∞ 106: Echoes in their absence

[chikaidestroyer]

September 16

[While he had heard of the people -- echoes of people -- appearing around the village, Albert did not happen to see one right away. It's as he's taking a break outside of Celsius Tear that he takes notice of a teenage girl standing in front of the mural by the Welcome Center. He descends the stairs to watch her.

That had been ... almost three years ago now, he recalled as he watched the girl cheerfully set down a bucket of yellow paint. Without paying him any attention or seeing the completed mural in front of her, the girl dipped a paintbrush into the bucket and began making sweeping motions across the mural. Pao-Lin, he finally recalls as she bends over to dip her paintbrush again.

He watches for a while, eventually looking over his shoulder at the other mural that surrounded the fountain. That had been another of her projects with volunteers, done a year later.

He can't help but think about that saying as he watches her paint -- that art only found its value after its artist was gone.]

-----

September 17

[The fountain plaza proves to be a good spot to see the 'echoes,' and Albert decides to take his breaks outside to observe despite the weather looking increasingly storm-like. Sometimes the person he sees is only a flicker of movement, walking around the fountain or sitting on its edge, eating lunch. Once or twice he even sees a person seated or running across a rooftop, leaving him pondering what could have been happening at that time to lead to that behavior.

It's foolish to hope that he'll see a familiar face, he knows. But he still watches.]

-----

September 18, early afternoon

[It seems oddly fitting that he sees echoes of Nami and Yuber on the day of the thunderstorm. Nami, back before she had begun to grow weary of having such awful luck with picking fights with the wrong people. Back before she had been a threat.

...This must have been when Nami declared she would arrest Yuber, going by her uncharacteristic uniform, untouched by the falling rain. He certainly remembered that.]

[Albert can be found in Celsius Tear in the mornings or around the fountain plaza and its stores in the afternoons.]

-----

September 19, evening
Content warning: limb loss

[It happens when he is returning to the hot springs teleporter from visiting his giant owl. The headache comes out of nowhere, like a wave crashing over him, and he drops his journal from where he had been loosely holding it against his side. Shaking his head to clear the disorientation, Albert concentrates enough on Tsinku enough to summon a sphere of contained electricity to light the ground. Upon spotting his journal, he crouches to pick it up.

That's when he notices that there is nothing at the end of his shirt sleeve -- at both of his shirt sleeves.

Dazed, he lifts his hands up to the light to get a better look. But there are no hands. Just dark red masses of muscle and arteries that seem to be in a bizarre state of suspension. The muscles visible twitch as his forearms tense up, and he stares at them blankly for what seems like ages.

The ball of electricity fizzles and disappears as he passes out.

It's over an hour later when he finally wakes up again, his headache worse and his senses slow to reorient themselves. His ragged breathing is answered by a deep hooting noise, and he looks up to see Bilruben's large, glassy eyes reflecting what little light was coming from the artificially displayed moon. The giant owl doesn't move as he sits there in the darkness, a silent sentry while he tries to stop hyperventilating.

He can barely think. The confused, despairing noises he makes are largely incoherent, earning him a tilted stare from the owl as it watches. He doesn't know how long he sits there before he fumbles in the dark, half turned over in the wet grass, to try opening his journal.]

I need help.

[It's breathless and strained. Short and vague.]

Comments

18th

[deathsdoctor]

... huh. Guess it runs in the family after all.

[Softly. Someone's just probably just earned his place in the ninja clan he married into. It's likely his silent approach behind Albert hasn't gone noticed - Law tends to come onto the scene in moments of distraction and unawareness.

This isn't his first ghost.

No, the first ghost was a person he would expect to be a ghost to begin with.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Despite the silent approach and sudden voice behind him, Albert doesn't turn his attention away from the little scene playing out in front of him; at the very least, he's fairly sure Law isn't going to disappear at a moment's notice.]

She looks odd in the uniform.

[He doesn't know much about Nami's history besides being with the Straw Hats, but the comment seemed likely to be aimed at her appearance rather than Yuber's.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Law's a teleporter. One never knows with him.]

A little. Yeah. Mostly though, she reminds me of her mother. Maybe it's the gun.

[chikaidestroyer]

[At that, he glances over his shoulder to look at the other man. There's thunder overhead, but no visible lightning; a small favor, considering the current rainfall.]

I didn't realize you knew her family.

[deathsdoctor]

Mm... yeah, a little. [Bell-mere much better than Nojiko, but both had been in Luceti before.] I've met the family for a couple Strawhats.

[Ace and Sabo for Luffy. ... seen Zeff for Sanji. Things that couldn't be except for this place.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[After another glance to confirm that the echoes had disappeared, Albert turns his full attention over to Law. He makes no move to leave the plaza despite the rain; it would only be a matter of time before another flicker of the past would show up, if only for a moment.]

I had little interaction with them while they were here. But they certainly made an impression.

[Even if the most prominent and likely to remain around was that mikan orchard. He frowns wryly as the weather reminds him of Zoro sleeping on top of his house during a storm.]

sept. 18th

[ofwesternwinds]

[Of all the times to run into a friend. Frankly, it's baffling to see Albert just sitting out in this weather like this. But he soon catches on quick enough once he realizes just what the man has been staring at.

He doesn't know anything about who the echo might belong to, but clearly Albert must recognize them for him to be staring at her so intently. ... Rudy honestly couldn't blame him, having seen echoes of familiar faces himself. In a way, they felt like sad reminders for the boy. With a sad smile, Rudy approaches the man with a wave. He's brought an umbrella too, just in case. Surely the man wasn't anticipating to get soaked out here, right?]

