dissonates | Appointments Post

.... no. I should have thought to ask. It was stupid. [ She blames herself for that one, really. ]

He ... well, I've been studying medicine a lot lately. ... he asked me if I had any books about diseases. I think ... I think he might be sick.

[...Ah. So there it is. Asch isn't particularly shocked by the revelation, though he is a bit surprised that Van is being even a little open about it. Trying to gather sympathy from the locals? Using an illness is a tactic he should've expected from Van. Not a single trait the man has is useless or discarded, besides basic human courtesy, maybe.]

He is. The fonons of his body have been poisoned by a miasma from the core of the planet. Without medicine or the right treatment, it's going to kill him.

[ There is a shocked silence on her end. ] ... he could die here? ... no wonder he was looking. I don't think he found anything.

[ A beat. ] Nothing else really happened... once I found out who he was, I ... kind of freaked out, and got away as quickly as I could. [ Not entirely truthful, but close enough. ] I just wanted you to know, in case it might be important...

I don't know if death in a place like Luceti should be considered important. It's not as if it'll rid us of him for good.

[Though it does bring to mind one particular issue- that being just how Tear managed to avoid her own death by the same illness. And with both Luke and the Fon Master here...

If Van knows, it's not his death they should be worrying about.]

Have you told Luke?

That's true ... but a penalty could slow him down. [ She shakes her head, thinking of Vanitas. ]

... and no, I haven't. Not yet, anyway. I was going to tell him after I told you.

...Hm.

[He crosses his arms, mulling it over for a moment. The replica isn't well known for keeping information from Van, willingly or otherwise. If Van knew his usefulness - or Ion's - in this case...]

I don't know if that's a good idea.

[ ...

Hence why she told Asch before she told Luke. Her voice is quiet and thoughtful, not accusatory, when she speaks ]

Why?

[This... could be delicate, but as far as he's seen, she's at least more intelligent than his own replica. Doesn't exactly make her trustworthy, but if it's what it takes to stop her from telling him yet-]

He already knows, but it's possible he's forgotten about it. There's also a cure for this illness, and the replica knows about that as well. I don't want him letting Van find out by mistake.

... you know I don't like keeping secrets from him, Asch. [ She isn't happy. But she isn't saying no, either. ] Is there any way Van could get this cure while he's here?

If it wasn't possible, why would I care if he found out?

[He's annoyed, but it isn't a refusal- the only reason he isn't outright bitching at her. How can she even begin to understand Van's power over them? Even if Luke explained everything that happened, at best it would still be the bare bones. It's Van. Words don't describe.]

It's for his own good.

I know that, Asch. [ Her voice is sad, but without challenge. ] ... can you tell me what the cure is?

Don't be stupid. You said you reacted when you found out who he was, and that means he knows that you're aware of his identity. You've told him everything he needs to know about you: you're an ally to either me or Luke. That makes you a target.

[Ugh, this is why he hates working with amateurs.]

The less you know, the better off you'll be.

[ There is a bang, as she slams her hands on her desk and stands. She is glaring at the journal, obviously, abruptly angry, but she's just barely managing to restrain it. But only just. ]

What would you have done? I was scared! I don't think anyone in my shoes would have been able to stay completely calm! Besides... even if I'd never spoken to him, Asch, I was involved the second he got here, and you know it. [ Her voice quiets, then. With Van here... there was no way she wouldn't be involved in this. Somehow, some way. Even if she'd rather stay as far away from him as possible. ] If I'm in danger, don't I have a right to know what's going on?

[Ooh, a bang. He's so intimidated.]

No one's said you're in danger. I just said that you're a target. He'll try to find out what your relationship with us is, or if you're a friend of the others from Auldrant who know he's here, and once he knows the truth, he'll find a use for you whether you like it or not. Being recklessly nosy could get the dreck killed.

[ He may as well have poured a bucket of ice water down her spine. She falls back into her seat, ducking her head and bracing her forehead on the heel of her palm. ]

... don't call him that, Asch.

[ ... it's stupid, to push the issue now. But he hit, naturally, on the exact thing she's so terrified of, and she shuts her eyes. ]

I know. I'm sorry. I'm just ... [ I'm scared. ] ... you know, Van reminds me a lot of ... of a man I knew back in my world. His name was Xemnas. He was ... a lot like Van. Cruel and manipulative... it's like dealing with him all over again, only worse. At least Xemnas didn't pretend to be nice.

