006 | Time to get to it....

[neverbeamemory]

Characters: Gymnasium: Sephiroth & OPEN. Dormitory 03-02: Sephiroth, Master Xehanort & Odagiri Hidetoshi [Possible Open if anyone had reason to invade].
Setting: Gymnasium Floor 39: Any morning 19th - 23rd November. Dormitory 03-02: 19th November, Mid-Afternoon.
Format: Prose & Action, I'll match
Summary: Gymnasium: If there is one thing Sephiroth will always do, it's waste time making himself better. Dorm 03-02: This could be the start of something, an opportunity for sharing thoughts, ideas and possible plotting.
Warnings: Possible hating on the admins. Also usual risk of violence. Will keep updated as it progresses

Gymnasium:
[Maybe, just maybe. He might be developing a routine. Is that a good or a bad thing? Sephiroth doesn't know if this is his control keeping his mind occupied or indeed if he's been set up for this, he tries not to think too much about it recently. It's a big downward, paranoid spiral to consider layers upon layers of what is illusion and what is reality; having to just get on with the fact that there is a collar permanently fixed around his neck is enough of a reminder.

Of course, he wants to find answers. However else could he decide to accept or reject any of the ideals of this Tower he was stuck in. But it would take time for theories to develop, for facts to be learnt. He had to be patient, he had to keep his mind as clear as possible and that meant doing things to resist the urge to brood too much. He had also recently learned that quite possibly he may not be the superior being in this place. And so, almost every morning Sephiroth can be found pounding away at the track, launching precise strikes at the punching bag, or carefully pumping weights. Not every morning though, and of course not always the same routine. That would make him too predictable.]

Dorm 03-02:
Life in the dormitories and sharing his sleeping space had turned out not to be so difficult. Being such an early riser, usually Sephiroth could quietly slip away out of the Dormitory before the other residents he shared with were awake. That suited him just fine, first out and last back most of the time except on the morning after the inevitable collar-check that he seemed to have made clear that he would attempt to boycott every time if that's what it took to find a weakness in the system. Sephiroth had trouble sleeping anyway knowing well what such a vulnerable state such sleep was, and not knowing too much about the other residents that he shared with. He didn't think that the kids would become a threat; such children would only become a problem if they somehow got in his way or if he ended up somehow opposing them. Thankfully, from the couple of occasions he'd spoken with Xehanort the older man didn't seem inclined to cause him any grief either.

It could have been a lot worse. Sleep had started to come a little easier since he'd taken to reading a little in the evenings. At the Mountains of Madness was proving an enthralling, yet somewhat confusing read. Not that Sephiroth was illiterate in anyway at all, far from it. It was more that he didn't have any background knowledge of this world called Earth and so in order to understand sometimes chapters were re-read so that he could be sure within his own imaginaton how he envisioned this strange world. Tohko was right, HP Lovecraft did have a very particular way of writing that was for sure. If Sephiroth found he was running out of patience with the fiction there was the other book that lived on his bedside table. Well it wasn't really a book but more like a pile of papers bound together with string. It contained Shion's 'survival 101' compliation on known fungi, plants and berries within the Tower. Sephiroth had yet to check out the Forest on Floor 32, as he was naturally suspect to follow anyones research other than his own. After all, the admins could have changed everything since Shion found out all this information. The would-be Turks sources could be questionable as well.

By this afternoon, Sephiroth had worked out, cleaned up and found himself drawn back to the Dormitory to re-read a chapter of the fiction he had decided not to persue the previous evening. At least it would give his long silver hair the chance to dry off fully before he went off in persuit of anything else today. Long leather trenchcoat was draped across the end of the bed and pauldrons placed almost like an ornament on the top of the chest before Sephiroth had drawn all of his hair forward over one shoulder and sat up with his back against the headboard to continue reading At the Mountains of Madness. Occasionally he would run fingers idly through his hair to work any knots out that would inevitably tangle as the otherwordly, shiny silver mass dried off.

Comments

[vermicompost]

[The Gymnasium isn't a fitting setting for Kariya, but he'd wandered down from floor Forty-One, that strange, bug filled floor that unfortunately reminds him of home.

Sephiroth is a familiar face by now, a definite acquaintance, and so Kariya pauses at the distinctive sight of him. It's no surprise that someone like Sephiroth would be at home somewhere like this. He's clearly a powerful man, physically and otherwise.

Taking the opportunity to rest--he gets tired so easily now--Kariya watches quietly, not wanting to disturb Sephiroth, then gives a little wave when Sephiroth next happens to glance in his direction.]

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth reached up and placed the bar back on it's brackets carefully; in case it might break, before sitting up from on the weight bench.

And there was Kariya just in his line of sight. With a strange wave in his direction. That piqued his interest at least. Wiping a line of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand Sephiroth then stood, stretched a little and headed closer to Kariya.

