insurmountable | i'm dragging a heart that weighs a ton / holding out for not just anyone

I will need some sort of medical attention, [Ajax admits, his thumb coming up to rest on his chin.] But I'll seek that when I'm ready. For now, I want to get this taken care of.

[He appreciates the faux concern, Aether, but that's not how it works.

But he's back to being very serious about this entire thing, knowing that they were all hurt and needed attention.]

Aether, when you seek your own medical assistance, please let me know. I'll have it covered for you as well. We had a pretty bad experience, [he says, turning to the doctor.] I'm sure you've noticed. We just were the most concerned with his sister. I'm glad to hear she'll be fine.

[ calling it faux concern—rude. in any case, aether signs everything off on behalf of lumine, passing it onto one of the nurses to have it processed. the doctor also gives her a few more instructions regarding lumine before he excuses himself to check on another patient.

look, i'll pay you back for the expenses here. but thanks for helping out.

aether, for one thing, doesn't want to be indebted to anyone, including him. even if he's doing this for his sister, lumine's quite certain that she shares a similar sentiment as him. and he really should get himself sorted out, too.

but it's not long before the nurse gives them the room number where lumine's been brought to, gesturing towards the direction of the elevators. aether, for one, is still concerned about his sister, his concerns growing more palpable when he sees her asleep surrounded by beeping machines, ivs stuck to her wrist and a nasal cannula helping her breathe.

he's, after all, never seen her like this before, pale and weak. very much unlike his sister. still, at the very least, there's finally a bit of colour in her skin, even if it's barely noticeable. ]

I'm not worried about the money, [Ajax responds. How could he? To him, this is like helping family, even if there's no real familial bonds here.]

I don't really think of this as a debt to be repaid. We need to all stay alive here, because the fight isn't over yet.

[Ajax's stare is as serious as a heart attack, his tone of voice bolstered by his confidence that they weren't going to lose to the Dufonts and their gracious divine benefactors. They won't be easy to kill, not by a long shot.

But they both head up to Lumine's room, Ajax limping along the best he can, but he neither shows the pain on his face nor mentions it. He feels his heart drop at the sight of Lumine on all the machines, sleeping soundly it seems, with hardly any color to her. He closes the door of the private room behind them, immediately on the phone while he lets Aether tend to her.]

Hey. I need you to get a lab sample that's headed from the hospital downtown to their toxicology lab. Same old same old, you know the drill. It might be a little harder to get this time, since it's an unknown substance. ..... It's a bunch of small crystals, I can't tell you much more than that because I don't know. The subject was Lumine Viator. I'll contact you again with my location, bring them to me the second you get them. Thanks.

[He hangs up, limping over to the bedside to gaze over her, his expression changing from hard to determined to sorrow and back again. He wishes so much that he'd left the apartment earlier than he did, that she hadn't gone off on her own like that. If he had gotten there ten minutes earlier he could of kept her from this.

Ajax's hand grips the side rail of the bed, closing his eyes as he tries to fight down his anger that starts to rise. They'll pay for this.]

Aether. I'm going to go get my wounds looked at. There's no doubt that I've broken quite a few bones in that fight, and suffered other injuries due to the burden of the transformation and the fierce assault of that god. And to think, these are only the remnants of a thousand years ago.

[He looks to his friend, the weight of the responsibility to face off against their enemies showing in his eyes, and yet he still manages to keep a confidence about him that they would come out on top.]

Look after her. I'll be back when I have the crystals.

[ aether should probably get himself sorted out, but now that he's looking at his sister, a part of him doesn't want to leave her alone. after all, what if something happens while they're not looking? he brushes his hand against her face, tucking back some of her hair behind an ear, her skin feeling cold against his fingertips. he wants to attribute it to the fact that the room is pretty cool and not with how she's currently faring.

still, he gives ajax a slight nod. they all came out of this incident a complete wreck, but he's looking worse for wear so he wouldn't blame if the guy needed to excuse himself to get himself checked.

sure. i'll see you later, and don't get yourself killed.

