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

[sacredashes]

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.]

Comments

[sacredashes]

[It works, but only in that Asch's face goes from :| to >| which is pretty normal in a conversation with him.] ... That guy really couldn't keep it to himself, could he.

[That's a charitable way of putting it.]

'The club?' ... Never mind. [Belle is quirky and he's going to learn sooner or later just not to question it.]

Hmm. I'll see about getting it some actual weaponry. It'd be helpful if it could change its size, but we'll have to make do. [He straightens.] Consider me your heavy security, then, unless I have an assignment from the Black Order that supersedes it. If I have to evacuate you two personally from the building I will. I'm not taking chances with the recent tear sightings—

[He falls silent when he hears the door opening and sees his brother standing there, looking groggy as hell. Asch... simply doesn't know what to say. In no dream or fantasy did he ever actually pursue the logical course of 'what if I had my brother back' so he just... stares for a long moment.

... And forgets to say anything.]

[wilder]

[He snorts at Asch's confusion. Ah. This kid REALLY didn't get out much.]

Really? Well hey, thanks! I know how to fight, but it's been awhile so I'm probably rusty. So if you're offering, we'll leave it to you~

[Zelos had been paying attention to what's going on here that he ignored the sounds from the other room (8). So he also turns his head in surprise when he hears Luke come in]

That's Eous! He's Belle's baby. Feeling better kiddo?

[greatlydares]

Weaponry—wait, what? I don't even—it's not programmed for combat, it's—

[—programmed for Proxy work managing a store, she's about to say, but then Luke steps out of the staff room and Belle turns in surprise, her words forgotten. Oh! He's awake. And he looks apparently okay, thank god, so her smile is real when she sees him.]

Eous is a valuable staff member, if it was sitting on you it just wanted to make sure you were okay. Hey, Luke—are you feeling any better?

[replicannot]

[he’s terrible actually]

[But he’s better than when he walked into the store, so there’s that. The headache is gone, and now he’s mostly confused and trying to pretend that this afternoon never happened.]

[It does feel weird, though. A smarter person would leave at this point, but unfortunately, Luke Waldorf.]

Yeah, I guess the guy did help a little bit. My headache’s gone.

[not that he thinks it’s cute or anything]

Hey, don’t take this the wrong way, but who are you guys?

[sacredashes]

[He feels a twinge of irritation.]

Did no one teach you manners? You're supposed to introduce yourself first.

[... even though literally everyone here knows who he is—]

[wilder]

[ 💧 ]

Oy, where were those manners 10 minutes ago?

[YOU DIDN'T INTRODUCE YOURSELF FIRST EITHER ASCHY]

Anyway I'm Zelos Wilder. You can call me Zelos.

[greatlydares]

[She doesn't nudge Asch with her elbow, but from the way she twitches, it's clear she dearly wants to.]

I'm Belle, you've met Eous. Welcome to Random Play, how— [She immediately stops the welcome spiel right in its tracks, because they're a bit out of that territory now.] That's good to hear, really. If it comes back, let me know, I'll get some aspirin from my bag.

[replicannot]

[WOW]

[What a rude jerk.]

Hey, I think that goes out the window when you wake up on a stranger's couch.

[But, at least the other two are nice.]

Thanks. I'm Luke. It's okay--I get these sometimes. Dunno what causes them.

[You sure bud?]

[He looks at Zelos. And then Asch. And then himself.]

We look a lot alike, huh? What, are we all secretly related?

[sacredashes]

You would have been on the floor otherwise.

[This is going swimmingly. Just fucking... perfect. Ace. 10/10, gold medal, yep. He's getting more and more irritated with just about everyone except the bunny and... Belle, but she has only temporary immunity.

Asch could be helpful. He even considers it for like a quarter of a second.

And then it goes out of the window.]

Do you even listen to the words that come out of your mouth? Think critically for one freaking second! You do know you're adopted, don't you? Did you never even think about who your old family was?

[aAAAAAAAAUGH]

Never mind. I'm leaving—

[HE NEEDS TO GO YELL AT THE SKY]

[wilder]

[Without even looking at him, Zelos reaches over and grabs Asch by the back of his coat in order to stop him from running off]

Nooo, you're not. Deep breaths now.

[Is this what having brothers is like? It hasn't even been an hour and he is feeling a serious mental drain.

He'll then look over at Luke]

Don't mind him, he's just wound a little tight. That being said... you're not entirely off the mark.

Did your parents ever talk to you about where you came from?

[greatlydares]

Watch your words, too.

[Her voice might be gently chiding, but there's a stern look on her face as she glances at Asch. To Luke, she says:]

Zelos and I are siblings. Half-siblings, really, we have the same father. As does Asch. And...

[A pause.]

Well, it's like you said. We look pretty alike.

[replicannot]

[Aggro gets aggro.]

[Luke looks at Asch and he is just...absolutely incensed!!! Doesn't this guy know how hard Luke has it? He's had one of the worst days of his life here!]

Of course they did, dumbass! That's why they sent the stupid DNA test that almost got me kidnapped!

