Icicles filled the long window

[pinnaculum]

Characters: Sephiroth and you!
Setting: The dormitory floors, Floor 81, possibly moving to other floors
When: Forward dated to event start, April 15th
Format: Starting as action brackets, but I'll match you
Summary: Brainwashed Sephiroth is in group C. He does his duty. Except when he doesn't.
Warnings: Body horror, blood, possible violence


I: Dormitory Floors
[Sephiroth is standing quietly in your room, by your bed, when you wake up. The small child's body parts have been swapped, seemingly at random, his legs reversed, his arms uneven, his fingers out of order. There's a hospital gown sewn to his body, and his green eyes are glowing. There's no way of telling how long he's been standing there, but he must have been watching you sleep, possibly for some time.]

II: Dormitory Floors
[Sephiroth is suddenly overcome with the urge to do something... He doesn't know why, but he wants to experiment. That would be interesting, wouldn't it? There must be a suitable experiment in the area that he can work on. He moves through the dormitory floors quickly, teleporting from place to place down the corridors, studying everyone he sees, searching for a likely subject. He won't give up until he's found one.]

III: Floor 81
[Wearing nothing but his sewn-on hospital gown, he stands on the glass of the bulging out windows, gazing up at the stars. He'd woken up here suddenly. This is one of his favorite floors, isn't it? He likes to watch the stars, but he doesn't remember coming here. He's aware that something's very wrong, but he's unable to do anything about it. He looks down at his hands. They're covered in blood, and he's carrying a series of small, fleshy objects in his arms, the remnants of body parts. He doesn't remember where they came from. He glances down at the glass beneath his feet and sees that he's standing in a pool of blood, with a trail of blood leading back to the stairs.

Yes, something is very wrong.]

Comments

[pinnaculum]

[He tugs on her hand again as she leads him along. She's slower than he is. He's not sure where to go with her. The laboratory is far away, isn't it? But they should be there, or somewhere like it. Maybe she needs help. She's still wearing bandages, and her eye is covered. He could help her.

He nods, willing to agree with her statement as long as he can stay with her.]

[sicharia]

[It would be quickest to use the elevator now, so that's what Claudia intends to do. Of course she wants to take him back up to the dormitory levels. She can make sure he's washed in one of the bathrooms there. She doesn't speak again as they walk now, her thoughts temporarily preoccupied with trying to decide what to do after that.]

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth doesn't object to their approach of the elevator. It would be much faster, he thinks, better than the stairs. He doesn't intend to return to the dormitory levels, however.

Once they're in the elevator, he moves forward quickly and pushes the button for floor twenty-one.]

[sicharia]

...Eh?

[He's quick, and she doesn't expect that action at all. So, she doesn't react fast enough to stop him, and once the button is pressed, her only immediate reaction is a blank stare. It's a second or two before she kneels down again, putting herself on his level as she tries to decide how to question him.]

Is there somewhere you wanted to go?

[pinnaculum]

[He nods again, more emphatically, with another tug on her hand. Yes, he wants to go to the lab. Maybe he can fix both of them there.

He's glad he's in control of himself for the moment. This is clearly something he needs to do. The thought is so strong and clear in his mind that he doesn't question it. It makes perfect sense.]

[sicharia]

[Her expression momentarily clouds as she thinks. She might have had other plans herself, but if this is something he's insistent on...]

...All right. [She tries to smile, then, though the expression is a little forced.] I guess I'll just have to wait and see where, hm?

[She doesn't suspect anything sinister. After all, he had been such a friendly, helpful child during their previous conversation.]

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth brightens as she agrees. When the elevator door closes behind them, he nods again, keeping his hold on her bandaged hand.

This will be good. The elevators are slow, of course, but faster than the stairs, especially as Claudia doesn't move quickly. Maybe when he fixes her, her can make her faster, like he is.]

[sicharia]

[Her smile strengthens when he brightens, and she can't help that the expression is a little fond. He seems like a good child. It's heartbreaking to see him like this, but that only reinforces her determination to make sure he's looked after now. She doesn't attempt to pull her hand away from his, instead lifting the other to pat his head.]

Afterwards, though, I'd like you to go back to the dormitories with me. Is that okay?

[pinnaculum]

[She even has white hair, like he does, and her eyes are different than most people's, like his. Maybe she really is like him. Even though he was the only human subject in the lab, she could be from a similar experiment.

He considers her question and neither nods nor shakes his head, instead tilting it to one side, as if uncertain.

Part of him does want to go back, that part of him that has been conditioned to work on the residential floors, but he would rather work on his experiments. He won't be able to do that if the other units see him.

He will be a better researcher than the professor.]

[sicharia]

[She picks up on his uncertainty and offers a straightforward explanation.]

I'm just concerned about you. [She glances downward, at his jumbled body.] Something has been done to you, hasn't it? I want to make sure you're okay. Besides— We need to get that blood cleaned up off you. It isn't good for you to walk around like that.

[pinnaculum]

[He looks at her, then down at himself again. He doesn't mind the fact that he's covered in blood, although he normally does his best to remain clean, even after killing, but what she says about his body is true.