once he's gone, he goes up to the nurse's station to see if he can get treatment inside the ward. the last thing he wants is to leave lumine even for a minute. when told otherwise, however, he simply asks for something for his aching head and takes a seat next to the bed.

lumine remains unconscious for the entire day, only finally stirring back to wakefulness late in the morning the next day. her entire body hurts, like it's been hit by a truck and backed up again by said truck, her throat seemingly burning and her gaze bleary. it takes her a long moment to realise where she is, blinking at the white ceiling above her and the smell of disinfectant.

she also realises the presence of a blond head next to her, asleep and snoring softly. she runs her fingers through her twin brother's now-short hair, her chest squeezing painfully at that. ]

Ae ... [ she croaks softly, hoping that he'd wake up and tell her he's okay. ] Aether ...

Thanks, Aether. I'll be just fine. Take care of yourself in the meantime, too.

[Ajax gives his friend one last look, his eyes soft but still intense from the thought of this entire encounter. And then he turns to go, limping out of the room, debating whether he should just stay here or go see one of the family's doctors who could keep all of this under wraps.

It's a few days later when Ajax finally manages to secure the stones, his breath taken away by how they glow in his hand when he looks at them. Though, it's not by astonishment that his breath leaves him, but rather, that he feels as if he's holding Lumine's very life in his hands, and how frightening that is. He has to get them to her immediately, and thankfully he won't have to go far to get them to her. His penthouse downtown isn't far from the hospital, and he'd been ordered to rest as he recovers.

Ajax expects Aether to be there, knowing her brother would not leave her side unless forced to. He enters, looking much better, making sure that the bandages on his body are fully covered by his clothing. The only indication that he's still hurt is the walking stick he's using, smiling to Aether weakly. It was tiring getting up here.]

Lumine...

[He sees that she's woken, his eyes brightening as he walks up to the side of her bed.]

Haha, you had me worried sick...

[But there's no mistake in the smile he wears now, relieved and happy that she's still alive.]

[ it's been a grueling few days and despite lumine finally waking up and being able to sit up, she's still pale and feeling infirmed, barely able to do anything extensive other than sit up, go to the bathroom and eat. it's annoying and she's still in pain, but there's not much that she can do given the circumstances. at the very least, her brother is there to help him out, attentive and gentle despite his own harrowing experiences.

a part of her wanted to apologise for what had happened to him. but then, aether had refused all kinds of apologies, telling her that she's not at fault and that she shouldn't beat herself up over it. a tough thing to tell her, really, when all she can see aether's hair, now messily short underneath the bandages.

the only distraction from those thoughts is ajax himself, arriving with a walking stick in hand. he too looks exhausted, like he's been through the wringer for the past few days despite the smile on his face—just like them, she supposes. still, it's a relief to see him. ]

Should you be up and about already?

[ he did walk around with broken ribs until he was sure you were okay, aether replies, pulling a chair towards him. look, he's not trying to rat him out, but he will rat him out anyway.

were you able to get what we need? ]

[Ajax throws his free hand behind his head, laughing nervously and looking away as Aether rats him out to Lumine. It's true, he had been- and more than just his ribs, it seemed.

He gladly takes the chair offered to him, nodding appreciatively towards Aether and sitting heavily in it. He groans as he does, his body still sore beyond question as he takes a moment to settle into it. The walking stick it leaned up against a wall, as he takes a deep breath while he reaches into his jacket to produce a pouch that he shakes once. The sound of dozens of crystals inside indicate that it was indeed, what they needed.]

Got the goods right here. Lumine, you ready to feel better? Because we can finally return to you what's yours.

[He says it with great relief, feeling like there's a temporary light to the end of the tunnel. She can get out of the hospital and then they can figure out where to live so this doesn't happen again.]

[ lumine's expression darkens at the sight of that pouch, still recalling what happened a few days ago. it's honestly the worst memory she's had, and if she could erase it from her mind, she would.

are you sure it can be returned to her?

aether walks over to the door, the lock clicking quietly to ensure that no one comes inside while they're doing whatever they need to do. he turns to lumine's side quickly, squeezing her hand reassuringly; unfortunately, he'd prefer if she didn't get her powers back if that's what she wanted, but he knows too that it's for her own good. ]

... What if I don't want it back?

