Was touwaka ra coall mean ciel

[imbuologist]

WHO Devon, Sefton, Croix, random Ar Tonelico 2 NPCs as needed
WHAT Two scientists get snatched from Earth and deposited elsewhere by a strange artifact...
WHERE Ar Ciel, specifically the 2nd Tower and the land of Metafalss/Metafalica
WHEN sometime in 2054
NOTES Sefton with song magic. And a cosmosphere. This is going to be interesting.
WARNINGS *grabs the Ar Tonelico 2 box; AHEM!* ... Language, Mild Fantasy Violence, Partial Nudity and Suggestive Themes. ... >D

The outskirts of Pastalia City were plain, nothing to speak of. There were sparse patches of grass, but most of the land was dirt and dust. Oh, and metal. Lots of metal. Devon discovered this the hard way.

Thankfully, whatever strange rip in the fabric of... well, whatever... opened up to deposit him about a two feet above the ground. Not so fortunately, he’d fallen through the rift backwards, so it was the back of his head that came in contact with the cold, solid ground first. Upon impact, he immediately sat back up, gripping his head in both hands and biting back a very loud curse... okay, no, he let that out anyway. “Shit!” he exclaimed, curling in on himself and squeezing his eyes shut tightly just so he wouldn’t have to deal with the swimming vision the blow no doubt caused. He still had no idea what exactly just happened to him, but he felt he could figure that out after his ears stopped ringing and his head stopped pulsing with pain...

Comments

[grandbellknight]

Croix nodded. “Even if you could reach it, the pain would be unbearable.” His voice was calm, a little quiet. He really was honestly worried.

[biomagnet]

“No... no ‘ther choice?” Just to make sure. Sefton had to be sure this was the only choice. Truly life or death, because otherwise he would instantly take the other option. This sounded a little more complicated than insert-life-here, especially judging by the... pain comment.

[grandbellknight]

“No other choice that I can find, and we don’t have much time.” He hated how cryptic it sounded, even if it was true. “So... who should do this?”

[biomagnet]

He almost wanted to say Devon. He knew Devon, knew the man knew of his hangups and their reason for being. But... he knew Devon. Much as it hurt to admit, it would probably kill him anyway if he asked for Devon to do it despite knowing all the risks. Croix... he didn’t know Croix as much. Maybe they would be able to find someone else to help afterward, someone who wouldn’t have to stick around Sefton and be affected by him, too.

Maybe he would wake up and find out this was all just a nightmare brought on by stress from overworking, while he was at it.

Sefton took another few breaths, feeling the energy slowly draining from his body. It was terrifying. “Y-you do it.”

[grandbellknight]

A surprising choice... one that Devon didn’t even pretend to understand, but it was okay. He immediately got out of the way. The sooner this got started, the sooner things would be... somewhat okay again. Right? He stood against the far wall, just in case - he wanted to keep an eye on things, after all.

Croix took a deep breath. Always, always, saving someone’s life came before his own discomforts concerning a situation. That didn’t make it any less awkward, though. He took a bit of comfort in the fact that clearly, neither of them knew exactly what this kind of thing implied about the two involved in the process. That would definitely be for the better. (Or for a later conversation. ... ... Maybe.)

He stood and moved around to the other side of the bed, sitting directly behind Sefton. He looked down at the capsule in his hand, took a few seconds to steel himself, then shifted a bit closer and put a hand on Sefton’s shoulder. “Like I said... it’s going to hurt. A lot. ... Are you ready?”

[biomagnet]

Sefton flinched at the hand, bowing his head while he tried to steel himself. It was almost worse than the anticipatory pain, knowing Croix was going to do this without knowing what it would do to him in return. After a moment or two of mental debate, he tried to keep from tensing up too greatly. That only made it worse, right? “Yeah. … yeah, ‘m ready.”

[grandbellknight]

“Alright.” Croix nodded once. He gently placed the tip of the capsule against the center of Sefton’s port. Once the markings began to glow, he had to take a few deep breaths for his own sake before slowly, carefully pressing the life extending agent into his back.

[biomagnet]

It couldn’t be helped, in the end. Sefton stiffened once the agent started to slip through the port, a faint, pained cry escaping his lips that gradually began to grow in intensity the further it got. Oh, holy hell, that hurt. It felt like his blood was catching fire, searing down his veins, spreading through his muscles and up into his skin. Soon, it got to the point where he was simply making no sound at all, simply too shocked to keep reacting beyond attempting to block out the pain. If he had been dying before, he might have preferred that over this.

