[Locked; Sephiroth]

[lithium_soldier]

Answer me you bastard. I know where you are.

- Hellsing

Comments

[silver_soldier]

I've been busy.

[lithium_soldier]

Oh? Enlighten me.

[silver_soldier]

If you already know where I am, then I expect you can guess what I've been doing here.

...I wish I could report that I've found survivors, if only to justify my staying behind. If there was anyone alive left behind after the evacuation, the plague got to them before I could. I'm sorry.

[lithium_soldier]

That is not your responsibility. You are a civilian. You should have been on those ships with everyone else while the army handled the situation.

Should the virus infect you I will personally drag your sorry blackened carcass out of hell and place it somewhere far more unpleasant. Is that understood? Get back here now.

[silver_soldier]

As you yourself are clearly aware, I am a civilian and therefore not bound to follow anyone's orders. I expect you would have done the same as I have, if you weren't needed elsewhere.

None of your men could be spared for this, and you would never have asked it of any of them. I'm not one of your men, and you didn't ask me.

[lithium_soldier]

I am not asking you as a General. I am asking you as a friend. I don't --

You said yourself that there are no more survivors. Why are you still there?

[silver_soldier]

I'll come back. Soon. But right now -

Intelligence gathering, mostly. It took me some time to sweep the town thoroughly, but now that I've finished, I've been doing what I can to collect information. This is a new threat that we know next to nothing about, and someone has to do this or we can't possibly combat it.

You know how few were evacuated, Integra. And everyone on Traverse was exposed to this. Logically, Hollow Bastion may well be the site of the next outbreak, and we need to be prepared as soon as possible for that eventuality. No matter how high the risk I'm taking may be, it cannot possibly outweigh the value of what I'm trying to accomplish.

[lithium_soldier]

Do you need to get in contact with the research team?

[silver_soldier]

I'm already in contact with them. They're monitoring Traverse closely; I wasn't going to escape their notice for long.

I suppose it would be pointless to tell you not to worry about me? As far as I can tell, I'm not infected. At the moment I'm more likely to become ill due to putrefaction than from the virus.

[lithium_soldier]

Just let me know what you find out. Preferably on a regular basis.

[silver_soldier]

I was planning to keep in contact with you from the start; I simply waited until the quarantine was in effect. For my own protection, you understand.

[lithium_soldier]

You did promise to return to Hollow Bastion soon. I am eagerly awaiting your arrival.

[silver_soldier]

Mm...I'm sure you are. There's a reason I didn't name a time or place.

[lithium_soldier]

You never did have a healthy sense of self-preservation.

[silver_soldier]

I can't argue that.

...I am sorry I worried you.

[lithium_soldier]

I know. It can't be helped.