Johnas Clearwater (
shinrasfinest) wrote in
melodiesoflife2015-06-19 07:41 pm
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Entry tags:
#11 | Everything will be alright
Characters: Sephiroth (Open/Closed as sub-comments)
Where/When: 19th June; Aqures Ixen, 21st June; Esdham
Summary: Having returned from Crystal Stasis, there is a lot to touch base with. As prompted in the sub-comments.
Warnings: N/A (Yet? Will update as needed)
Prologue
Sephiroth had come home from the hospital only briefly the previous day. Without even much of a glance around for his housemates he'd crossed the familiar threshold feeling an odd sort of deja vu that could only be compared to when one went away for an extended vacation and then returned back to their more permanent abode.
But really, he knew he hadn't been anywhere, even if his body were still adjusting as if he had been returned from Gaia once more. Exactly like when he had first arrived in Aqures; movement felt sluggish, awareness was blunted. It seemed even breathing seemed to take more effort. Having experienced a 'drop' from mako on previous occasions, though, as well as following some advise from the nurses at the hospital too Sephiroth knew that soon the haze which he currently perceived as a great weakness would lift as if it had never been there. Just as that tell-tale gleam would again fade form his eyes.
He'd confiscated the bathroom and then, looping his long silver hair -restored in thickness and length- up and around in a loose knot he'd headed out again for the Military Airport where he knew there was work to be done; leaving his leather coat hung on the back of the wardrobe door, the pants neatly folded on the end of his bed and the SOLDIER motif of his belt set atop it as if it were some sort of ritual.
It had been into the early hours of the next morning before Sephiroth had retired home again.
>Prompt #1: Back into the regime
>Prompt #2: Visiting someone
>Prompt #3: Touching Base
Where/When: 19th June; Aqures Ixen, 21st June; Esdham
Summary: Having returned from Crystal Stasis, there is a lot to touch base with. As prompted in the sub-comments.
Warnings: N/A (Yet? Will update as needed)
Prologue
Sephiroth had come home from the hospital only briefly the previous day. Without even much of a glance around for his housemates he'd crossed the familiar threshold feeling an odd sort of deja vu that could only be compared to when one went away for an extended vacation and then returned back to their more permanent abode.
But really, he knew he hadn't been anywhere, even if his body were still adjusting as if he had been returned from Gaia once more. Exactly like when he had first arrived in Aqures; movement felt sluggish, awareness was blunted. It seemed even breathing seemed to take more effort. Having experienced a 'drop' from mako on previous occasions, though, as well as following some advise from the nurses at the hospital too Sephiroth knew that soon the haze which he currently perceived as a great weakness would lift as if it had never been there. Just as that tell-tale gleam would again fade form his eyes.
He'd confiscated the bathroom and then, looping his long silver hair -restored in thickness and length- up and around in a loose knot he'd headed out again for the Military Airport where he knew there was work to be done; leaving his leather coat hung on the back of the wardrobe door, the pants neatly folded on the end of his bed and the SOLDIER motif of his belt set atop it as if it were some sort of ritual.
It had been into the early hours of the next morning before Sephiroth had retired home again.
>Prompt #1: Back into the regime
>Prompt #2: Visiting someone
>Prompt #3: Touching Base
no subject
As such, there were only a handful of others milling around and none of them were in Sephiroth's end of the building. The perfect environment for the two Heroes to talk about their Jobs without having to endure the probing looks that many of the indigenous population might give; considering they could only infuse themselves with one of the Jobs it sometimes became a bone of contention within the military ranks.
"Hm." Sephiroth acknowledged as he listened to Jade explain. He too, had always been a quick learner but it wasn't as if one could simply translate Gaian magic into Crystillian. He was gifted in both magic and melee but there wasn't really a Job that covered the same technique that was present in materia use. Considering within their current circumstances, such a thing did not exist.
At the mention of physical roles, Sephiroth's eyebrow raised slightly and he looked over Jade more carefully. Clearly he knew well that there were other melee-type Jobs that he could pick up but it had just so happened that the two he'd first arrived with had suited him best. It was still more than a little annoying how Warrior simply didn't award him the agility Dragoon had and so his legendary sword had become little more than a ornament.
"I do see your point. However, there remains the fact that we are often called upon to deliver our best on the battlefield; within Esdham or not, and taking up a new Job significantly weakens performance."