[ it's been nothing but trouble so far, not just for her but for aether, too. she leans against her twin, pressing her forehead against his shoulder and squeezing her eyes shut.

i know, lu. but we talked about this, didn't we? even without these powers, you'll still be in danger. ]

And, [he adds, to continue along Aether's train of thought,] we still don't know if that's the only thing that they took from you.

[Because all Ajax can see is how weak she still is. How weak she'd become the longer they sat inside of her body. He's positive it not only soaked up her power, but her life essence as well- and he's not going to sit back and let her be this weak the rest of her life.

He's sure she wouldn't want that either, even if she doesn't want her true power to be returned to her.]

Lumine. We're...not going to ever get to go back to having a normal life.

[He puts the pouch away, pushing himself up out of the chair with great effort, and stumbles over to grab a hold of the railing on the side of the bed to steady himself. He looks down at her softly, but his eyes reflect so much more. Care, determination, edges lined with blood lust. It's almost as if they've darkened, the light in them slowly starting to dim as time passes on.]

Not until we crush these gods that want to take our lives. I know you understand that just as well as I do. We're really all in this together now. So it's important that you're at a hundred percent.

[ lumine doesn't recognise those eyes—or rather, she does, but not on ajax. that depth, that darkness, that's all childe's. she would know, housing the one person who's stared into those eyes a million times a thousand years ago. and she hates it, the way the light in those eyes seems to have died.

is it still ajax? she doesn't know. if it is, then perhaps not all of him is still him. and isn't this what they were worried about? what she was worried about?

lu, aether's voice cuts through her thoughts and she glances up at her brother, his forehead pressing against hers. i'll try to find a way to get it out of you once this is all over. i promise.

she says nothing once more, simply closing her eyes and leaning against aether. does she have a choice in this?

how do we start, ajax? ]

[He can tell there's something wrong when she stares back at him, and he's afraid she's already seen it too. Ajax has looked at himself in the mirror, it's not as if he's unaware of the change that's crept into his eyes. He can feel it in his consciousness too, but he'd already decided that it was a price he was willing to pay.

Anything that kept her safe, anything that would get them through this. Though it seems that what she was afraid of was true, in a sense. Ajax doesn't feel as if he's losing himself, but rather simply taking on traits of someone else.

That's how he reasons it with himself.

He takes out the pouch, reaching inside to take out a single crystal. It pulses with a green light, his eyes narrowing at it. He hands it over to Lumine, first to test if maybe if she just held it, she'd reabsorb the power within it.]

Careful, now. Don't drop it, we wouldn't want to lose it. If you hold it, do you feel any better?

[ there's that temptation to drop it, lumine's gaze lowering to the glowing crystal when it's placed into her hands. she knows what it is, can distinctly feel what it contains, and a part of her feels sick that it's in her hand, the one thing that almost killed her.

but even with it in her palm, she doesn't feel anything. she doesn't grow stronger or doesn't regain any kind of energy from it; if anything, she just feels terrible that it's anywhere near her.

after a few minutes of holding it, she sets it down on the hospital sheets away from her. all the while, avoiding ajax's questioning look. ]

There's no effect.

Alright...

[He was hoping that it would just go back into her if the original owner held it, but it seems that it was designed to contain it. His thumb meets his chin, thinking. Well, if it doesn't want to come out, they'll have to force it to. And that's a simple enough solution, isn't it?

He reaches into his pocket, putting on that pair of black gloves he keeps on his person, before picking up the crystal, moving closer to her upper body and palming it. He's hurt, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some of his arm strength, holding it over her chest. Just to make sure it gets to where it needs to go.

And then he crushes it. It seems the material isn't nearly as sturdy as he thought it would be, despite surviving in her stomach acid. But he feels it shatter in his hand, and his hand opens to let a green stream of power flow back into her, as if it were on an air stream that held her as its destination. He stares in wonder at it, despite becoming more and more familiar by the day that strange powers and magic do exist in this world outside of their visions and delusions.

