since passed away and left to rot.

A unique form of hell created all because someone's desire to create a Cruxis Crystal. It was the first time Zelos got to really see the evil that went into creating such things, and it wasn't the last.... it never got easier.

He blinks and pulls himself out of that memory. It's been awhile since that particular nightmare surfaced. Subconsciously, Zelos tugged on the collar of his shirt, as if to make sure the gem on his chest was covered up.

Hearing a group like Krusnik exists in this world... seems his choice to keep his mouth shut about his crystal as much as possible was the right call. There's always monsters among men that'll exploit the vulnerable for their own gains.

And to think one of their long lost siblings suffered at some such monsters...]

Edited 2025-03-12 13:06 (UTC)

[He'll clear his throat]

That's a pretty harrowing tale, not gonna lie. Definitely gonna disrupt my sleep tonight.

[Like he's had a good night sleep in years.

But... he's going to choose not to linger on that anymore. Because Zelos has stomached enough horrific things that he's able to get through what actually matters at this moment: the little brother in front of them, and the one on the couch in the other room]

So lemme guess.... your plan is to make sure he doesn't remember you or his past. Something along the lines of "he's better off this way", while you spend your life guarding him from the shadows with the Black Order?

[Goddesss who doesn't exist... this kid really is related to him]

Edited 2025-03-12 13:16 (UTC)

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3/3 DETAIL OF HEADACHE

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cw human experimentation, child abuse (krusnik tws)

1/2; TW human experimentation, dead bodies

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