XX1: A Familiar Unknown

[stupidgenes]

[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

Comments

/equips canon with the Broken Beyond Repair title again

[promisedsomeone]

[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.

/joins RealityShattered RPG

[stupidgenes]

[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!?

yep that's what it's called

[promisedsomeone]

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.

[stupidgenes]

[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?

[promisedsomeone]

[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.

[stupidgenes]

[...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?

[promisedsomeone]

[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.]

[stupidgenes]

What do you mean I'll never be free of this place!?

[The idea seems to insult his very nature. It sort of reeks of the Score, but at least, in theory, it was possible for Auldrant to be freed of its hold. However, who was to say freedom from the Score was any kind of freedom at all? How did those shop owners take him here? Are they entities powerful enough to maintain an influence as strong as--if not stronger than--the Score?

Asch is still thinking about not being free from here. He hasn't even gotten to the experiment bit that his other self mentioned.]

Can't I just stay in Auldrant by thinking about it all the time!?

[promisedsomeone]

That won't work. Everyone spent six weeks here once, and there have been other times we were trapped. People have been forced to fight each other to the death, too.

[It isn't hopeless. He has to believe that. If he can just get control of the Machine, if he could get access to it like back then...]

[stupidgenes]

[He's quiet for a moment, processing what his other self is saying. It sounds kind of crazy, but he's doubtful his other self is anything but serious.]

...so this is all an experiment. What kind is it? Where will I wind up if I think about Auldrant? The same time and place?

[promisedsomeone]

I don't know. Some weird cross between a social and science experiment. Whatever it is, we're just toys to them.

[He folds his arms.]

You'll go back to the same place like nothing happened. It's pretty convenient until it breaks.

[stupidgenes]

...until it breaks. [Huh. What the hell could he mean by that?] How does something like that break?

[promisedsomeone]

Like any other piece of junk. It might not look like it but we're standing inside of a machine. Sometimes you can hear the gears turning, usually when something breaks down.

I've been trying to access the controls for a while now. I only managed to get to the surveillance panels, which gave me a limited readout of my own file before security shut me out.

[stupidgenes]

[...even more curious than before. So this place is merely a machine--and those people from the shop are the ones who control the world within it. Asch honestly isn't sure how much better or worse this is from being shackled to the Score.]

So those people who brought us here are the ones who control the machine. How did you get to the surveillance panels?

[promisedsomeone]

That's right. A few months ago, the Plane broke down and some people were given power over it. I came across one of the affected and used him to get into the system.

[That's not even taking into account the different timelines. Things are so messed up.]

The only thing separating them from us is knowledge of how to work the Machine.

[stupidgenes]

Then there'll probably be another chance to take advantage of a breakdown in the future. Does it happen often?