The cripple looked out of place amongst all the equipment scattered around that was for sure. Come to think of it, Kariya looked more- well he seemed less energetic than he did before when they had talked. He hadn't seemed like his condition was degenerative in anyway but then Sephiroth never had asked.]

Something wrong?

[vermicompost]

No, I'm fine.

[His voice sounded more hoarse, his throat being progressively ruined along with the rest of him. He leaned back against the wall, resting his weight, letting out a breath.]

I was only passing by. When I saw you, I thought I'd stop to say hello.

[A purely social call--well, more or less.]

Have you made any headway with your plans?

[neverbeamemory]

Not since we last spoke.

[Sephiroth answered simply but didn't go into too much detail. How everyone just went back to their 'normal' selves on the 1st November, how the admins apparently got bored with their experiment. He'd been oddly quiet since then, Sephiroth had a lot of time to reflect on the urge to lash out his frustration on everyone else in an attempt to showcase his own control over himself. As it turned out, he had ended up agreeing with Kariya's thoughts; they would have expected him to do that so it was all the more reason not to.

So now control took a different stance at least for the time being. However, with this thread of thought often came questioning ones own motives. He still could not bring himself to submit to the collar check-ups; each time trying to come up with a way of avoiding it and eventually being cornered and/or subdued. As tiresome as it might seem, it still made Sephiroth feel sick to think what they were doing to him.]

Your condition, it's getting worse isn't it? [Observant and blunt to boot. He's never asked or shown any interest in Kariya's state of being. It had never seemed relevant before.]

[vermicompost]

I haven't either. I've met some more people I might be able to work with, who might be able to help, but that's all.

[At the question, he nodded. It was not an unusual question, and Kariya knew only too well that his appearance was worsening along with his condition. There was no way to hide it.]

It is. It's going to keep getting worse. [The worms won't let up, they'll keep preying on him.]

[neverbeamemory]

I think we're both on about the same stage then, there could be a few people who could prove helpful. Though time will tell.

[Tohko, the book girl? Maybe he'd understand more about what she was trying to tell him by lending him things when he'd actually finished that book. There was definitely more to her than met the eye. The 'Turk' brigade if pushed? Sephiroth hadn't seen anything of them recently other than noting Reno's training class advertised on the network; there was a reason why children shouldn't play with knives.

Sephiroth's next question was more to establish facts than to express sympathy. Sympathy was not one of things he delivered very easily]

Did they make you like this?

[vermicompost]

I'm surprised by how many powerful people there are here. It can't be a coincidence, can it? It's nothing like the general population back home.

[Meeting more Servants and Masters at least means he has more powerful potential allies, even if not all the Servants are fond of him. Fortunately, it's only Saber who wants to kill him outright.

He doesn't avoid Sephiroth's question, and the lack of sympathy doesn't bother him. He doesn't expect sympathy. He went a while without it.]

No, I was like this before I came here. I have--parasites.

I am seeing someone who's helping me with them now, but they can only do so much. I've already had them for some time, and they're strong.

[neverbeamemory]

[And they didn't have any outside sources by which to compare answers they might discover within the Tower. Being inside the Tower was therefore a flaw in any consideration. Sephiroth resisted the pull from that downward spiral of thought again; his getting angry about it was equally pointless and was perhaps even intended.

Kariya's condition. Something smaller in scale to consider may offer a refreshing respite.]

Parasites.

How long for?

[They couldn't be contagious per se otherwise Kariya would likely have spread them around. But then just because Sephiroth hadn't seen anyone with similar symptoms didn't rule it out either.]

[vermicompost]

[He was getting more used to discussing his condition, after existing in silence for most of the time he'd had them. He could never tell when someone might be able to help him. He hadn't found any harm yet in telling people about his ailment.]

I've had them for more than a year now. They--you could consider them a family crest. They're not ordinary animals. They're familiars.

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth paused and his eyebrows creased a little further together - trying to get his head around this new concept. The Tower surely did challenge the boundaries of existence that Sephiroth had known before.]

Familiars? Though they degenerate you? Eat you up from the inside? Sounds pretty unhelpful to me.

[vermicompost]

They give me the power I need to fight.

[Not that he looks capable of much fighting.]

Magecraft. But at the same time, they're killing me. So no, they're not helpful. But I need them.

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth raised eyebrows a touch as Kariya explained. He wasn't going to make the comment which danced at the front of his thoughts; that Kariya looked even less of a fighter than he did when he first encountered him.

And it seemed that the Tower was just going to let him decay away into death. Sephiroth was totally opposite to giving up on anything, and it prodded at his anger a little that it seemed Kariya was given no choice about it.]

And there isn't anything to do about it? If we are all so important to them -

[Sephiroth sighed a little, anger piquing but in control.] - Forget it.

[vermicompost]

No, I don't think so. There's someone who helps me a little. She has healing abilities, but there's only so much she can do. It's always going to get worse again. I can't lose them, because I need them. In the War.

