01 | video
[It's about mid-afternoon when yet another new arrival appears out of thin air into the middle of the baseball diamond. He stumbles, as if he'd been expecting stairs, and that's when his phone falls on the ground, flipping open, and the video feed turns on.
Sephiroth spends a moment holding his head, blinks blearily, but seems to get over the ( Read more... )
Sephiroth spends a moment holding his head, blinks blearily, but seems to get over the ( Read more... )
Comments 35
There should be a greeter nearby, but to cut a long story short, you're in Canada. Welcome to Siren's Port.
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Canada. Siren's Port.
The names mean nothing, which surprises him. Sephiroth studied maps of Gaia as part of his childhood training, he knew the world he lived upon, but no such place existed there. How odd.
Sephiroth gives him a thin-lipped smile for the sake of being polite.]
That means very little to me. In this case, I may prefer the long story.
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[A pause as he clarifies it in his mind.]
There are more worlds than you know. Possibly thousands of them, each more different than the last. In this place there exists a piece of technology known as the Core. Now for whatever reason, this Core has decided to bring you here, to this dimension, from your own. There is no way of leaving this Island - the Pull restricts it. And there are monsters that only appear at night, when the Darkness comes and which cannot get indoors as long as the house is securely shut up - down to every window.
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Unfortunately, he had no desire to appreciate it. For once, he needed to return to ShinRa more than ever before and if there was no way of leaving this Island...]
Thank you, that does explain some things.
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There aren't any greeters out on the diamond?
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As far as I can see, there aren't.
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Siren's Port, Canada. You got dumped here 'cause of the Pull. If you didn't have powers before, then you'll probably get 'em now. No, you can't go home. And if you can't hold your own in a fight against monsters, get inside somewhere before siren. You've got a month free at the two nearest double towers- landlord'll give you a key-
Geez. They should pay me to do this!
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Thank you for the information, it's good to know.
[He decides to ignore the last bit. Frankly, he got the impression the kid didn't actually want to be speaking to him, but curiosity drives him to ask...]
What's your name, if I'm not being too forward?
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There's no grasping at straws this time, looking for a man he'd never met in small similarities of other people. There was no room for uncertainty. It was like triggering a memory that had always been there, but buried deep. And yet, that overbearing sense of his mind suddenly belonging to someone else, so similar to Reunion, never came. That had been his first warning the last time Sephiroth had come here, long before he'd ever spoken on the network. After that, barely being able to sense the man at all was even more disturbing.
It's a while before he replies, after watching and re-watching the entry on the network to familiarise himself with that image. Mother's perfect son...]
-You don't remember it. This place.
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Could this face belong to--? Could Professor Hojo have--? But he reminds himself that he's in a different world, as inexplicable as that is, and Professor Hojo's moronic influence could not possibly stretch here as well.
Yet, judging by the statement, the speaker knows of him. Slowly, he shakes his head.]
I don't. [Why was he expected to? Had he been here before? His voice remained calm even as his mind raced.] I've never been here before.
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Kadaj glances away, jaw tightening. Of course he wouldn't remember. Some people did, some people didn't... and Sephiroth of all people was one who forgot. The Remnant can't quite decide if it's a good thing or a bad one.]
You were. Months ago now. I- [He'd been so angry when Sephiroth had disappeared. There's anger there now, mixed in with a whirlwind of other emotions. Frustration, disappointment, anxiety...]
I'm coming to meet you.
[The words are taut, as though he's fighting hard to keep his voice level. He's already heading out to his motorbike, not waiting for a reply. He may fear and envy this man to the point of loathing, but he was still inexplicably drawn to him.]
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Though he decided to not argue the point. If Kadaj chose to believe that he had, maybe Sephiroth had something to learn about this world from the mistake.]
...Alright.
[The conversation had moved on. The video showed enough of Sephiroth's background that someone who knew their way around the city would be able to find him, and as he wasn't asked his location, he assumed Kadaj didn't need it.
Meeting Kadaj in person could dispel the slight, gnawing fear that Kadaj was somehow, impossibly Sephiroth's clone. It couldn't hurt.]
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Sir, it's a little complicated-
[He stops, suddenly indecisive and rigid. Relief no longer seemed appropriate, not after the story Tifa had told him of what their future held. Was it possible that this Sephiroth wasn't the one he knew, but the one that would try to destroy the world?]
... What's... that last thing you remember?
[Not that he really needed to know to gauge which Sephiroth he was speaking to; if Tifa had been completely honest with him, then Cloud expected the General's reaction to him would be telling enough.]
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[The voice and the face are both familiar, though he can't place the name. He remembers the cadet because Zack mentioned him several times on the way to Nibelheim - something about whether or not he was excited to go home.
At the very least, the blond certainly seemed to know him and that came as an unexpected comfort between the reactions he'd gotten from the others who responded to his message.]
Nibelheim. We had just finished a preliminary inspection of the mako reactor.
[He'd been on his way to do some further research into barely related matters when he was pulled away.]
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[It's sheer discipline that keeps the stupid grin off his face; he's never been so thankful to be unrecognized, a nobody. It meant that, even though he'd still made it to Nibelheim and the reactor, Sephiroth was still sane. Jenova hadn't gotten to him.
He just hopes Tifa doesn't see the General before Cloud had time to explain to her that everything's OK.]
I've been here almost a month, so if there's any further debriefing you need, I can provide what intel I have. Do you require an escort to the apartments?
[The last offer is largely a formality, considering the idea of Sephiroth needing protection is laughable, but he doesn't want to be disrespectful.]
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Thank you, I've got the basics for now, I believe, unless there is anything pertinent that I'm not aware of. [The others who have responded to his message provided enough information to get to the apartments, at least. From there, he planned to inquire about a library.]
No, I can find my way. [He could see the buildings easily enough from where he was.
And, since he couldn't recall it himself:] I would like to know your name, however...
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It's a phenomenon known as the Pull, the Core brought all of us Newcomers here, including y-yourself.
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I see. [He gives her a smile in thanks.] I assume it isn't reversible...
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