But I'm sor-ry if I wasn't sure at first. How was I supposed to know that I'd meet my bio family the same day I find out I used to be experimented on as a kid??? This is a dream, right? This has to be some weird kind of dream.

[Once he calms down, he turns to Belle and Zelos.]

Yeah, but they didn't say much. Only they adopted me from somewhere. We tried to get some information on the family, but when someone tried to grab me, they wanted to take me off the grid instead.

[sacredashes]

[Asch is grabbed, but funny enough he only puts up a token struggle. Or maybe he's just realized that Zelos is way stronger than he looks. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck...]

Wait. [He half-turns back around, his expression incredulous.] Someone tried to kidnap you after you were tested?

[There are gears turning in his head and none of them are coming up on good ideas. He looks pissed, but that's his normal expression; his left hand clenches at his side, mostly hidden by his sleeve, while his green gaze shifts to Zelos and Belle.

Does it seem like a creepy cult is behind this or maybe something else? Either way this is news to him.

Alright, fine. Deep breaths. He is visibly trying. Give him brownie points for this.]

... It's not a dream. And what those other people told you is probably true.

[...] My name is Asch Fabre. When I was a kid, some strange men attacked my family. They took my brother. I spent the last few years looking for him and found out he had a new family.

[He runs his hand through his bangs.]

Does that clear anything up for you?

[wilder]

[He sure is! He doesn't even seem to be struggling to hold Asch where he is. But once the younger one stops struggling, he'll let go. He lets Belle and Asch do the talking while he goes to the counter and grabs a couple of packets of paper: the DNA tests that Belle and Zelos did]

I can't really comment on the lab or kidnapping stuff, I just found out about that stuff too, but here.

[He offers the papers to Luke]

Belle and I took these DNA tests awhile ago for unrelated reasons, and these are our results. We couldn't find any information on the two accounts we matched to, so that's why we didn't contact before... but maybe you'll recognize your username?

[greatlydares]

[A flash of horror comes over Belle's face, because she'd expected a lot of things but she didn't expect kidnapped. She gasps, a soft and worried thing.]

Was that why your parents got so strict with you? [Oh, god, and she and Zelos were kidding around about it before.] And, no, sorry, not a dream. Want me to pinch you to prove it?

[In the meantime, the gears are turning in her head. Did the same people who had kidnapped Luke once try to kidnap him again when he'd been adopted out? It's not impossible, but she feels as if they're missing something here. Like there's something about the logic that doesn't quite add up.

She knows so little, it's frustrating to her. She lets out a breath.]

Also, when did you find out you got experimented on, because I just found that out about you like five minutes ago myself.

[replicannot]

[Luke takes the DNA test results, and he calms down for a minute.]

[He knew there were other people out there. But, he hadn't gotten around to asking his parents before the kidnapping attempt, and after--well, everything was crazy. By the time things calmed down, he had a lot more on his plate.]

[Still, a twin brother?]

[Part of him wants to remember, but given how much has happened today, he stops himself from thinking about it.]

Yeah, it was.

When my parents adopted me, I had a pretty bad case of amnesia. I couldn't really remember how to do anything. A few years down the line they were worried about hereditary diseases and stuff, so we did the DNA test.

[Luke takes a deep breath. He hasn't really explained his whole deal to anyone before. It feels weird. He should still be mad, but he's also really tired. And Zelos and Belle are trying.]

A couple weeks after that, a couple guys in suits tried grabbing me on the way home from school. The 'rents were convinced it was because of the DNA test, so they took me off the grid. No socials, nothing. I was lucky to have an xBox live account.

[teenager gonna teenager]

[He looks at Belle.]

Right before I came here. A bunch of weirdos came up to me after one of my classes. I thought I'd calm down by renting a movie.

[He looks at the DNA test results. This really is it, huh?]

So, we're family, huh?

[This feels weird.]

[sacredashes]

You couldn't remember how to do anything?

[... This sounds way too similar to their past lives, but he won't say that. More importantly, it confirms something for him.]

... Then it's as I thought. The spell to Seal memories also Seals away abilities, but it's highly dangerous to the subject. It can alter their personality or revert them to a childlike state in the worst cases. They used it when they were done with you in order to cover up their crimes.

[It feels so cold when he puts it like that. Even though he'd been bristling earlier, he... feels bad.]

... They should have never gotten their hands on you.

[wilder]

[Zelos has fallen quiet again, his arms crossed as he listens to this story. More and more, pieces are falling together in his head- and man does he not like the picture. Someone was invested in dealing with Luke, enough so that they were monitoring DNA websites. And yet when Belle and Zelos had taken the test.... it'd been completely fine. Not a single weird incident.

... He has a bad feeling about this, but he's not going to voice that right now. He rather look into it, get confirmation before he throws an accusation. Especially with the younger siblings. They're already processing a lot]

Can't say I'm surprised they went into overprotective mode, with an incident like that.

[Any decent parents would be freaked out over an incident like that. Protecting your kid is what you're SUPPOSED to do.

But also-]

Any idea who the weirdos that approached you today were?