He looks to Aether first, as if his eyes were asking if Aether was seeing what he was seeing too, before he turns his attention back to Lumine.]

Lumine? Did...you feel that? Was there any change at all?

[ aether also stares in apprehension and confusion when he sees what seems like green wisps of energy emerging from the shattered crystal and moving back to lumine, as if it's being absorbed by her body. it's strange, but at the same time, he hopes that this is the answer to their current problems. he nods at ajax and then glances down to lumine.

lu, did that work?

he doesn't receive a response for a moment, lumine also trying to figure out what's happening. she too wonders if there's any effect on her, because it really doesn't feel any significant change whatsoever.

is it because the power is too little or too insignificant to show any kind of effect? sure, she admits that it's a little less painful to breathe now, but is it because of that crystal or is it because she's slowly improving, ]

I don't know, [ she admits quietly, closing her eyes. ] It doesn't feel like there's anything different at all.

[He dumps the shattered crystal into a small garbage can, thinking. They just need to get more of her power to her. Okay.

The other glove is yanked off his hand, handing it to Aether to put on. It didn't seem like a lot of power was returned to her, but there were a quite a few more crystals to go through. And he knows he wasn't seeing things. Something went back inside of her.]

Aether, help me for a moment.

[He waits until the other puts the glove on, and hands him four of the crystals out of the pouch.]

They're not hard to crush. Hold them over her just as I did. Let's see if a few more do the trick.

[He takes a few more for himself, holding his hand over her as he did before, crushing the crystals and opening his hand to allow the essence inside to flow back into her, looking on to see if she improves with each one.]

... Is that really a good place for you to throw those away?

[ seeing that they didn't seem to have gotten those crystals via legal means, and ajax is just dumping it in her trash bin. honestly, she wonders if he and his brother use their head sometimes in very crucial situations.

in any case, crushing multiple crystals all at once seems to have a greater effect. so much so that lumine had to push them both away in an attempt to stop them, leaning heavily against aether. her twin's quick to soothe her, quietly asking what's wrong. lumine doesn't answer right away, taking a huge gulp of air, finding herself overwhelmed with so much power seeping back into her all at once.

her body's feeling lighter now, as if there's very little weight pressing onto her and crushing her. and yet her chest tightens, like something's squeezing her heart with every bit of power returning into her. ]

Let's stop for a bit, please. Just a bit, if we can.

[His eyes widen at her reaction, stopping immediately given how she gasps for air, afraid that they'd gone too quickly with returning her power to her. Of course, he has no idea how this works at all, and it almost feels as if he'd lucked out by crushing one of the crystals to start. That may not of worked either...]

Of course. Perhaps we should let it settle inside you before continuing. Was that too much at once?

[That's what he assumes is what's happened here. He still deposits the crushed crystal in the trash, but he'll take the bag with him since she poses a good point.]

[ aether momentarily removes the glove just so he can rub lumine's back soothingly as she tries to catch her breath and gather herself. it does seem like she's getting better, colour slowly returning to her skin like blood is finally starting to circulate. her breathing has also started to become less and less laboured, each inhale deep and unhindered. that's good, it's good to know that it's working and she's slowly feeling better.

but he also understands if the surge of strength and power in her all at once is overwhelming and too much. it's something he might never personally experience himself, but he assumes it's the same as being fed too much food in one sitting.

take as long as you need to, lumi.

as long as she's slowly getting better, then he can give her all the time she needs. she can take her time regaining her strength once more. her returning to normal is all he wants. ]

Mm, [ lumine responds with a nod, closing her eyes. so much power all at once, and her head feels like it's swimming, dizzy from so much stimulation. ] I just need time ...

[Ajax surveys her, notices how color is starting to return to her cheeks and skin. No longer does she look as if she were on death's doorstep, and he can breathe a little easier knowing that this is working. She'll be fine, they just need to take it a little more slowly now. Give her a moment, to let it settle.

His hand slips into her own, fingers interlacing and and curling around her hand as she deals with the power that's returned to her. She has a lot of it, he knows, and even that much is probably more than any normal person could ever fathom.]

