Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

[captain-hunam.livejournal.com]

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet.

Quietly, he collected dinner and a big glass of orange juice, and chose a seat near the food-serving counters. Talking for so long had made him thirsty... and, well, fruit juice was a luxury he had missed.

[Stalk away, my dearest Admiral. <3 ]

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[ofthescore.livejournal.com]

Ion looked up quickly at the sound of his name, his heart soaring as his face broke out into an enormous smile at the sight of his friend. Luke! Luke! He had resigned himself to never seeing the redhead again! The sacrifice he had done in the name of his friend had been so final, so desperate on his end -

The Fon Master lept up as he saw his fellow replica crash into the ground, flying to Luke's side to help him up. It wasn't only that he had fallen over, but the knowledge that he'd been attacked by a monster as well! His poor friend seemed always to be in some manner of injury!

"Are you all right, Luke?" Ion asked quickly, hooking an arm under Luke to aid him to his feet.

[radiant-howl.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, yeah, I just tripped," Luke hastily explained, brushing off the random bits of food that had got all over him. The crash had alerted a nurse, who collected the mess from the floor and pointedly told Luke to sit until another nurse had gotten his food - someone in his condition shouldn't be running around so recklessly!

Sitting sounding good, but Luke was just glad to see Ion again. Out of all the people he thought he'd never see again... Just by the way that Ion was helping him out too, he knew this was the Ion he traveled with.

"Thanks, Ion. But, seriously, when did you get here? Have you met with the others yet? It's been so long, I have so much to tell you and everyone else must too!" He babbled, still getting used to the fact that Ion was there and alive!

He would have babbled more, but Luke had to turn aside for a moment as he started to cough violently again. Geez, now he couldn't even talk! This was such a pain.

[ofthescore.livejournal.com]

Ion didn't mind the food, moving to help brush some of it off of Luke's uniform while still holding him up. So pelted with questions, Ion wasn't sure where to start - they had a lot to catch up on, didn't they? And the most pressing matter in Ion's mind wouldn't leave him be until he asked, either.

"Don't push yourself," he quickly chastised, moving them to take a seat at the nearby table, his meal soon forgotten. "I've only been here since last night, but Anise did find me!" Ion wondered - who else could possibly be here? Was Anise the only other one? "Are you sure you're all right, Luke? You don't look very well."

The news of anyone else could wait - Luke didn't even sound well enough to speak, with such a violent cough. Was the attack on him that bad, or had he become ill?

[radiant-howl.livejournal.com]

"No, no," Luke hacked, waving off Ion's concerns as he recomposed himself. There was no way in hell he was letting Ion know what had actually happened, and so the redhead thought for some sort of excuse.

"I just, uh... choked on my spit, I was talking too fast," Luke grinned, pleased at his seemingly great save. He did hear what Ion told him though, which made him really glad: Out of all of them, Anise was probably the one who deserved to see him first.

"Everyone else will be happy to see you," He continued, the smile never leaving his face as he spoke to his fellow replica. "But uh..." Now that he thought about it...

"Sorry if this is a weird question, but what's the last thing you remember?" Last thing Luke wanted to do was mention Ion dying if the Fon Master had no recollection of it.

[ofthescore.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Ion relented, his worried face turning back into a smile. Luke was strong; Ion knew that better than a lot of people. He couldn't worry too much for him! Luke had been the one that had protected him during their journey, after all. And the companionship of a fellow replica was special to Ion, personally - someone who knew how he thought.

"Ah..." trailing off, Ion grabbed one strand of long hair, tugging on it slightly. "When I read the Planet Score for you, Luke." It was the most opportune time to ask. "Did it help you? Was Tear okay?"

[radiant-howl.livejournal.com]

So Ion was from that time... that technically meant he was like Asch, then. Which brought back the problem of what was going to happen if Ion ever left this place, but for the sake of the moment, Luke dismissed those thoughts.

"Yeah, you saved her life," He nodded, wanting Ion to know that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. "And... well, the reason I asked that was because some of us have different memories of what happened. I mean, I don't remember what happened after I tried to sacr-"

Wait, better not talk about that.

"After I tried to remove the miasma from this place called the Tower of Rem... according to Guy and Jade, we already defeated Master Van. But Anise, Tear and I don't remember any of that... see, our memories are a little weird, so I was wondering about you too."

[ofthescore.livejournal.com]

Ion nodded solemnly. "Good." He had done the right thing. The Fon Master knew his sacrifice would not have been in vain; he had chosen it himself. Two birds with one fonstone.

"The Tower of Rem. I've heard of it," he answered, face turning curious. "I wonder why we all have different memories?" Perhaps there was a way they had been taken from Auldrant at different times? The task seemed ridiculous to even suggest, but being trapped in an institution and being brought back from the dead was...

"- Oh! Guy, Jade, and Tear are here as well?" How wonderful! Almost the entire party was here. It was selfish of him to be glad of their presence in this place, but Ion couldn't lie and say he wouldn't be glad to see them again.