☿ // point zero

[fionnuisce]

Characters: Waver and open!
Format: I'll try to match.
Summary: Professor Charisma does some exploring. And science. Magic science. i have no self control so wow this got up quick
Warnings: None yet.

[dorm room 3-10]

[Sleep paralysis on its own was enough to put him on edge. Was this some kind of ill-conceived attack with magecraft? No, that wasn't likely--if it was and his would-be opponent had an ounce of sense in their heads, he'd be dead already. In the moments it took him to properly regain his senses, Waver ran through a list of hypothetical causes for this problem...each as unlikely as the last.]

[Finally, he was able to sit up and brush long, disheveled black hair from his face. Now that it occurred to him, Waver couldn't even remember having fallen asleep to begin with. Hadn't he only just been leaving a lecture hall in the Clock Tower? If he'd fainted, this didn't seem like any infirmary they had to his knowledge. As he considered the matter, Waver idly trailed a hand to the back of his own neck and froze. Though the collar's presence disturbed him, he could figure that out later. What caused him to halt in place wasn't the presence of something foreign, but the absence of something familiar.]

That's not possible. It's gone, how the hell can it possibly-- [He muttered under his breath for a second, double checking to be sure whatever it was (likely a necklace of some kind, from how he was acting) had actually gone missing.]

[One might find him shortly after that, rummaging through his trunk with some very determined sense of urgency.]

[floor eighty-one]

[Standing before the windows and looking skyward was one unfazed lecturer in a dark green suit, black hair tied in a long ponytail and sunglasses resting on top of his head. In his hands are a pen and small notebook, and every few minutes he pauses to take something down in chickenscratch handwriting.]

[floor twenty-five]

[Here, said ponytailed and sunglasses-wearing individual seems to be doing something a little strange. Namely, something with a case full of glass vials and liquids that might scream 'mad scientist'.]

[Or 'alchemist', if one knew better.]

[Whatever method he was using, Waver seemed to be analyzing a few specific flowers in the meadow, presumably to determine whether they were magical or supernatural in origin.]

[Judging by the frustrated look on his face? They're probably not.]

[floor three]

[A library; the natural habitat of clever people, especially this one in particular. He examined the shelves with a critical look, a small pile of books on the table nearby. Whatever he's actually looking for, it doesn't seem he's able to find it. He adjusted the sunglasses on his head as though doing so was some odd habit, scowling in faint aggravation.]

[anywhere else]

[Of course, anyone doing this much exploring is bound to run into monsters. Maybe he's on his own, or maybe he stopped to defend someone else. Whatever the case, he shifted into a fighting stance as though it were second nature and immediately moved to take down the enemy before him with swift, precise strikes.]

[When the monster had been taken down and the danger was momentarily avoided, Waver straightened up and did little more than dust off his dark green suit with a completely unfazed look.]

[Yeah. Totally a thing that happens every day, right?]

Comments

[pinnaculum]

[Now this was something Sephiroth was interested in. Research! He nodded.] Are you a researcher?

I have explored many of the floors. Someone made a list of them. [Shinji had had a list that someone had given him, but he didn't know who had made the list, as Shinji had only said they were a "headcase".] More information may be found on the network.

My planet is named Gaia. What is the name of your world? [These other worlds were something else he was very interested in.]

[fionnuisce]

I guess you could call me that, sure. [He shut the notebook and tucked the pen into a coat pocket, focusing on Sephiroth completely.] Thanks for telling me, I'll probably look into that later.

...Planet? [Did the parallel worlds of Second Magic include ones that had life on other planets? Waver was hardly Zelretch, so he had no idea.] It's, er...it's called Earth.

[pinnaculum]

[Hm, a researcher was both intriguing and suspect where Sephiroth was concerned.] A scientist?

You're welcome. [He was happy to help.]

[Oh, so not a new planet, then.] I've met others here from your planet. So far I have met people from Earth and Alternia and Gaia.

What's your name? [He thought nothing of asking multiple questions of this new person.]

[fionnuisce]

A teacher, actually. Though you're not very far off, depending on how you look at it.

[He made a mental note of that to write down later--Earth, Alternia, and Gaia. Waver didn't expect to find out much more about their relevance to this tower on a planetary level, but it was worth a try.]

My name's-... [He paused, for a moment not really sure how to answer that. He always and without exception introduced himself by his title in the Clock Tower, to the point where few even knew his real name. (Which was preferable; better that than need to fight any idiot that thought they could be better than a low-class magus. But...well, this wasn't the Clock Tower at all, was it?]

...Waver Velvet. Just call me Waver--I don't think I got yours.

[pinnaculum]

[A teacher. He'd never been to school, himself. The researchers had given him lessons. He nodded.] I was taught by scientists.