Now you're the last face I'd expect to be seeing sitting out in all this rain. [His smile fades into a slight frown, concerned.] Everything all right?

[chikaidestroyer]

[The echoes are fading as Albert turns to look at Rudy, and he inclines his head slightly in greeting while reaching up to comb at his wet hair.]

Just fine -- no need to be overly concerned. [He motions with his chin over in the direction where the two people had been moments before.] Some faces I did not expect to see. That's all.

[ofwesternwinds]

[Even so, Rudy can’t help but hold out his umbrella to the guy. It’s honestly kind of weird to see Albert out here in bad weather like this.]

'f you say so. [Briefly, his smile fades a moment as he glances in the direction Albert’s been staring at.] So, you’ve been seeing them too, huh…

[chikaidestroyer]

[His face shows little change in expression for a moment as he takes in the sight of Rudy and his umbrella. Then he relaxes somewhat as he reminds himself of where that concerned stem from, and he gestures for them to go stand under the overhangs by one of the stores.]

It's a very passive effect, if it's supposed to be an experiment. Or a continuation of these other time-related shifts ... for whatever they are culminating towards.

[It was rather tiring in its own way, seeing these people he had previously known. While he had seen people come and go over the years, seeing scenes played out right before his eyes made him have to think back to how many years back such an inane (or mundane) moment had happened.]

Sept 17

[endgames]

[Shikamaru will join you, Albert. Not by choice, but because the apparition of the grocery store being on fire with a ten meter... something... towering over it while laughing manically gives one a need to pause.

He clucks his tongue, coming to a stop by the fountain and shoving his hands into his pockets, a folded-up umbrella tucked under one armpit.]

Well that's something you don't see every day.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert is already staring up at Aku with a rather unimpressed expression. He's reminded of that rather harrowing time when dangers such at that demon, Kefka, and Yuber were fairly active threats to the village. Something he certainly didn't miss from the past.]

I can see how grocery shopping would be put on hold in the face of ... that.

[Assuming Shikamaru was there for grocery shopping. He gives the younger tactician a quick glance before bringing his attention back to the apparition of Aku, which is now shooting eye lasers at someone who isn't there.]

[endgames]

Tch. What a pain. [He sighs dramatically and folds his hands behind his head. He was kinda shopping yeah, even if it wasn't for himself per se.] These usually last long?

[Given how often he's noticed Albert sitting in this spot between a day and yesterday, Shikamaru has no doubt the other man has been observing these things more closely than he has.]

[chikaidestroyer]

Not very long, no. A few minutes at most, from what I have seen.

[As he speaks, Albert pulls out his pocket watch and flips it open. Might as well see how long this past terror would be around.]

Have you been seeing them around as well?

[endgames]

Sometimes. [Shikamaru watches the demon turn into a strange, centipede-like thing with a raised brow. You know this Aku stuff was before his time and what little he knows of him is from the journals, but it's interesting to see this with his own two eyes now.]

Sometimes I recognize them, sometimes I don't. They're all over the place, timewise.

19th

[corrinesbell]

[It's a good thing she's paying attention. That voice never asks for help.]

Help with what?

[All the internal alarms go off at once when it does.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[It's been years -- literally years -- since he's used the journals in such a way. He has to roll off of the journal pages when he realizes his arms are hurting, so his voice is muffled as he responds.]

My hands. Are gone.

[A choked sound, almost a laugh, follows those words. It sounds bizarre in his own ears.]

[corrinesbell]

[What?]

What? [What is all her mind can produce; Sheena snatches her journal off the counter as if bringing it closer to her face will make something better happen.]

What happened? Did somebody attack you? Where are you?

[chikaidestroyer]

[He doesn't respond for a moment, having to concentrate on driving down the panic and nausea threatening to overtake him.]

The mountains... Used the teleporter.

[The rest of her questions are answered just as succinctly.]

They're just gone.

[corrinesbell]

[That's enough location information for her.]

I'm coming, okay? [There isn't time to try to find anybody else. What if he bleeds to death out there, or more pieces of him start...disappearing? If pieces of other people start disappearing?

Sheena's on the move without so much as a note for anyone else in the tea shop. They can handle themselves.]

Call me again if somebody else gets there.

19th

[wise_maiden]

[Evening, and she hadn't yet returned to the house from the flower shop, though she had been planning on it.

The journal is usually open in the background, and it picks up the sounds of an odd conversation. A call for help - and a conversation of familiar voices at that.]

What's going on? Are you hurt?

[chikaidestroyer]

[The question is met by a single note-- more like a bark of strained laughter that is so unlike Albert that he almost laughs again from the absurdity of it all. It's been so long since he's been in a position like this, and that does little more than make the whole situation that much more strange to him.]

Raine.

[What does he even say? And it's dark, so he can't very well show her what's wrong.]

Just come. I-- don't know what happened.

[wise_maiden]

I'll be there.

[Simple as that. Her work is done for the day anyway, even if it was mostly meant as a distraction.]

Keep talking, if it helps you stay focused.

[chikaidestroyer]

Not now.

[He's still aware of just how public their current conversation is, though that's not the main reason why doesn't want to continue talking. He hisses faintly as he moves in the grass.]

I'm-- relatively fine. I just can't get back.

[wise_maiden]

[She would have no trouble locking it if that was the actual issue.

Right now she has to think. Was there time to fetch Astrid, or Noishe? Probably not, since she still had to cross the square to get over to the teleporter in the first place. Even so, if traveling was part of his problem...

A bridge to be crossed once she could actually assess what that was.

Water. Supplies. Those she carries with her, so that's not a problem either.]

Call out if anything changes.