(no subject)

[intemperiae]

Characters: Sephiroth and whatever unlucky individual happens to be present/cross his path
Setting: Begins on the Dorm level, moves to the First Floor, finishes on Sixth Floor
Format: I'm partial to prose, but tagger's choice
Summary: ShinRa's General just found his sword. Hint: It was in his trunk, in four separate pieces. :/
Warnings: Just as soon as he can get away from anything important and/or breakable, Sephiroth's temper is going to explode. Materia will be blazing out over the forest on Floor Six; enter at one's own risk, at least until he calms down.

Those infernal bastards dared. Kneeling before the odd-looking trunk at the end of his assigned bed, Sephiroth stared inside with wide, unbelieving eyes. Ignored were the more common items packed tightly within, but the dullness of unpolished silver twinkled sullenly from the trunk's far corner.

The Masamune, Sephiroth's beloved blade, the only weapon he'd ever held aside from training blades when he'd been just a cadet in SOLDIER...lay in four jagged pieces, flat, unlovely, broken.

He reached inside to reverently pick up each, fingers trembling minutely, sitting back on his heels when all four pieces lay in his arms, its killing song seemingly silenced forever. Incredulity washed over him, only to be quickly replaced by a slow simmering fury. They had dared! Sephiroth snatched up a towel and gently wrapped the broken blade in it, rising to his feet quickly, not really seeing the dorm room; red swam in his vision.

Out the door and to the elevator, wrapped bundle in his arms and thunder brewing in MAKO eyes, he strode down the hallway with death-knell strides, sparing not a sideways glance for anything but his destination. The first floor was insufficient. ShinRa's tall General swept through the rooms briskly, normally stoic countenance dark with barely contained rage. He finally located the stairwell and took the steps two and three at the time, temper escalating with every giant stride.

Reaching the Sixth Floor, he stepped through its door, took stock of his surroundings, placed the bundle down carefully, then stepped away and towards the dark trees. The bangle on his arm flashed with surging power as Sephiroth's rage hit the materia; the silver-haired SOLDIER disappeared into the dark fire and crackling storm.

Comments

This should end well

[fallen_stage]

Once again Kuja was in the lowest of the forest levels, feeling less claustrophobic where there was at least an illusion of open space. The dangerous animals were pestering him less now, learning that he was more than strong enough to deter them.

So when he saw a number of the rush from the underbrush, ignoring him as they sped past, he knew it had to be something that frightened them off.

Then he saw the fire.

now without iconfail!

[pauldrons]

Having been in the process of mapping Floor Five, Zack didn't see Sephiroth bound up the stairs so much as feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and have his instincts make him turn just in time to catch a flash of silver hair disappearing into the next level. He'd given chase just in time for the fires to start, and was forced to hold his ground at the door, turning away from the flames as they roared into life.

Instinctively covering his face from the heat and wondering if he needed to cast a quick Barrier, Zack stepped closer and nearly tripped over the bundle. The metallic sound of its contents was enough to draw his curiosity, and a quick peek told him all he needed to know. He'd know that sword anywhere, and for it to be like this...well. It was no wonder that Sephiroth was so angry. Still, this wasn't the right way to go about it. So he left the safety of the stairwell, stepping into the danger zone without a hint of hesitation. Someone had to keep Sephiroth from blowing everything to pieces.

Mwhaha.

[intemperiae]

His rage seemed boundless. Not only had "they" dared tamper with his weaponry, they'd also disrupted his life, his routine, meddled with his men, which was a sin paramount to unforgivable, and landed both he and his subordinates in this place without so much as a breath of explanation.

It was actually somewhat shocking his temper had held out this long.

Sephiroth stalked through the forest, alighting anything in his path with a mere wave of his hand, the surging materia leaping to life at the command of his powerful will. He cared not what he destroyed; the rage cleansed his mind, soothed frayed nerves. The flames licked at his coat, but singed him not; he strode through the poisonous green fire without care.

\o/

[intemperiae]

Lightning shrieked overhead, striking the earth with shocking detonation, sending squawking creatures scrambling from the point of impact. Thunder followed, rocking the trees with its force. Behind that came the sizzling, sickening flash of Dark Firaga, the green flames licking through the forest with tremendous speed.

The show continued for several long minutes, but finally began to wane although the fires continued to burn where they'd caught tinder. In the middle of the blackened forest stood ShinRa's General, still fuming, but no longer seeking to destroy to sate his towering fury.

[pauldrons]

More than once, Zack found himself flinching and covering his head as he tried to avoid the magic turning the place to ashes, Barrier spell covering the rest of him with barely a thought thanks to Angeal's training. For those few minutes as the forest glowed with sickly flames, Zack himself remained unharmed other than a lungful or two of smoke, and finding Sephiroth was easy. He was the only thing left standing amidst the rubble.

"General!"

