027 ‡ Action | Accidental Video | Audio
[It wasn't unusual that the city had its little oddities, and so the appearance of a mansion was not much of a surprise. At least, it wasn't for Elena, who had been through over a year's worth of oddities and events that held no rhyme or reason. After a few minute's consideration, she had left the warmth of her apartment to make a little visit of the new place, to investigate the building from top to bottom. Buildings didn't just pop out of nowhere for no good reason, did they?]
Creepy....
[Could this building be any more reminiscent of the ShinRa Manor in Nibelheim? Dust lay in thick layers across every surface, the air thick and ominious. All that it was missing was a creepy vampire-monster-man sleeping in a coffin and a super-secret lab with a massive library of research material deep it the bowels of the building. Bravely - or stupidly - Elena worked her way deeper into the checking each room with meticulous detail.]
ena..
[Elena stopped, listening. A whisper of the wind, perhaps. The building was old and rickety.]
‘Lena…
[Her breath lodged in her throat. Had she…heard…? No, it was just her imagination. She had an investigation to complete -]
Elena.
[Her entire body froze, hair bristling on the back of her neck. That was a voice all right, no matter how much she could pretend she didn’t hear it. But what really was bothering her was the fact that the voice was so damn familiar. Memory teased her, recognition just on the tip of her tongue.]
Turn around.
[And turn she did, eyes wide, looking for the owner of the voice. A voice that was - was! Nothing. She was, as she had thought, alone in the room. Nobody had followed her in and there was no sound of footsteps following her. Just dark silence. She gently wiped at her forehead, sighing audibly. It was all her imagination wasn’t it? She couldn’t be -
Out of the corner of her eye, movement. Black suit. Long strands of raven black hair floating behind the figure as it stopped in the doorway, turning to look at her before moving onward.]
T-Tseng!!
[Audio || Locked to Reno]
Reno! I just - I just saw Tseng!
[Rushed footsteps echo in the background.]
Damn it, where’d he go?! How fast can you get here, Reno? It looked like….It looked like he was bleeding.
Elena, you talk too much. [Footsteps come to a thudding halt, floorboards creaking under her weight as she takes a single step forward.]
Tseng?
[There is a startled, gasping noise, followed quickly by the sound of the communicator hitting the floor.]
[Accidental Video Feed Start]
[The view is turned sideways, the owner’s communicator having been haphazardly dropped and left to rest on the hardwood floor. It appears that the feed is coming from an office/library in the mansion, a single figure standing in front of a desk thickly covered in years of dust. Blood seeps from the open wound of his forehead ad a secondary wound on his left cheek.]
T-Tseng…?
Elena.
[Footsteps sound again from behind the communicator, a pair of legs coming into view, then torso, then a mop of blonde. Her body is almost shaking, taking several more steps forward, unsure of what she was seeing. He was too…too solid to be an illusion. But she hadn't seen him arrive, hadn't heard his name mentioned. Not even once. If she could just reach out and touch-]
When did you get here, Tseng? I didn’t see you arrive. If I had known-
Elena. Should have never hired you. Elena. Pathetic.
W-what? [Shock. Surprise. She had worked so hard, she'd dedicated her life to the Turks. They were her whole world. Why would he-?]
Can’t shoot STRAIGHT, can you? You couldn’t defeat them. You let this happen. Just a temporary Turk. You let them hurt me - let them nearly kill me. Elena.
Tseng…? What-what are you saying? I didn’t-!
All your fault. Never meant to keep you. You’re not strong enough. Wortheless. Useless!
[Hands pressed against her ears, the voices echoing loudly, thundering in her head. Shoulders curled in, body leaning forward, her head shaking violently from side to side. Was this what he really thought? She had felt so much guilt, repressed it under layers and layers of therapy and alcohol, kept it away from ever reaching the surface. They didn't talk about what had happened, there was no need to. It was all written there in the sealed, classified file. But she never knew - never fully knew - just what his thoughts were about what happened. They just didn't talk about it. Silence was her only comfort.] NO! I DID WHAT I COULD! TSENG, I TRIED TO-
[The entirety of her body rushes forward, body straight and arms outstretched to grab him. To shake him out of his delirium. Fingers brushed against the black of his jacket, the fabric cold, and suddenly the figure vanished in a puff of smoke. Melting away under her fingertips into nothingness.]
…A-ah! T-tseng…? Tseng?!
[Her hands are the only part of her that’s visibly shaking, her suit hiding the increasing tremors that shook her straight to her core. Her body moves on its own accord, taking several steps backwards before turning, her face no longer in view. Boots stop in front of the running video feed.]