Slowly, he nods. He can't deny that something has been done to him. Whether he's also agreeing to go along with her isn't entirely clear, however.]

[sicharia]

[She doesn't take it as such, so she goes on.]

I can't make you do anything you don't want to, and I wouldn't want to. [Even if he's a child, that doesn't mean she can simply ignore his wishes, after all.] But... I think it would be better if you stayed with other people until someone is able to fix—this. Please?

[It might be a little backwards for the adult to be pleading like this to the child, but that's what she does.]

[pinnaculum]

[He listens. It's not as if he wants to go back to his work or to the lower levels.

After another pause, he nods again. He can go with her. Once she's fixed. He doesn't think of how he'll be compelled to do otherwise, too caught up in eagerness about his research.

Thinking of that, he glances at the elevator door, knowing the elevator is slow but eager to arrive. He keeps his grip on Claudia's hand. It's a strong grip.]

[sicharia]

[Her response is a wide, genuine smile. His agreement comes as a relief. She doesn't mind the grip on her hand at all, and she uses her other to stroke his hair again.]

All right. Thank you. I'm really glad.

[pinnaculum]

[He nods again, more excited as they should be there soon. He's never been able to do a real experiment before! He will be a much better researcher than the professor.

When the elevator door opens, he tugs on her arm again, eager to pull her through it. There's a lot of strength in his grasp and pull. They still have to walk up to the lab from the restaurant.]

[sicharia]

[She's surprised by the strength with which he pulls her, but she supposes he must be eager to take her wherever it is he wants to go. She has already gathered that he isn't an ordinary child, so her surprise at the force is quickly forgotten.]

Alright, alright, I'm coming!

[She could almost laugh, if it weren't for the state he's currently in. As things are now, the most she can manage is another weak smile.]

[pinnaculum]

[The elevator lets them out onto the restaurant floor, but Sephiroth couldn't be less interested in the restaurant, guiding them immediately to the stairs, tugging at her arm again.

Not much longer now. He's quick on the stairs, but tries to hold back, as she's slow. That will be fixed soon. He'll make her better, like he is. She must be a failed experiment, but he'll see to that. Soon she'll be a success.]

[sicharia]

[She can tell he wants to hurry, so she does her best to climb the stairs as quickly as she can. Since it would be fruitless ask him where they're going, she remains largely quiet as they move, her attention turned toward their surroundings. Really, she can't even guess at where he might be leading her; she hasn't been here long enough to have a solid idea of which floors are where.]

Are we close?

[pinnaculum]

[He continues to urge her on, if not too forcefully, as they make their way up the stairs. He nods again, because they're not far at all now.

Sephiroth knows all the floors, if not by heart, then fairly well, having made a point of exploring them and doing his best to memorize them.

That's how he knows how many floors they have to go up until they arrive at the lab. He pulls her from the staircase through the door and onto the twenty-seventh floor. All the equipment is bright and promising, not to mention the supplies. This floor, more than any other, reminds him of his home.

For that reason, he usually doesn't spend a great deal of time here. It attracts him, yet repels him. Now, however, there's nowhere else he'd rather be. He pulls her on, looking for a suitable table where he can place her, so he can start his work.]

[sicharia]

[The scenery that he leads her to makes Claudia pause. For her part, this floor is nothing like anything she is accustomed to; her one visible eye blinks owlishly as she peers around the room. She tries to stop and stand still, so that she can get her bearings, but he pulls on her again, and she winds up half-stumbling and taking another step forward whether she wants to or not.]

Wait, wait— Hold on. What are...

[She wants to ask what they're doing there, but he can't exactly answer that now. Even now, she doesn't suspect him of anything; she's only confused.]

[pinnaculum]

[He nods again. It's not the most exact means of communication, but he's getting used to it. It says all that he needs to at the moment. Now that they're here, everything should become clear. That he's going to help her.

There's an operating table, there. Just what he needs. He moves her toward it. She can lie down there.]

[sicharia]

[She doesn't really understand what he means to say with that nod, but she follows without resisting, allowing him to pull her along. However, her lips purse, and she casts another uncertain glance around the laboratory.]

I don't understand.

[pinnaculum]

[He takes her to the operating table and points at her, then indicates it. He nods yet again, almost cheerfully. She should sit down.

He's already looking around for other things he can use, but without taking part of his attention off of her.

There are restraints here, too. Not surprising in a lab in the tower.]

[sicharia]

[She does sit when he indicates she should, but she doesn't relax. Instead, she perches lightly, looking ready to hop off again at a moment's notice. She folds her hands in her lap, the fingers of one seizing tightly around the wrist of the other to hold them together. The presence of the restraints isn't lost on her.]

Sephiroth, what are we doing?

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth points at himself, then at Claudia. Then he points down at various points on his body, indicating the alterations that have been made. Then he points at the operating table again and nods.

That all makes sense, doesn't it? She should lie down. That would be better. He indicates for her to do as much with a gesture of his hands.]