towerofanimus | 008

Entry tags:

008 | Fallout

Characters: Sephiroth [Open]
Setting: December 8th: Dormitory 03-02, Floor 2 & Floor 5
Format: Prose but can switch to Action
Summary: After End of the Angry Mob Plot Sephiroth feels somewhat deflated but no less bitter afterwards.
Warnings: Sephiroth: always threat of violence.

0204hrs December 8th - Dormitory 03-02

It was like falling within a dream and then waking as you hit the floor.

Piercing green eyes shot open in time with a sharp intake of breath, wide and hyper-actively looking around in the darkness. A heartbeat later and Sephiroth was sat bolt upright in his bed making out the details that he could in the gloom. Silver pauldrons sat undisturbed on top of the chest at the bottom of the bed as they would usually, his long leather trench-coat draped across the end of the bed.

It could have all been a bad dream, but for his shaking as if from the cold. He never shook from the cold. Strong muscled arms he couldn't remember resting back on after first sitting up shook just enough for him to notice this oddity. Sephiroth shifted his weight forward again and crossed his arms across his chest - each hand rubbing the bicep of the other arm similar to the way a normal person might keep warm.

He'd stopped rubbing, suspiciously narrowing his eyes at his own thoughts and feelings; as he apparently just held himself in a hug. Silver hair fell down like a great curtain across one side of him as restlessly Sephiroth continued to peer around in the darkness. Going through the events of the last three days in his mind again and again; scraping with a wire toothbrush at the festering mess of fresh memories inside.

It hadn't been a dream.

Early Afternoon December 8th - Infirmary
Like a bad hangover, Sephiroth didn't feel much like having his bi-weekly face off with the red collars today. For once, just this once he constantly reminded himself, he would attend the collar checkup today. Just on this one occasion he would submit. He would sit and wait, ignore the burning of every fibre of his body reminding him that this was wrong - that this was unacceptable. He was stronger than this.

The administrator lift looked so desolate, so un-used. The Infirmary itself had been restored to it's former spotless condition, but knowing how he'd indulged here Sephiroth couldn't resist to smirk as he watched the drones go about their tasks while he waited for his turn.

"Damn you do clean up so well." He muttered to himself mostly, not caring really who else heard him though.

Later Afternoon December 8th - Floor 5
A leather gloved hand reached out as if to touch the dead world of Gaia but found only the screen depicting it. Through lowered eyelids Sephiroth gazed in the hope that some understanding would come. He had never visited this floor before and just looked, forcing back the stirring wetness which stung in the depths of the corners of his eyes; he rubbed at them now and again. After all, he hadn't slept well.

If he ~~and Hojo~~ had the right of it and this had been in some way or form his doing, then why was looking at this screen making him feel this way. Of all things he should be feeling it should be the usual outrage that he experienced when he considered that their keepers here had stolen him away from the victory that was rightly his. The power of the Lifestream that should be coursing through his veins even as he observed the dead world on the other side of the screen sure did seem to resonate, like it should, with what he was seeing.

Whatever that power was, Lifestream or Jenova; it only told him one thing. He could taste the dust, smell the death and know the screaming pain of the entire planet. He wasn't a Cetra at all, but he might have imagined that this was a similar connection. The amount of his darkness that he'd infected the Lifestream with, was it a surprise that it now produced this link?

What he didn't understand, was what had drawn him here to gaze so unrelenting into a screen. He had a good idea now, of the extent to which their owners could realistically bend and distort the reality here - he wasn't going to believe any of it. But every cell of his was tricked into accepting it.

The developing headache might well be permanent.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[So, Sephiroth wasn't human. That explained quite a few things. However, Tohko shook her head.]

Even non-human entity's need hope sometimes. Book have shown me that, along with a few people in this Tower. However..if you're not human, than what are you?

[Sephiroth just shakes his head also, wanting to drop the hope thing lest he just keep repeating himself. He smirked a little oddly - how could he even go on to explain exactly what he is to someone like Tohko.]

It's complicated. I'm a higher being.

[Tohko sighed. Why did people always want to just leave it at 'it's complicated'?]

I see. What sort of higher being? And even if it's complicated, try explaining it to me. I may get it, and even if I don't the first time, I'll try my best to understand. We have time. Tell me.

It was my destiny, to take my world into the next era.

[Sephiroth had never had to explain anything like this to another person not from Gaia before, in fact he'd not ever needed to explain it full stop. Indeed there was a time forgotten that others knew more about what he was than he did himself. He takes a breath and resists the temptation to look over his shoulder at the screen again.]

I would have been a God.

It was your destiny to become a god and rule the world..

[Tohko sighed and scratched her head.]

If it was your destiny, then why didn't you become a god? And why were you going to become one anyways? Were you the son of an already existing god or something?

Yes.

[That was as much of an answer that Tohko was going to get out of Sephiroth. He felt bitter enough without having to mix it with the feelings of failure that answering any of those questions would stir. He really was his own worst enemy in that regard and he was fairly sure that it wasn't going to cure his headache]

[Tohko sighed again.]