A large part of Sephiroth's own pride prevented him from replacing the Warrior Job; he had no desire whatsoever to appear even weaker than he already was by circumstance of their state of being in this realm.
no subject
"Well, you are not wrong." Jade's eyes squinted in amusement then, as though he had just thought of some private joke. "But as it happens, Crystallis was not the first time I've had to start over from square one in mid-crisis."
The first time it had happened had not been voluntary. Having his fon slots sealed by Largo had been a lesson in not only humility, but in navigating a land on a brink of full-scale war with nothing but novice artes and his own wits. And, of course, with Luke and the others at his side. That their then dysfunctional team had managed to survive long enough to stop Van was a testament to their ability to adapt in emergencies.
He had considered whether continuing to depend on his black magic wouldn't be a safer choice. At the same time, it wasn't as though a reasonably skilled White Mage and a Magitek Knight occupying an armor were anything to sneeze at, either. You couldn't play it safe all the time without your abilities eventually growing stagnant.
no subject
He still went to sit down, as there was a general lack of anywhere else to sit other than the small work desk he had against the wall nearby. A subtle nod to Jade granted him the permission to sit on the simple chair set there, if he wanted to.
"I see. Well, that would be where we both differ then. Being brought here, I learned a lot of what I had taken for granted before."
no subject
"Frustrating though it may be, starting fresh does force you to rethink how you fight. I find the insight welcome, but to each their own." There was that special something you got when you delved into something completely new. Jade had always hated not knowing things, ever since he was a child, and that had driven him to soak up everything he could get his hands on, no matter how challenging or out of his field. Even as the range of topics he didn't know about had grown smaller, the thirst for knowledge when he did encounter something unknown had only become stronger.
"In any case, while we are on the topic of Jobs... I gave Jessie the file on Custom Jobs from the ancient computer. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she'll be able to make much of it at present."
no subject
"It was certainly an experience, that was a fact." He didn't make any effort at all in concealing the fact that yet again Sephiroth had found himself in something of a 'transition' period after returning from stasis. Like Jade, Sephiroth had exhibited a thirst for knowledge that had been near prodigious when he'd been growing up. Even upon reaching a peak, as an adult he had continued to surpass limitations when it came to what he was good at...but having all of that hard work pretty much stripped away he had stubbornly denied at first and to this day still disliked how he were a mere shadow of his potential in Crystallis.
Especially since said potential were needed, if he were going to rise to the various challenges thrust upon them.
His more-than-slightly irritated expression blinked into something more curious though as Jade brought up the next subject. Custom Jobs. Of course he remembered them. Granted, his doppelganger had done terrible things but the strength there had been undeniable.
"Hm, sounds like I missed something. Where did you come across this file?"
no subject
Of course, there were times when efficiency had to take priority over intellectual challenge. Stroking your ego was pointless if it got you killed.
"Oh, did I not mention it? The ancient computer bought from O'aka contained an encrypted file titled 'Custom Jobs'. I managed to find some help in decrypting it and gave it to Jessie."
Jade uncrossed his legs to sit more comfortably and steepled his hands. "However, it seems she can't do anything of merit with it without years of work. At least, not without help from someone who already knows about Custom Jobs or about accessing our real powers."
no subject
He wondered if it had been Genesis that had perhaps helped Jade, being as he was the only Scholar that Sephiroth knew of that might be able to read the ancient language. Perhaps it was someone else entirely, either way it was impressive.
Not so impressive was the apparent obstacle they found in their way. Sephiroth's eyebrows had dropped into his deep-thinking frown as he mulled over the problem. It took a lot of effort to do so, being as it seemed so long ago already but he thought back, to that one time he had access to his real powers...however there were consequences. Sephiroth still remembered taking his last breath that time. He visibly shuddered before blinking his eyes back up to Jade from where they had fallen to the floor.
"Apologies." He blinked a few more times before deciding to ascertain how much Jade knew about it first before. It would give him time to figure out how to explain in a way that wasn't going to directly refer him back to that whole business with the doppelganger.
"Remind me, when was it that you arrived in Crystallis for the first time?"
no subject
Jade watched curiously as Sephiroth's thoughts seemed to go elsewhere for a moment. To painful places, judging by that shudder.
"That was in November. Why, is there something important I missed?"