[grandbellknight]

The last of the agent disappeared into Sefton, and Croix simply did his best to hold him steady, just in case. Only a few more seconds, and then it would be over. “It’s alright,” he said quietly, trying to reassure him, “almost there. I promise.”

[biomagnet]

The pain began to dissipate, leaving calmed nerves in the wake of all the hurt, and Sefton slumped against the headboard (and away from Croix). He could most definitely breathe easier now, but exhaustion was tugging at him. “Never doing that ‘gain,” he mumbled, mostly for his own peace of mind.

[imbuologist]

Croix just barely cracked a smile, mostly out of relief, and shook his head. “Let’s hope you don’t have to,” he answered, and stood. “But it helped, right?”

Devon immediately made his way back over, taking up his seat on the floor next to the bed again, breathing a little easier now. He was still having difficulty wrapping his head around the fact that he very nearly lost his friend... but that was fixed. Thank God.

[biomagnet]

“Think so.” Sefton gave a small nod, though he moved no further. Memories, echoes, of the burn left him shuddering just a little as he found himself sliding closer to the edge of unconsciousness. “We’re... gonna have’ta talk later, y’know,” he added.

[grandbellknight]

“I know,” Croix answered with a nod of his own. “Get some rest. We can talk later.” He turned to Devon then, still feeling a little awkward. “Can you think of anything you two need?”

Devon shook his head. “No. Not... right now. But thank you.” A pause. “For everything.”

Croix never did know how best to respond to thanks - he never worked for it, so he never really quite knew how to be... thankful for thanks. What a silly concept, right? He just smiled a bit, shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.” He started toward the door.

[biomagnet]

Sefton began shifting away from the headboard once Croix was gone, laying himself out on the bed more conventionally, and opened his eyes to look over to Devon. “We gotta get outta here soon,” he said quietly, his tone carrying hints of guilt.

[imbuologist]

“I know,” Devon agreed, just as quiet, “I know. We’ll figure it out.”

[biomagnet]

With that reassurance, Sefton let his eyes close and allowed himself to drift off. Oh, but he hoped when he woke up that this whole thing wouldn’t start over.

[imbuologist]

Devon did not sleep through the night. It seemed like every time he tried, he had a new nightmare to contend with, though the themes were the same: death and the inability to ever go home. He was careful not to cry out every time the dark, sometimes horrifically graphic images jolted him awake, and about an hour before the sun would eventually rise, he finally gave up and kept himself awake instead. He tried to busy himself with thoughts and theories on how to return home, but it got him nowhere. Even worse, they eventually began to serve no purpose other than to remind him of the nightmares. He eventually gave up, trying to think of other things instead.

He kept an eye on Sefton, mostly in hopes that he would wake up sometime soon and therefore Devon wouldn’t have to deal with things alone. Still, just seeing his friend still breathing was a welcome relief. And even besides that, if there was apparently a fix for death in this world, there was surely a fix for the rest of their mess, right?

[biomagnet]

By the time Sefton woke, it was nearly afternoon. He had no issues with nightmares of his own; being so completely drained by his body recovering, not to mention an unhealthy amount of practice in feeling too much to dream, kept him sleeping peacefully the whole night through.

He sat up slowly, looking around the room with sleepy interest. Memories came trickling back and he frowned. So... it was all real. He had nearly died the day before and only had been saved because... because why? Their benefactor happened to recognize the illness and guessed at the fact that he was a third-generation something-or-other? Which he was not, but he apparently was now, which didn’t make any sense, either.

[imbuologist]

Devon smiled at Sefton when he looked his way, nodded once. “Morning.” He wanted to ask how he was, but he was almost afraid of a negative answer. He decided to leave it alone for now.

[biomagnet]

“Morning,” Sefton answered, turning back to Devon. “How long was I...?”

[imbuologist]

“Longer than usual.” Devon had no idea how time was measured here. He didn’t even know if he could trust his watch right now. “Long enough, let’s put it that way?”

[biomagnet]

Sefton rubbed his hand over his face, letting it continue up into his hair and linger there for a moment. “Sorry.” For almost-dying on you.

[imbuologist]

Say what? Devon gave him a confused look. “What the heck for?” He paused, then shook his head. “I can’t think of anything for you to be sorry for.”

[biomagnet]

Sefton huffed. “Sleeping in,” he said plainly, giving Devon a sidelong look. “‘m sorry for sleeping in.”

[imbuologist]

“That’s a first,” Devon teased, “but still, nothing for you to be sorry for.” He stood, folding his arms. “We should go downstairs. I think... we’ve got a lot to figure out. You know?”