Just let us know. You're looking better already, [he soothes, squeezing her hand once.]

We'll go a lot slower from here on out, too. Sorry for overwhelming you like that.

[ aether remains silent despite noticing ajax's hand slipping into lumine's, pretending that he doesn't or can't see it at all. as much as he wants to scold him for being too touchy-feely with his sister, this might not be the best time for that. it can wait until he can nag at him again after lumine's feeling back as herself once more.

do you want to rest for a bit? he says, carefully letting her lean back against her pillows. anything painful? uncomfortable? ]

I'm fine, Ae. I just need a break.

[ honestly, her brother babies her too much in the past few days. and while lumine totally understands why, he can also be a bit fussy, more suffocating than these crystals being crushed.

she glances down at ajax's hand, her fingers limp in his grasp. she gives it a beat, before she runs a current of electro energy through him. ]

It's fine, don't worry about.

[Ajax's hair instantly stands on end as she shocks him, his teeth clamping together. Yep. She's definitely fine, that's for sure. It also gives him ideas for later, but maybe he'll suggest them to her when they have some private time.]

She's telling you the truth, you know, [he says, leaning against the bed so he can let go of the rail to try to smooth his hair down. And yet, he doesn't let go of her hand.

But he does give her a look to ask if she'll lay off the electricity. That sort of hurt...]

Trust me, I can tell.

[ lumine just shrugs at the look he gives her, feigning ignorance at what he's trying to say. she's more surprised that he didn't let go after that, that he decided to still hold onto her despite clearly in need of a seat after that bit of a shock. she wonders if she should try it again ...

maybe not, not when aether is glancing between the both of them as if suspecting some foul play happening before his very eyes. once again, lumine just shrugs her shoulders. ]

Ae, I'm hungry, [ she says out loud, her stomach chiming in as if on cue. ] I want something to eat.

[ ... okay, but are you sure you're going to be all right? he says this while pointedly staring at ajax, sighing only when lumine nods at him. why is his sister like this?

fine, but no funny business. and don't continue with the crystals until i'm back. ]

[Ajax is pretty sure he's got his hair down. Mostly. It probably looks like Childe's, except even more spiky now. Blast her, did she really have to do that...now Aether's looking at them like he's onto them.]

Don't worry, we won't continue with the crystals. I might not have the strength left to crush them all myself anyway.

[Which isn't a lie. He can do some of them, but there's no doubt he'll need Aether's help. He's already getting a little tired, but whatever bit of fatigue he feels doesn't matter in the wake of finding out that Lumine can return to normal now. He does ponder if she's sending Aether away not only to get her food, but so she can ream him out in private. Ajax is prepared for it anyway, as he figured she might get mad at him for one of several dozen reasons.]

I think I saw a vending machine down on the first floor. There's a kitchen too, or I suppose there's always the option of fast food. Food options are limitless here downtown.

[ again, aether sends them both a suspicious look before he relents, kissing lumine's forehead.

okay, i'll be right back. don't hesitate to call the nurses if he does something stupid.

he grabs his wallet and phone, delivered a few days ago by his assistant, and leaves the both of them. almost immediately, lumine takes her hand out of ajax's, plopping heavily against her pillows and letting herself sink in. she turns her head and averts her gaze away from him, looking at the window that on the other side of the bed. now that she's had a bit of rest, she feels much better, less in pain and more like herself.

it's still a little uncomfortable in a way, pain still existing in some areas of her body. but it's much better than before. ]

You should probably sit down. You look like you're going to keel over anytime.

[His mouth turns down, unhappy that she still won't look at him. It's not as if he didn't notice, the minute she'd looked into his eyes and saw the unsettling sight that he too saw reflected in his own mirror. Ajax shuffles back over to the chair, but instead of sitting down, he simply grabs his walking stick and hobbles over to the other side of the bed where her gaze is facing.

Not like he doesn't know she'll just turn her head away from him anyway.]

Oh? I didn't know you could tell, you won't even look at me anymore.

[He doesn't bother to mask the hurt in his voice, because while he realizes it's disturbing, at least she could talk to him about it.]

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