I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Waver. [His manners were somewhat wooden and practiced, like that of someone well-schooled in polite speaking rather than a natural at it, but they were serviceable.]

I'm Sephiroth.

[fionnuisce]

...Sephiroth?

[It sounded unusual, more so to someone like Waver who read enough to have a vague understanding of the Sephirot in concept. But he quickly backpedaled, realizing hey, maybe you'd kind of be a jerk for picking on the kid's name]

That's an interesting name.

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth nodded.] I have never met anyone else with my name.

The professor gave it to me. [His tone was a little less than neutral when he mentioned the professor.] It is my only name.

If you need assistance, I can help you. [It was his (self-given) duty to offer his help to others, just like a SOLDIER would have. He was still tired from his battles in the Dark World, but he was still ready to fight if necessary, as the sword on his back could attest.]

[fionnuisce]

I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll be alright. I can fight well enough to protect myself, and I'm almost looking forward to figuring this place out. ...As much as someone can look forward to an eldritch tower like this. I'm not too pleased about the matter overall, but it's still intriguing.

[pinnaculum]

It is safer during the daytime. There are numerous monsters at night. You should not go out then, unless you are a trained warrior.

[He nodded again.] It is interesting to study. That is why I have been exploring. [He likes figuring things out, too.] And there are many books in the library.

This is an experiment, in which our souls have been removed from our bodies. They run many tests on us. [Sephiroth says this as calmly as he's said everything else. Experiments are something he's used to.]

[fionnuisce]

I'm trained enough, but thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to be careful.

[Waver himself barely blinked at the part about souls, even though it was just another impossible and mildly terrifying thing on top of a million others.]

...Define 'tests', if you don't mind.

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth only nods again. He's willing to accept Waver's estimation of himself.] Do you like to spar?

Tests vary. Our bodies are operated on, tortured, altered, and destroyed in various ways. Our minds and memories are affected. We are made to believe things that are not true, to see things that are not there, or to behave irrationally. [Again, Sephiroth says all this with the same odd calm he's said almost everything else.]

[fionnuisce]

I'm not against the idea, but I'm not much more than self-taught.

[Oh, goddamn. it was getting damn tricky to keep his own composure faced with this kind of thing.]

Fantastic.

[pinnaculum]

I can help you train. [Training someone sounds even more enjoyable. He's sure he'd be more than capable of doing so. He is a great and capable warrior, after all.]

The tests are run by various administrators. If they destroy your body, they will put your soul in a new one. I have had my mind altered once. I have been here one month.

[fionnuisce]

...Are you sure about that? I'm not trying to insult you, but aren't you just a kid?

[At this point, he wouldn't have been shocked if Sephiroth was actually a hundred something years old.]

Does anyone know why they do that?

[pinnaculum]

[No one had really asked him about his age before.] Technically I have been alive for thirty years, but I have slept for more than twenty. [He doesn't seem to think that's too strange, but he's gotten used to the fact.]

I am well trained in many forms of combat. I am genetically enhanced.

They are researchers. [That's what researchers do, don't you know?] They are furthering their knowledge.

[fionnuisce]

...very well, I stand corrected. I think. [You know, he's just...not gonna ask.]

Why research like that, though? And to what end?

[pinnaculum]

[Even Sephiroth doesn't understand what happened, he's just accepting it.]

I have never trained anyone before, but I would like to.

[If there's one thing Sephiroth understands, it's bad (and mad) science.]

That is what scientists do. We are ideal subjects since we vary greatly and cannot be killed, so they can test our reactions to various stimuli and substances and record the data.

[fionnuisce]

...I guess I might not complain about a little instruction. Maybe I could use the help.

[What the hell, why not.]

You don't think that seems cruel?

[pinnaculum]

Then I will help. I have a practice sword, and I may be able to make more weapons.

[Mission: a success!

As for the question, Sephiroth considers it. Cruel? Maybe so, but in science, such things don't matter. Not in his experience.]

Cruelty is irrelevant to researchers.

[fionnuisce]

...I really wish I could disagree with you on that, but you're right.

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth nods. He doesn't approve of the researchers' ways, but he accepts them for what they are. Here's someone who understands.] Yes.

I was in an experiment before, but I was the only subject.

[fionnuisce]

You mentioned something about genetics earlier, right? Could I ask what kind of experiments you're talking about?

[pinnaculum]

Yes. I am genetically and chemically enhanced, so that I am stronger, faster, and more intelligent than an average human. My primary purpose was combat.

[fionnuisce]

...They built a kid to be a soldier?Why?

[pinnaculum]

They wanted to create a perfect soldier. To fight in their wars. I was not going to fight until I was older.

[But maybe that isn't enough of a reason.] I don't know why. They were researchers. [That's all.]