I see. Why did you not succeed your father then? Did he have another son that took up the mantle or something? And..being cryptic isn't going to help either of us. Remembering this is probably painful, but if want me to understand, you're going to have to tell me things.

[That stepped on a nerve and twisted like a pointed heel. He hadn't volunteered this information about himself; she'd asked off the back of a pointless conversation about hope of all things. He should have known making a comment about humans like that would have brought all of this on.

And now she'd gone down the 'father' route which was even more of a recently opened sore spot. Someone else that he had to suffer sharing the Tower with.]

I DON'T need your understanding, I DON'T need your hope and I certainly DON'T need your pity. [He near growled at Tohko]

The degenerate excuse for a chromosome donation that contributed is not to be considered my father. I do not have one.

Now you know, leave me alone.

[Normally, Sephiroth's harsh voice would have made Tohko jump and apologize. However, somehow, she had managed to grow a bit of a spine. Perhaps it was due to Wilhelm or dealing with everyone that had lost hope in the Tower, but she just stood her ground and gave a small glare.]

I never said I pitied you. If you are going to tell me how you are different from a human, then you are going to need to me to understand that, and hope is something everyone needs at one point or another.

[She then sighed.]

So you were made in some test tubes. I'm sorry to hear that..but that doesn't explain how your father is terrible. And it stomps out your claim that you are a god. Just because you are an artificially made human does not mean you are a god. You may have different abilities and traits, but you aren't a god.

[A small glare, almost cute. It did nothing to stamp on Sephiroth's smoldering mood, reflected in his eyes.

There was no way he was about to share his life story with Tohko, especially since he already knew there were significant gaps in his memory that she would undoubtedly only irritate.]

I said I would have been a God, if humans - in all their traitorous glory - hadn't felt the need to interfere.

[An angry pulse of telekinetic force swept towards Tohko, perhaps only strong enough to push her back a few steps though. He just didn't have much energy left currently.]

And what did we interfere with? The biological process that made you? And not all humans are traitors-waugh!

[Tohko, through some unseen force, was pushed back a few steps, and because she wasn't prepared for it, she also fell to the ground, hitting her head.]

Ow! What did you do that for? Is discussing your past that painful?

[Tohko cried as she started to get up.]

[It's really hard to ignore the J-cells restlessness, especially when it came after another spike from them followed by a stretch of silence to now this. Cloud grumbled to himself as he went from his rooms to the fifth floor, following the trail of their pull until he felt another spike, this one rather feeble than most. Fingers curled into fists, he turned around the corner to see something he didn't expect - Sephiroth facing down a kid.

Or was it the other way around?

Rubbing his forehead at the sheer ridiculousness of how childish the former General was acting, Cloud just stepped in between the two before blood was spilled. ]

Discussing anything that brings him to a human level makes him mad. [He caught the tail end of the conversation so he just decided to fill in the blanks while he was at it.] As is discussing how he is not a god because his genetic donor is nothing more than a type of alien virus. Or telling him he failed. Or telling him to grow up.

[A shrug. It almost sounded like a different accent there for a second.]

Anything that goes against his perceived superiority over humanity really.

[Sephiroth had stepped forward towards Tohko, perhaps not so intentionally having made her fall over. More reflexive and irritated easily in his current mindset that her questions had poked and prodded at til it was more than he could stand.

Then Cloud was there between them. Sephiroth retreated a step to gain distance from his enemy; he'd need it to summon Masamune - after all he expected he'd have to fight now. Maybe it would be all less confusing between them when they'd gotten this over with.

It's not like either of them could really die here, anyway.

What Sephiroth didn't expect was the tirade of words that spilled from Cloud. If he hadn't been stood there, plain to see, Sephiroth would have sworn that it wasn't Cloud even speaking. If they didn't have the cells between them.

Deeply insulted, though perhaps more shocked than anything Sephiroth adjusted into a ready stance. Eyes watching Cloud suspiciously.]

How dare you. [He whispered, rage clearly evident - though barely being held back; common sense screaming that he would lose this fight, he was too tired]

[Tohko wasn't sure who the blond-haired man was or why he had stepped in, but he must have known Sephiroth if he could say that much. She quickly got to her feet.]

I see..so anything that makes him feel like he failed or that he is less than a god makes him act like this. That's kind of..sad. And a bit silly. And..he's an alien? Or a human-alien hybrid? And..pardon, but who are you?

[Tohko ignored Sephiroth's reaction for the moment. She wasn't sure if she could beat him if he decided to strike..but she would try.]

[He stared back at Sephiroth, bright mako blue eyes that showed no fear. Exasperation maybe, but certainly no fear or anger. He can understand the confusion to a point, but when it came to just this level of stupid anger over getting bested - again - well, Cloud wasn't about to attack. If Sephiroth wanted to do that, he could but Cloud would make sure to stop him from doing something too stupid.]

He is acting silly, but he was conditioned to be the perfect being. I doubt he remembers those times he had failed because to remember would mean to admit that he isn't as superior as he thinks he is. [A pause as he folded his arms across his chest, knowing he must look just as silly as the girl did - a small guy with wild blond hair standing up to the former General.]

