☿ // 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

[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.]

[fionnuisce]

...And you really don't mind that?

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth is quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on Waver. He feels a faint stirring of memory, something he's forgotten... A flicker or something like anger. But when he speaks, it's just as calmly as before.]

I mind.

Whether I minded was irrelevant. I would like to know more about the project.

[fionnuisce]

I wish I could help with that...What do you know about it, if you don't mind me asking?

[pinnaculum]

Project S was highly classified. The researchers are all dead, and their research is lost. [As far as he knows.]

I have been genetically altered through the use of unknown substances and regular exposure to Mako radiation. My parentage is unknown.

[fionnuisce]

Mako radiation? Could you tell me more about that?

[pinnaculum]

[Professor Sephiroth is only too happy to speak about something he knows.]

Mako is a refined, liquid version of a substance found within the planet, produced in reactors. It is green and gives off light. It is a potent mutagen. It is used as a source of electrical power, or it was before the calamity. It is also used to make Materia. The process of refining Mako was begun by Shinra Electric Power Company.

[fionnuisce]

...

[What.]

I don't even know where to start with that.

[pinnaculum]

You don't? [It all seems self-evident to Sephiroth, but he did grow up with this knowledge. Waver's reaction only encourages his desire to explain more, matter-of-factly.]

I have Materia. It is condensed Mako. It is what enables people to use magic.

[He lifts his arm to show the armband he's wearing, with its four round slots, each filled with a gemlike object that glows faintly.]

[fionnuisce]

[He knelt down to be a little closer to Sephiroth's level, inspecting the armband carefully.]

So people in your world can just use magic with these? Nothing else, no bloodline or skill requirements?

[pinnaculum]

Yes, that's right. They can be purchased at shops. Though some people have greater skill with using them and produce greater results, and some Materia are very rare.

Mine are not. [Unfortunately.] Different Materia have different effects. Those are Restore, Heal, Seal, and Barrier.

[fionnuisce]

You can just buy the ability to use magic?

[Yeah, literally everything else has now been dropped for this.]

You're kidding.

[pinnaculum]

It is not a joke. But Materia can be expensive and should not be used by someone without proper training, or they can harm themselves.

Some Materia can cause Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Earth attacks. [Sephiroth really wishes he had those instead of his comparatively boring defense and support Materia.] There are many kinds.

[fionnuisce]

That's unbelievable. Are they really that simple to find, though?

[pinnaculum]

Most Materia are man made, from Mako. Shinra used to make them. Materia also grow in power and size as they are used and form new Materia.

[Sephiroth could go on all day about Materia, or about any of his weaponry.]

Natural ones are more powerful, but very difficult to find.

[fionnuisce]

That's amazing...where I come from, magecraft's the sort of thing refined through either generations of bloodline or lifetimes of hard work. Just picking up the ability to use it is completely unheard of.

[pinnaculum]

Your world must be very different. We do not have inherited magic. I would like to learn more about the magic of other worlds. I met someone who could summon a magical spear. They were from Earth. Can you do things like that? [Sephiroth had been particularly impressed by the spear summoning. Imagine, your weapon being part of you! The whole subject has made him much more talkative than usual.] Do you think I could use Earth magic?

Some people have other magical attacks. I do because of the Project and my exposure to Mako radiation.

[fionnuisce]

Summon a--I bet that was Lancer. He's kind of a special case. And now that you mention it, I wonder... [Waver hesitated, thinking it over for a few seconds.] I don't know if it would translate; but if you have a proficiency in this form of magic, I can't say it's impossible. Improbable and unlikely, but I wouldn't be incredibly stunned if it turned out you could.

[Being a teacher and a researcher of sorts, Waver's interest was completely caught as well. The idea of different forms of magic translating into his own world's magecraft was a fascinating concept.]

[pinnaculum]

His name is Diarmuid, and we are going to make swords together. [Some actual excitement crept into Sephiroth's usually neutral tone.] Is he a special case because he is a Servant? [Sephiroth had managed to ask Diarmuid a lot of questions, too.]

I am exceptionally skilled in magic. [He stated this simply. It was just a fact.] I would like to learn it, if I can. I can teach you how to use Materia.

[fionnuisce]

Yeah, that's him. He was my Servant, at least in the world I come from. Servants are kind of magic in and of themselves, so summoning weapons and armor is nothing for them.

... [It didn't take a genius to see Sephiroth was talented in more ways than one. And if there was anyone that was a sucker for talent, it was this lecturer of the Clock Tower.]

I can try to teach you, but there's no way I can promise it'll actually work.

[pinnaculum]

You were in the Holy Grail war, too. Do you think the Grail really grants a wish? [Sephiroth wasn't at all sure about that in his conversation with Diarmuid. "Wishes" didn't seem very scientific, not like the science magic he knew so well.] I wish I could summon weapons and armor. [As skeptical as he may have been of wishes, that didn't mean he didn't have any.]

Even if I cannot use it, I would like to learn more about it. [After all, what was wrong with knowledge for knowledge's sake?]

[fionnuisce]

I don't think that it does, no. It should, but...well, never mind. It's not that important right now.

[Waver shook his head, disregarding all thoughts on the corrupt Grail or the disaster he'd seen it part of.]

Even if it turns out you can't use it, I guess teaching a little about it couldn't hurt.

[pinnaculum]

I didn't think so. [He says this simply. It had seemed less likely, that was all.]

No, this is not the War of Masters and Servants. I have met another Servant. His name is Lancelot. He said what mattered was fighting with honor, even if there was no wish.

[Sephiroth is pleased about this idea. Fighting with honor. It's very familiar, for some reason.]

So you will teach me?

[Please say yes.]

[fionnuisce]

Sure. I guess I don't see anything wrong with giving it a try. Besides, we could probably teach each other some useful things even if our magecraft isn't compatible.