The Barrier in his bangle was still humming, ready to flare to life if the worst came to pass and Sephiroth's temper hadn't settled enough to let him speak like the coherent human being he was, but Zack had doubts that he'd have to use it again. Sephiroth wouldn't turn his fury on his second...would he?

[intemperiae]

Under normal circumstances, that voice would have had Sephiroth turning, a welcoming sort of smile on his face, but this time, he simply stood fast. Not because he didn't hear; Zack's voice carried quite well over the hiss-ping of burning wood, but because he didn't quite trust himself not to snap just yet.

He'd chosen this particular location because it seemed the best place to alleviate his hellacious ire and harm few; the intrusion of a voice - and a beloved one, at that - was hardly welcome just now. Nevertheless, he cocked his head slightly, the only acknowledgement he was capable of giving just now.

[pauldrons]

Clearly, Sephiroth wasn't calm. Zack had seem him angry before, and furious once, after a mission gone south, but never this angry. Never looking like he was about to burn the whole world down around them. Still, the pup wasn't going to leave his best friend like this. Not when he could do something.

"Sir, if this is about your sword, we can find someone to fix it. Trust me, okay?"

He steps forward, reaching out to gently lay a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder despite his instincts screaming at him to get away from the obviously furious threat. Right now there was something more important than listening to that little part of himself.

[intemperiae]

"Mind that hand, Zack Fair," Sephiroth snapped without turning around. The mention of the Masamune had his fists clenching again, the fire-orange materia orb at his wrist glowing eagerly in response to his still smoldering ire. It only needed direction.

[pauldrons]

To his credit, Zack didn't flinch away. He did flinch, but it was with an ease that belied just how nervous he was that he withdrew his hand and started listening to the Barrier singing protection in his mind, now primed and ready to cast if that fire came up in his direction.

"Then with all due respect, General, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. You might bring the upper levels down if you keep this up."

Zack had no doubt that the exploding balls of fire and crackling electricity could be felt on the levels closest, and if the trees were all that were supporting everything above...well. Not even they'd survive that, let alone anyone else on the way down.

[intemperiae]

In actuality, Sephiroth didn't give a damn if the Tower did come crashing down around their ears. Such would be far preferable than to remain trapped in this nightmare, anyway. Stress was something he rarely handled well, evidenced by the burning foliage all around. Angeal, I need you...!

But even that desperate plea was to be unanswered, for that calming presence had been forever removed from both his life and that the man behind him. Even now, the knowledge still hurt.

Sephiroth took a deep breath, held it...then finally, slowly, released it, shoulders lowering fractionally as tension bled from his large frame. Although he didn't right away answer - several minutes ticked by before he trusted his voice enough - when he spoke, his tone was hushed, but oh-so-flat, nearly sullen.

"...I've located the Masamune."

[pauldrons]

Zack himself is still tense for a few moments after Sephiroth slowly calms down, Barrier still calling to be used, but that passes as quick as it comes once Zack realizes the threat has passed, and his voice is quiet as he speaks, hands limp at his sides. He doubts Sephiroth would appreciate physical contact right now.

"I know. I saw it." And what a mess it was. How that sword had even managed to be broken, Zack couldn't understand. It had seemed like Sephiroth himself; unbreakable, unyielding. But as the last few minutes had shown, both were equally breakable and that meant...Gods. Zack didn't know what it meant but it was terrifying.

"But we can get it fixed, man. There's a workshop upstairs; if we can find somebody who knows what they're doing, I'm sure it can be repaired."

[intemperiae]

Black gloved hands clenched again.

"My sword, Zack." The utmost blasphemy. Sephiroth would have rather lost a body part than suffer that blade to be broken.

But then...the pup was right. What was broken could be repaired, sometimes stronger than what had been before. Weren't he and even Zack living, breathing proof of such?

Another long sigh. "I sincerely hope so, my friend. I truly do." His sanity might just depend on it.

[pauldrons]

Zack nods at that, looking back to the entrance and the bundle that lies there, untouched by the damage that surrounds the two SOLDIERS. He's not a blacksmith. He can't fix that. But he can try and help Sephiroth, and so this time he reaches out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze. Sure, they're both a mess and it shows, but they have each other to lean on. Isn't that what matters?

"There's a guy who's making a sword for me. Do you want me to ask if he can fix yours?"

He's not sure if Equius's talents lay in repairing so much as creating, but if he's spent that much time in the workshop, he should be at least capable of pointing them in the right direction.

[fallen_stage]

As one unfamiliar with the detailed mechanics of forest fires, Kuja would normally follow the animals' better instincts and take flight. But one didn't need to be a genius to realize that green fire wasn't natural. So instead he seeks the heart of it, the source of it.

Not long before he finds the raging man. Neither Kuja's stolen trousers or his short white undershirt is singed, but his eyes glint with some temper of his own.

"Do you mind? Whatever has happened, I'm sure it doesn't warrant all this"