I can't say exactly what he is anymore than I can say what I am. I know the base is human, but there are so many strands from so many sources that we aren't pure human.

I'm Cloud. You can say we're both part of the Project. Unlike him, I wasn't born into it but gathered later.

[That expected first strike just didn't come and that look just said it all. He didn't feel much like a fight right now either, that suited him fine. Even Sephiroth's glorious anger fizzled away instead of being maintained like it would usually.

As Cloud continued Sephiroth carefully relaxed his stance and simply stood there with a raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes. At the mention of his memories, the explanation of what he was, in such a flat way Sephiroth rolled his eyes a little and looked away. Letting Cloud say whatever he felt he needed to, it didn't matter at this point how little of it Sephiroth actually agreed with. Truth was a lot of his emotions were shallow, missing the foundations in the past and that in itself was a sore reminder of his state of being.]

[Cloud needn't have worried-in her mind, he didn't look foolish at all. She tried to take all of this information in and piece it together.]

I see. So he has blank spots in his memory so that he doesn't have to remember all the times that he failed, and thus, isn't superior.

And it's nice to meet you, Cloud. I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl..so you were both part of a genetics experiment. Why were people gathered into it when they could just create people in it?

Part of the Project destroys memories as well.

[His memories were fragmented too. What was put back together was all in thanks to Tifa and even then, Cloud couldn't be certain that they were complete. But he had new memories to fill in the gaps in his memories.

It's nice to meet you as well. It took too long to have another baby born into the Project. The creators needed to recreate the process in a hurry.

[The Project destroys memories. That was amusing. Sephiroth almost laughed. No, the Lifestream rips your memories apart when you die; that's how you return to the Planet. Moreso for Sephiroth being Jenovas legacy, the Planet wasn't exactly a friend. Sephiroth had been there and back twice already and was technically returning for a third time just before he woke up here. Cloud had been the cause of that. Again.

But then, if it hadn't been for the Project -

How many times could you disperse the same Jenova cells into a million fragments and successfully piece them all together again flawlessly? Hojo's voice rung in Sephiroth's ears as if he were stood right there asking the question. An amused smirk quickly dropped to a scowl and Sephiroth squeezed the top of the bridge of his nose with one gloved hand as that lingering headache exploded.

He stepped away from the two of them towards the stairwell]

[Tohko nodded at Cloud as she pieced it all together.]

I see. So, to save time, they injected living people with the virus and experimented on them. But what was the purpose? Why do it if it rips apart the memories of the person? Just for some extra strength and regenerative abilities?

[Tohko noticed that Sephiroth was trying to walk away from the conversation. While she would have normally let him run away, she needed something from him first, so she yelled at him.]

Hey! Don't you dare walk away yet! You owe me an apology!

They didn't care about the side effects of a fractured personality.

[Laugh all you want, Sephiroth. It may not have been the case for someone born with the J-cells already active, but for someone who had them introduced during the late teens, the J-cells ripped apart his personality to try to mold him into what they wanted. Another Sephiroth clone that did exactly what the puppet master wanted him to do. But since they destroyed too much of his personality, Cloud had been deemed a failure.

Amusing really that a failure could survive while the successes fell apart after a couple years.]

There was a lot more than that going on. The cells also boost immune system, senses, gives them magical abilities and for some, flight.

[He shook his head, sighing a little.]

He probably just wants to stew over things in a dark corner.

[Sephiroth stops and shot both Cloud and Tohko a deeply charged, warning look. Mentally he wasn't focused enough to fight after the punishments last night, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't react if the right button were pushed enough times. He knew he could likely kill both of them and usually that would mean it would be done with.

But this was the Tower, people didn't die.]

"Just stay out of my way, both of you."

[He got to the stairwell without waiting for any other reaction and descended out of sight, squeezing his brow at intervals.]

[Tohko sighed as she took in Cloud's information and as his prediction came true. She'd have to get an apology out of him later..but thanks to this, she wasn't sure if she still considered in a friend. Probably just an acquaintance now. As Sephiroth stomped off, she turned back to Cloud.]

Still..while the benefits sound nice, what you have to give up is what makes you you. I'm sorry to hear about that..hopefully people have stopped doing stuff like that in your world. And..thanks for helping me out here. He might have killed me if you hadn't stepped in.

[and there he went. Cloud would have felt a little satisfaction about being proved right if he didn't have the feeling that Sephiroth was going to make him pay for it later on. all he could do is not let his guard down and be ready for anything.]

A lot of us never really had a choice over the matter. Most of us were told that we would become heroes or be powerful, not what will happen with all the experimentation.

As for the guy that made Sephiroth and me, he's here, in this Tower. He goes by the name of Hojo and you better be careful around him. Sephiroth doesn't trust him and I would kill him if he could stay dead.

[he turned to face her, sighing softly and shaking his head.]

He's hard to predict. It almost feels like his memories are worse off than the other times I've seen him.

So you were lied to..I'm sorry about that. And don't worry, I'll be careful around Hojo, if I bump into him.

[At that comment, Tohko looked puzzled.]

Than the other times you've seen him? So how much memory he has changes from time to time? Or did you meet him in the Tower before?

008 | Fallout

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