He had at some point read Zelda's notes on what happened prior to his arrival, but there were likely a number of details he still wasn't aware of. No one seemed to like talking about the prior events.
no subject
The deep frown had retreated a little, Sephiroth's eyebrows draw a little nearer together again at the top of his nose as Jade asks that last question. But then he gets up and walks to the edge of the desk near to where Jade is sitting. In a motion very obviously practiced, he removes the paperweight from the stack of papers and takes them in his hands. Skimming the notes, written in his left-handed scrawl, but very much looking for something specific.
It was, after all, a difficult task to keep track of the various months as they had gone by. More often than not Sephiroth told the passage of time by the changing seasons that Crystallis had, more often than paying any real attention to what exact month it was.
"Ah. Of course. That was the month that I enlisted." Putting the papers back on the desk and replacing the weight, he then looked to Jade more directly.
"Do you recall reading anything with regards to the Night of the Thirteen Moogles, Jade?"
no subject
Sephiroth wasn't one to bring things up for no reason, after all. And sure enough, he soon seemed to have found what he was looking for.
"That would be when you all fell victim to an illness, correct? Something about a ritual to revive a Moogle king." Jade leaned back and stared at the ceiling, momentarily caught in recollection. "As I recall, the incident turned a number of Heroes against each other, resulting in casualties."
That last part had, in fact, been one of the first things he had heard upon arriving in Crystallis. It had meant so little back then, with neither context nor personal attachment to hold his interest. Just another strange thing in a strange new world.
In hindsight, he should have asked more about it back then, while it was still fresh on everyone's minds. This seemed like a good time to fill in the remaining holes.
no subject
That was all he would talk about the various details of that part of that month, thank you very much. That he had been one of those Heroes that had been brainwashed, transformed and turned on the others still remained one of many thorns on the inside of his pride. It had taken Sephiroth a very long time to come to terms with the reasons that Zelda still might want to even speak to him.
Thankfully the thought that had come to his mind was from before that particular night. Angeal breaking a table. Waking up with a particular rush which had him falling down the stairs and suffering no injury. The workout that he'd managed to pull off that day...
"I was one of those that ended up sick. But beforehand..." Sephiroth paused, blinking a few times while he tried to find words that Jade would be able to understand.
"...I wasn't the only one who'd had their real powers returned to them. Everyone that had, had ended up sick."
no subject
"I see... So our powers are still accessible, even if they came at a steep cost." He could see why Sephiroth had brought it up -- and now that his memory was being jogged, he had an inkling of what his comrade had in mind.
"That Moogle who attempted the summoning -- was he confirmed to be the cause of the illness?"
Jade had never gone looking for Mograma back then, during his first month in Crystallis. Chasing after a criminal hadn't been high on his list of priorities when he had had little to no understanding of the situation, and getting to know Aqures Ixen had taken enough of his time as it was. It had worked out without him, in any case, and so he hadn't given it much more thought.
no subject
"As I'm to understand it, the entire thing was engineered as an experiment to test how far the Black Crystals might be able to have an effect on...and later control...us."
Moving swiftly on-
"As Mograma tells it, his loyalty to King Moggle Mog was used as leverage by Kalki, to get him to take part in testing a theory."
Eyes narrow as Sephiroth considers what he remembers and tries to work it in to what he thinks that Jade might be suggesting.
"I believe that the illness was a side-effect, brought about perhaps by this World not being able to support the prolonged use of powers outside of the parameters of its mechanics. But the fact remains, those powers remain locked somehow within our Crystals. Getting said moogle to fill in the gaps, though, might require something more than we're able to attain."
no subject
It was beside the point, in any case. Jade listened in silence to the explanation. Once Sephiroth had finished speaking, he hummed in thought, tapping his chin.
"It may be worth another attempt to speak with him. If Mograma's loyalty to his king is stronger than whatever allegiance he owes Kalki, I doubt he'd be very happy about the planet turning to crystal. He can't very well revive anybody if the world is destroyed." A pause, and he added: "Besides, if the Empire decides to make a move, Mograma will be right in the line of fire. No matter how you look at it, he's not in a good position."
Black Crystals, though... Yet another thing they knew too little about.
no subject
"We might be able to use that to our advantage, but I doubt languishing in a prison here in Esdham is going to have softened him up to our cause very much. That said, I'm sure I'm not the only one who it would benefit from having access to skills that we have otherwise, until now, had denied to us."
no subject
For all he had defended the prospect of starting over, even Jade had to admit he missed being stronger.
"We can request a visit to Mograma once Biggs returns." He stood up, ready to head out again, and once again smiled as he always did. "Well then -- I'll let you get settled in properly. It has been a busy month."