[greatlydares]

I can understand using it on someone who's actually done dangerous things and would keep on doing it otherwise, [and there's quite a few people who pop into her head at the thought,] but—on a kid? Just because they were trying to cover for their crimes?

[Her hands clench into fists, her jaw tightens. Her eye implants don't glow, but something like a red-hot fury flashes in them before she reins it back in.]

It's a good thing they're gone. I'm not sure what I'd have done if I'd known anything about this before. [She lets out a breath after that, and her fingers relax, but the line of her shoulders remains tight and stressed.

Stays that way as she hears more. Weirdos in suits going after Luke right after his DNA test, when she and Zelos got by fine with nothing happening...

No. No, she can't and won't think about that, right now. (No one went after Asch, anyway, right? Right?) Instead she makes a mental note to keep a watchful eye out for anyone in a suit who might be a little too interested in any of them.]

God. I'm sorry, I get why your parents would be overprotective if that had happened on top of what you were like, when they adopted you. [But she nods.] We're family. By blood, at least. I...understand if it's a little much for you, I promise I was planning to ease you into it first. Things just—happened too fast.

—how did these guys tell you?

[replicannot]

[It feels weird.]

[He's talked to these people for all of twenty minutes, and they feel more upset about the situation than he does.]

[Probably because he's just a normal kid. He's a normal kid, who's had a weird day, and none of that is going to change when the magnitude of what happened today actually sets in.]

[Anyway.]

Nope, nothing at all. I can't remember much of the time, but my 'rents always told me how rough it was.

[He continues.]

There were a bunch of them: a kid with the bandana, some asshole looking blonde, and my tutor was there too, for some reason?

[And here comes the introspection.]

They didn't really say anything. I asked if I'd seen them before, and they mentioned we'd met before at "a really bad place," but I got a really bad headache so we couldn't really talk.

[He's not going to mention the memories because he doesn't want to. If he talks about them, they'll be real, even if he's already accepted it on the surface.]

[sacredashes]

Exactly, Belle. It's a spell known to the Order, but it's only used when every other avenue has been exhausted. It's for criminals, not for children. These damn 'scientists'... the cruelty was the point.

[None of these descriptions do much for him except "asshole-looking blonde". He'd ask if the bandana kid was someone Asch knows, but dismisses that almost immediately; Kinich would not be a part of something so messy unless he was cleaning it up.]

Other Krusnik victims, maybe? The reports said the city is home to a few, though it was rather... nonspecific. [That could have been a place for him to start, but no. It would be weird if he started interrogating Krusnik victims about Luke when even Luke doesn't know. Asch does respect some boundaries, as it turns out.]

... You should rent that movie and let everything settle. [This is, perhaps, the most helpful advice Asch has ever given.] When you figure out what you want to know, we'll be here.

[wilder]

["Kid with a bandana".... well, he knows one person that fits that description, and it makes him tired just thinking about it. Of course that guy is sticking his nose in their personal business, again. Ugh. Belle sure picked some guy to befriend.

But at least it wasn't anyone they'd have to worry about. Zelos was just concerned it was more people trying to grab the kid. ]

That'd make the most sense, from the sounds of it.

[What a mess this is. It's going to take forever to unravel everything, and it sounds like the kid's already been through the ringer. Asch speaks up first and.... wow, yeah, he actually agrees with that]

Yeah, I think Asch's got a point. None of this stuff needs to be solved right this second, so might as well take a break before to help you digest stuff.

Belle's a real movie buff. Tell her what you like, and she'll find something perfect for you.

[greatlydares]

[Asshole-looking blonde is a little harder to place, but when a kid with a bandana is mentioned, Belle immediately shoots a quick little side-eye at Zelos. That's her friend! Don't be mean to her friend. But she does relax a little, because she trusts Harumasa and she figures he likely had his reasons.

It makes her think, though, about when he'd first contacted her. She's cobbling together details now and the picture it forms worries her but...for now, she lets that be.]

If it was the other Krusnik victims, I'm sure they meant well.

[A quick nod.]

Yeah, I am very good at recommending movies. What's your favorite genre? What's the kind of thing you're looking for?

[replicannot]

Yeah, thanks. You know, you all are pretty alright.

[He nods. It's a lot to think about. He's ashamed enough about his behavior that he doesn't want to actually talk about what happened, but he knows they didn't mean poorly. Even if it turned out that way.]

Maybe a superhero movie? That sounds like a good way to cool down tonight.

[And, he opens his pocket to take out his wallet. Where is his wallet?]

We, uh, might have a problem?

[sacredashes]

[Huh, wow, Zelos agreed with him on something. Maybe this will work?

... He is trying not to ruin the goodwill he's just received. He is trying so hard. But when Luke reaches for his wallet and comes up short, Asch looks like he's about to burst a blood vessel in his forehead.]

You lost your wallet? [GOOD LORD maybe his parents were right to keep him close all these years. He's already facepalming.] Did someone bump into you at school or on the way here?

[Maybe he can go track them down while Belle and Luke are doing normal people things. Asch can't sit still for a movie knowing someone is out there taking advantage of his twin brother and not facing any consequences for it.]