[Yeah, he knew that would work. He's quiet for a moment, considering those words - and the thought of anyone being like Van is both horrifying and not that surprising at the same time. All worlds have cruelty, all worlds have people who manipulate others. People don't change.

Part of why he kind of hates them.]

Van won't pretend unless it serves his purpose. The best call for everyone would just be to leave him alone and let him sort out his motives. He has no reason to attack or hurt people unless they know he's an enemy. Luke told you what his goal was on Auldrant, didn't he?

[TELL ME THE DRECK AT LEAST GOT THAT MUCH RIGHT]

To overturn the Score. [ In the most horrible way possible. She frowns in thought. ] Which he can't do here, since there is no Score... unless he had another goal Luke didn't mention, it doesn't seem like there's much for him to do... [ Except, perhaps, dwell on that illness. ]

Exactly. A world without the Score was his end goal, and here, he's reached it. This isn't something he could've predicted to happen- he'd never planned to live in the world he created, if his goals had been reached. If he settles here, he could be an asset to the village as a whole.

[To those from Auldrant, on the other hand... well, that's definitely a case-by-case thing.]

As for his other goals, they're... irrelevant.

An asset? Why? How would that benefit him? [ Genuinely confused. If Van is like Xemnas -- and there are similarities -- she reasons that he'd only help other people if it were for his own gain. Him being any sort of asset to the village kind of contradicts that thought. ]

He's not- [...Oh god, this is going to take some effort to say, isn't it.] ...He's not evil. He's done evil things, but ultimately it's just because he truly believes that what he's doing is the right thing. Humans are trapped in the will of the Score in Auldrant. It's bound to our existence. There's nothing he values greater than free will.

[A deep breath. This is hard- a huge part of him just wants to race out, find Van, and fight him to the death for some ridiculous sense of self-satisfaction. (And it would certainly be to the death- most likely his.) But he knows it would be foolhardy, precisely why he didn't want the entire village knowing about Van's past. Leave him be, and he could ally himself with them. Treat him as an enemy, and that's exactly what he'll become.]

In Luceti, we're not the ones taking away free will. The Malnosso, the Third Party, the experiments - our enemies are going to become his. He'll work towards gaining freedom as much as the rest of us.

[ For a long moment -- at least a few minutes -- she doesn't say anything. It's a difficult concept to absorb. She's aware evil isn't black and white, but understanding the enormity of Akzeriuth and what Van made Luke do... ]

... but what happens when he decides he needs the rest of us to make that happen? You know-- ... from what ... from what Luke told me ... even if we have a common enemy, that won't stop him from using the rest of the village like pawns if he thinks it'll help.

[Asch is all too aware of that possibility; she's speaking to the Number 1 Pawn, after all. He's considered it over and over, debated the chances, raged at himself for even suggesting that they just... leave him alone. It went against every goal he'd had in Auldrant for almost the entire year before he'd been brought to Luceti. But...]

If he makes that choice, we'll deal with him the way we used to. But it's better to let him make that choice with a chance of a few casualties than force him into it and put the entire village at risk.

[ She laughs weakly, the sound of it deeply unhappy. ] This is awful. It gives him all the control, and all we can do is wait. But what other choice do we have...?

[ There's a beat. ]

I'm still going to tell Luke I saw Van. I just won't mention the illness.

[Asch is quiet for a moment; does it give him the control? Maybe. But they can have their own agendas, too. Waiting is a pathetically simplified answer to what they could - or should - do. Two can play at the manipulation game here, and at least this time, they have the advantage of knowledge and experience. Van will need them.]

I don't care if you tell him. It's better if he knows, anyway. But he should at least try to avoid telling Van about you two, if he can manage that much.

[ Well ... that's easier for him. As much as she'll be involved whether she likes it or not, it's still really only in an incidental way. She can't see how she can act as an agent of change, here; how she can do anything but wait for the worst to come...

But that's another matter for another day. ] ... I think he knows that. [ With a very quiet smile. She knows Luke will be just as scared for her as she is for him. ] But ... if something changes... I know I don't need to know all the secrets, but if it's important, Asch ... can you tell me? I don't want to be left completely in the dark.

Appointments Post

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