[Kariya doesn't enjoy it, but he seems at least partly resigned to the situation. As much as one can be resigned to one's body being torn apart from inside.]

He has to fight in the War, and he has to win. There's no other choice. So he has to host the worms and die.

[He can't exactly agree with what Sephiroth says.]

Are we that important to them? We don't seem to be. Not the way they treat us. Unless– [It reminds him of his family, the way they'd sought to use him. So he had been important, but not for himself. Just for his magic circuits.]

We're only useful in some way. And for that use, it doesn't matter if we're sick or hurt.

[neverbeamemory]

The War?

[Sephiroth crunched eyebrows together as he tried to get his head around this -to him- alien concept. Hosting parasitic worms that granted magical power, in order to win a war? And how did dying win anything? Dying had always been synonymous with defeat for Sephiroth.

With regards to their purposes for being brought to the Tower. Sephiroth needed to keep his mind off this issue until he'd established more facts. It didn't do much more than irritate him, working with maybes.]

[vermicompost]

The War. The Grail War. It's a war between seven magi to win the Holy Grail. We each summon Servants to fight for us.

[At home, it's a matter of great secrecy, but he doesn't see the harm in telling Sephiroth. He likes Sephiroth well enough. Even if the man is a little strange, so is he.]

Powerful Heroic Spirits. I can't summon mine here, but I have to be ready to go back. I need the worms so I can give him enough energy. So I can fight and win. I have to win.

[Giving up that much energy and being preyed on by the worms will likely kill him in any case, but he has to achieve victory before he dies.]

[neverbeamemory]

[Holy Grail? That sounded powerful. Sephiroth wasn't about to ask him to elaborate - he gets the idea. He's no stranger to all-powerful items after all.]

But if you die, in the process of that victory, how can you win the item you seek?

[Sure, Sephiroth had close-to achieved victory from being technically dead twice before back home. But he still was very wary in revealing his exact nature to people in this place. Especially the bitter taste that such near-victories turned crushing defeats always left behind.]

[vermicompost]

The Holy Grail grants a wish to whoever wins it. But I don't care about that. I'm not fighting for the Grail. I'm going to give it to someone else. Then they'll do something they promised they'd do. [Zouken will set Sakura free. She'll be safe.]

Then I can die. [Of course he doesn't want to die, but a part of him thinks he deserves it. This is his atonement for allowing certain things to happen. He's had more than a year to get used to the certainty of his death.]

[neverbeamemory]

But like us all, your world has been destroyed. Apparently. So now you are without Holy Grail to chase, without your spirit to call?

[Sephiroth really isn't sure if he's got all of this right or not. It sounds odder to him saying it than thinking it.]

So the worms are just doing to kill you anyway?

[vermicompost]

I don't believe my world has been destroyed. [Kariya says this with an almost childlike sincerity. He won't believe it, no matter what. Maybe it's blindness on his part, but he's stubborn. Sakura isn't dead, and his efforts haven't been futile. He'll get back somehow, and he'll win the War. Somehow.] I'm going to get back somehow, and I'm still going to win.

[A pause.]

Yes. They'll kill me no matter what. Once they start ... they don't stop.

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth raised an eyebrow again. He was talking hypothetically but sure, Sephiroth was exactly of the same mindset not too long ago. In fact it was something that occasionally resurfaced. The fact there wasn't any proof if their worlds were gone or not.]

So you've just got to suffer until it's over.

[He's heard rumors so far unconfirmed, that people aren't able to die in the Tower.]

[vermicompost]

That's right. [It's exactly right, what Sephiroth says. Suffering is what his life is now.] But I don't care how much I have to suffer, or how long. I'll save Sakura.

[Ignoring the fact that Sephiroth doesn't know who Sakura is.]

[neverbeamemory]

You won't save anyone if you die before you get home though. Unless the rumors I heard were true.

[Sephiroth hasn't considered Kariya as a hero of any sort. Maybe more than a little judgmental based on how crippled he is, based on how Sephiroth prides himself on his physical capability.]

Who is Sakura?

[vermicompost]

People who die come back to life here. Is that what you mean? So it'll be all right. I just know it will.

[Determination and stubbornness are his greatest strengths, even though he's wrongheaded sometimes.]

Sakura's my niece. I have to help her.

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth only nodded. It's not like he's gone around blatantly asking about deaths here in the Tower.

It's not really like he can comment on helping relatives either. Or anyone but himself, usually.]

[vermicompost]

[Kariya doesn't need much prompting to keep going, not when he's touching on his favorite subject, or rather, the one that obsesses him. Winning the war and saving Sakura are more important than anything else.]

It's just--so long has passed in my world. The War might be over. Some others from the War are here, too, and they say it ended. But if people are here from different times, they should be able go back to them, shouldn't they? [It's confusing. It's hard to get his head around so many worlds and times.] No matter what, I know I'm going to go back. For Sakura's sake. She's a sweet girl. She doesn't deserve what happened to her.