Oh Summons damn it….
This is a warning for all residents, stay out of the mansion.
[The feed is abruptly ended.]
Creepy....
[Could this building be any more reminiscent of the ShinRa Manor in Nibelheim? Dust lay in thick layers across every surface, the air thick and ominious. All that it was missing was a creepy vampire-monster-man sleeping in a coffin and a super-secret lab with a massive library of research material deep it the bowels of the building. Bravely - or stupidly - Elena worked her way deeper into the checking each room with meticulous detail.]
ena..
[Elena stopped, listening. A whisper of the wind, perhaps. The building was old and rickety.]
‘Lena…
[Her breath lodged in her throat. Had she…heard…? No, it was just her imagination. She had an investigation to complete -]
Elena.
[Her entire body froze, hair bristling on the back of her neck. That was a voice all right, no matter how much she could pretend she didn’t hear it. But what really was bothering her was the fact that the voice was so damn familiar. Memory teased her, recognition just on the tip of her tongue.]
Turn around.
[And turn she did, eyes wide, looking for the owner of the voice. A voice that was - was! Nothing. She was, as she had thought, alone in the room. Nobody had followed her in and there was no sound of footsteps following her. Just dark silence. She gently wiped at her forehead, sighing audibly. It was all her imagination wasn’t it? She couldn’t be -
Out of the corner of her eye, movement. Black suit. Long strands of raven black hair floating behind the figure as it stopped in the doorway, turning to look at her before moving onward.]
T-Tseng!!
[Audio || Locked to Reno]
Reno! I just - I just saw Tseng!
[Rushed footsteps echo in the background.]
Damn it, where’d he go?! How fast can you get here, Reno? It looked like….It looked like he was bleeding.
Elena, you talk too much. [Footsteps come to a thudding halt, floorboards creaking under her weight as she takes a single step forward.]
Tseng?
[There is a startled, gasping noise, followed quickly by the sound of the communicator hitting the floor.]
[Accidental Video Feed Start]
[The view is turned sideways, the owner’s communicator having been haphazardly dropped and left to rest on the hardwood floor. It appears that the feed is coming from an office/library in the mansion, a single figure standing in front of a desk thickly covered in years of dust. Blood seeps from the open wound of his forehead ad a secondary wound on his left cheek.]
T-Tseng…?
Elena.
[Footsteps sound again from behind the communicator, a pair of legs coming into view, then torso, then a mop of blonde. Her body is almost shaking, taking several more steps forward, unsure of what she was seeing. He was too…too solid to be an illusion. But she hadn't seen him arrive, hadn't heard his name mentioned. Not even once. If she could just reach out and touch-]
When did you get here, Tseng? I didn’t see you arrive. If I had known-
Elena. Should have never hired you. Elena. Pathetic.
W-what? [Shock. Surprise. She had worked so hard, she'd dedicated her life to the Turks. They were her whole world. Why would he-?]
Can’t shoot STRAIGHT, can you? You couldn’t defeat them. You let this happen. Just a temporary Turk. You let them hurt me - let them nearly kill me. Elena.
Tseng…? What-what are you saying? I didn’t-!
All your fault. Never meant to keep you. You’re not strong enough. Wortheless. Useless!
[Hands pressed against her ears, the voices echoing loudly, thundering in her head. Shoulders curled in, body leaning forward, her head shaking violently from side to side. Was this what he really thought? She had felt so much guilt, repressed it under layers and layers of therapy and alcohol, kept it away from ever reaching the surface. They didn't talk about what had happened, there was no need to. It was all written there in the sealed, classified file. But she never knew - never fully knew - just what his thoughts were about what happened. They just didn't talk about it. Silence was her only comfort.] NO! I DID WHAT I COULD! TSENG, I TRIED TO-
[The entirety of her body rushes forward, body straight and arms outstretched to grab him. To shake him out of his delirium. Fingers brushed against the black of his jacket, the fabric cold, and suddenly the figure vanished in a puff of smoke. Melting away under her fingertips into nothingness.]
…A-ah! T-tseng…? Tseng?!
[Her hands are the only part of her that’s visibly shaking, her suit hiding the increasing tremors that shook her straight to her core. Her body moves on its own accord, taking several steps backwards before turning, her face no longer in view. Boots stop in front of the running video feed.]
Oh Summons damn it….
This is a warning for all residents, stay out of the mansion.
[The feed is abruptly ended.]