✘ 17 ✘ coincidence

[notwhatiwas]

...Is there anyone from Gaia here who isn't--and hasn't ever been--part of ShinRa's Administrative Research Division?

[He sounds genuinely curious, under the neutrality normal for his tone of voice.]I already knew that a large number of the people on this ship who come from the same world are acquainted with each other, like we're selected in

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[skin_and_steel]

I've wondered about that. Makes you wonder if Redd's just picking people that he knows will get under our skin. I mean, of all the people he could just pluck out...

[notwhatiwas]

I do wonder. The balance for those from my planet is almost striking now that the fourth is here. And we all originated from the same department.

[skin_and_steel]

...the fourth? Do you mean those bastards that you told me about? [There's just a hint of anger at the end, though not directed at Vincent himself.]

[notwhatiwas]

...No. Not exactly.

[He's quiet for a second. Edward's been on and off the network lately, he wouldn't really know.]

One is my old...director.

[There's something left unsaid there; the weight of his words is even heavier than usual, there has to be some kind of serious baggage attached to that man.]

The newest is his apprentice, who became his second some time after I was killed--in my timeframe, he's been the director for some time. The other is his second, the one who arrived here a month after I did.

We all started in the same group, the same subset of the company.

[Beat.]

But they had nothing to do with the experiments.

[skin_and_steel]

[Vincent's tone of voice implies a lot of things left unsaid, as though he's biting words right at the tip of his tongue. He debates for a few moments if it's a good idea to ask Vincent to explain what he means. No doubt it's not exactly a pleasant topic.]

But nevertheless, their presence here bothers you. Most people are thrilled if they see someone from their own world.

[Well, save for Edward, but that's besides the point.]

Even if they weren't directly involved in the experiments, something about them still makes you uneasy. If they were directors, would they have known about the experiments to begin with?

[notwhatiwas]

[He speaks quickly, sharply, with an undertone that makes it sound like he's insulted Edward would even suggest such a thing.]

They had nothing to do with it. That's not--

[Pause. Deep breath. Sigh.]

[Locked to Edward // 55% Unhackable]

The former director was my partner. Before. The current director is my replacement. I almost killed the current second just before the rains came.

[He has good reason to be uneasy around them.]

[skin_and_steel]

[He hadn't been expecting such a vehement defense of the men from Vincent. Or the fact that Vincent almost killed one of them. He's quiet for a few moments.]

D-did something happen to make you do that? I-I mean, I'm sure you weren't just lashing out without a reason. That monster you were telling me about, that thing they made in you - was that what almost did it?

[He isn't disturbed or disgusted by the revelation so much as just... shocked. Considering how Vincent and him have interacted, Ed doesn't want to assume the worst unless he absolutely has to.]

[Locked // 55% Unhackable]

[notwhatiwas]

I can't blame Chaos. I'd like to, but...

[He goes back into that toolowtoofast tone of his, the one that so few people can keep up with given his careful lack of inflection.]

I was already emotionally unstable. Some petty insults tipped the scales and triggered a transformation--the most powerful one I have, the demigod called Chaos. I seriously injured a woman called Isabella and all but ripped Reno apart with my bare hands.

There's very little I'd like as much as being able to blame Chaos, but I should have been able to stabilize myself better. If I can't blame my gun for shooting people, I can't blame the monsters inside me for shredding them. Two people could have died, and it's no one's fault but mine.