It's time to go.
Most people are on the train by now. Settled into their cabins and among friends and loved ones. There are only three new arrivals left to board and once they do, Hal pulls a conductor's hat out from underneath the bar, tugs it on, and steps around it to the middle of the train. He opens his mouth to talk, voice filling the train.
"It's time to go. Stops happen once a day until everyone's departed and I already have your stopped listed. If you'd like to be prioritized, let me know, otherwise we'll go in order of death. Settle in and enjoy the ride. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask, folks."
This, of course, means that those who died earliest (Manfred, Higekiri) will depart first while those who died latest (Barnham, Damian, Percy) will depart last. There's a stop for everyone, though those who want to get off together are more than welcome to. Hal pulls a notepad and pen out of his pocket later and people will notice that he goes around the train confirming stops with everyone. Whatever feeling Hal may have had to a character back in town isn't noticeable here -- he is simply a robot assigned with a job.
After that, it's all a matter of settling in and enjoying the ride. If that's possible for you, at least.
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robowest2017-03-04 12:02 pm
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Ash is a machine. He doesn't believe in the afterlife to begin with - but, if such a thing did exist, it most certainly wasn't waiting for an artificial existence like himself. Yet here he is, forced to contemplate what will happen to him after he dies. Choose to return to Earth, and be thrust into oblivion once again. Or...
He's been much quieter than usual after his arrival on the train, and he's only gotten more reticent with this announcement. Rather than lurking by himself in a corner and making catty remarks with a smug look on his face, Ash is hovering around somewhere not too close (but certainly not too far) to Noctis, arms crossed, looking down at the floor with a resigned expression. For all his bluster, it looks like he's at a loss now. ]
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but it's fine, noct isn't making a big deal of it, because he thinks ash needs it, even if he doesn't say as much.
but eventually, he will make his approach, because they should talk before it's all over. so he'll take a seat next to ash when that time comes and just offer to start, a simple:]
Hey.
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[ if he's honest, he was probably waiting for Noctis to approach him, though he wouldn't admit it even to himself. He feels ill at ease, and there's really only one person he can talk to. Moreover, he has a request in mind - but for the first time in his life, he's hesitating on simply seizing what he wants. ]
You're going back to your world, I presume.
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[he's accepted this pretty well and good, and for a moment, he considers asking what ash will do—but he hesitates, if only because he wants to know what ash is willing to offer up for himself.]
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How responsible of you. [ it's dry and without any particular feeling. There's a brief pause before he continues. ] I don't believe I told you this directly. I was killed before arriving here... More specifically, my data was corrupted beyond repair by a virus engineered to destroy me. ... This is the last time we'll speak.
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So... you have nowhere to go, then? Going back there— [is a death sentence, it seems.]
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[ his voice is matter-of-fact. Ash is ambivalent about death now. Like any creature, he strives for survival, but up until now, he'd always thought of dying as a last-resort solution to his problems. If everything went wrong, he would die. And that would be fine. There was nothing tying him to his life other than the most basic innate desire to continue living.
Now, though, things are different. There is one person who doesn't hate him. And one person is enough to give him hope for a better existence. Wordlessly, his eyes flick up to Noct's face. Ash wonders how obvious his thoughts are. ]
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well, being accusatory or showing a complete lack of trust. because he doesn't... really distrust ash at this point.]
Ash. If... I put my trust in you, can you tell me you wouldn't betray it? [he believes in ash to at least be honest about his intentions, if nothing else.]
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[ he sounds faintly amused by the idea. Noctis isn't stupid. It's one of the things that Ash... finds tolerable about him. Yes. ]
I have no interest. [ a pause. Then, he glances elsewhere, adding in a somewhat more subdued voice: ] Provided I'm with you.
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[for the first time ever with ash specifically, he actually shows... well, that he is actually pretty diplomatic.
he's done political negotiation with other countries and their leadership before, and his potential as a king has yet to be fully realized.
but it's there.]
You can't do anything that would bring harm to my people—and that includes my friends.
[who are also, more or less, his glaive, and personal knights.]
But when I'm gone, whenever that is, or for whatever reason—you need to maintain that, Ash.
[but of course, he has his offerings in return.]
I'll make sure you're kept in good care, as my promise in return for that. Because... my life will be shorter than yours.
[he's human, but he also surrounds himself with other good humans, humans that he hopes will eventually earn ash's favor, should he choose to accept.]
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To be honest, he can't promise any of this for certain. But he's not about to admit that. ]
I told you that I have no interest in hurting any of you.
[ as for after Noctis dies... that remains to be seen. Ash just might be hoping the humans will win his favor, too, though he'd never admit it, especially not to himself. But he waves a hand, continuing. ]
I'm eternal. All life forms live shorter lives than I will. That's simply my reality. [ he's fully aware that he'll probably outlive Noctis by a long, long time. ] Regardless, I have no intention of continuing my existence in this humanoid body, anyway. Your worries are unsubstantiated.
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I... want you to be able to see the good in humans. I know not all of them are, but... Lucis is full of good, kind people that won't give you a hard time if you aren't threatening them.
[even if ash will always be a standoffish asshole to some degree, he's sure. but even those types can be agreeable enough.
but then ash makes that last statement, and it... confuses noct a bit.]
What are you going to do, then?
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But, at the same time, there are no beings like him on Noctis's planet - as far as he knows. The humans that live there aren't the same as the humans on Earth. So maybe... ]
I would like to return to a computer again. Being a robot doesn't agree with me. [ this isn't how he identifies himself. And it's strange moving through the physical world while simultaneously not truly existing there. ] ... A phone. A computer, a console, a car... If you have a system like that, then I can live there. I may not be able to speak with you like I am now... Perhaps I will not even be able to think the way I am now. But that's what I desire.
[ if he can exist in a world where someone doesn't hate him, and be near that person, that's enough. ]
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If that's what you really want, Ash... then it's fine. I'll agree to it.
[it's funny; he spent so much of these last seven weeks both trying to understand ash's frame of mind and simultaneously being wary of his intentions—but now, here and now...
he feels like ash really and truly is a friend. a questionable friend, but someone he can rely on, and someone he certainly couldn't bear to leave behind to a certain death.]
The Regalia... my car. If that's where you want to be, you'd... be close all the time, once we get where we're going.
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So... This is it. He'll move to a world that doesn't hate him. A world where he can start over with a clean slate - and someone willing to give him a chance at his side. This impossible outcome was never once something he'd ever considered in his entire life. Too fantastical. But it's real. As Noctis finishes speaking, Ash smiles - a real, normal smile, not an arrogant, hateful one. ]
In that case... I'll look forward to it.
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[it's meant as a final assurance, one worn with a smile. it's meant to let ash know that he acknowledges that smile and its intentions.
and of course, that he has no intent of betraying it. but really, he never had any intent of betraying ash, and he's been able to see that through; there's no reason it would change now. if ash is content with this and willing to trust in him, noct's going to do what he can to honor that.
just the way it is now.]
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[ It isn't hard to find him, given his proximity to Noctis. But there's a certain quiet urgency about her when she does it - as if she'd been looking anyway. As if she wanted to find him. Her eyes are big and wondering as she stops to look up at him, her hands clasped over her chest. ]
... what are you going to do?
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What's it to you? I should think you have enough problems of your own to worry about.