Exploration and Contemplation

[heavenslament]

Who: Terra Branford and OPEN
When: Now-ish? I'm flexible.
Where: Lunar Subterrane (Cosmos territory)
What: Scouting the area
Type: Log/Action (Both are welcome; I'll reply in whatever format you tag me with.)
Notes/Warnings: New threads okay, no limit to number of responses, separate threads for different characters

Comments

[obsidian_chaos]

Thanks to Terra's assistance earlier, Shadow knew now how to travel from one area to the next. Understanding the territory would be beneficial during the war, especially since he soon discovered that not all the realms had been connected to each other

[obsidian_chaos]

"A challenge to his existence. Hm. I can understand that." And Shadow had. Others' existence had helped to verify his own, and again, it led him back to thinking that there needed to be that duality or dichotomy. There had been plenty of theories that were similar. One would never know motion without something stationary. An experiment needed a control in order to properly test a hypothesis.

Shadow looked at his glove, turning the golden bracelet around his wrist around once before turning his attention back to her. "Once this is all over, what's waiting for you at your home?"

[heavenslament]

There was a long stretch of silence as Terra stared away. She bit her lip, wondering if she should just lie...but she didn't enjoy the idea and she wasn't good at it, anyway. "I...I don't know. I don't remember anything about my world, except that Kefka's from it, too. I've tried to remember, but I can barely recall more than an impression before it all slips away. If I return, I think it will all come back to me.

...I hope."

[obsidian_chaos]

That answer also surprised him. He heard of someone else not being able to remember comrades they had been with seconds before, but knew where he had come from. But in her case, she remembered someone from her world, but couldn't recall her home.

"If you don't remember, then this Kefka character might not either. I think if you were taken from your world, the only way to leave your world undisturbed from your absence is to return all your memories to you once you go back."

He could only hope for that as well.

[heavenslament]

At that thought, Terra turned back to glance at him. Worried faded a little, replaced by faint hope. Only faint, though. She didn't want to seem to trust the idea too much, only to be let down. "You think so? I hope you're right. I just wish I could have them here and now. However pleasant or unpleasant those memories are, they're still mine. I don't feel quite right without them."

[obsidian_chaos]

It was still difficult to fathom the idea of grasping at fleeting images or ideas, or not to see them at all. Memory loss or tampering with memory really did not sit well with him. At home, he claimed to be one of, if not the, most powerful being on the planet, but seemed to be the only one, out of all those he had encountered, who struggled with his own memory or identity.

"There isn't anyone who has only pleasant or only unpleasant memories. But it's only right that you feel incomplete without them."

What had the gods been thinking when they stripped away memories? And why only certain individuals? It made him wonder more about the gods' true motivations.

"... If Cosmos did appear before you, and she would answer one question to you truthfully, what would you ask?"

[heavenslament]

Terra frowned in thought, as she peered up at the stares. Somehow, doing so helped her sort out her thoughts. Her voice was soft, as though half-speaking to herself and not just him. "I would ask her why this is happening again. I would want to know what we did wrong, or didn't do, that this continues. If I had answers to that, maybe I could help resolve this once and for all."

She turns to him and shrugs. "I guess it would be more relevant to ask what we could do now, but I want to know if what we're doing will really resolve anything this time...or if it will just perpetuate this war."

[obsidian_chaos]

Shadow, his arms still crossed tightly against his chest, shifted his weight from his right leg to the left. Once she gave her answer, he waved his hand once.

"No, your question is fine. I didn't ask about relevancy, only more about what you'd want to ask."

It did show him how determined she was to bring the war to an end, and in a sense, help others at the same time. If there were no war, there was no reason to snatch anyone away from their homes.

"Would it be wrong to assume that if you had the opportunity to go home right now, but the war was still ongoing, you would stay?"

[heavenslament]

At that, Terra's answer was quick and decisive. She nodded immediately. "Yes, I would. I couldn't abandon Cosmos, or those I fight alongside. If they had to stay, then I would too. Besides...I'm not sure there would be a home to return to, if this isn't resolved. So, I would stay to the end in hopes that I could help preserve the balance Cosmos fights to protect."

[obsidian_chaos]

"I see. I suppose if fighting this war and winning it for Cosmos means saving our home worlds, then I should do my part too."

He was beginning to understand a little bit more about the thought process of the heroes here and at home. It must really be a universal concept, being that selfless.

"I still wouldn't wish for you or anyone to be stuck here, no matter how resolute you may be." He knew that everyone would have varying degrees of determination when it came to ending the war. Yet to be fated to keep fighting and fighting without end seemed worse than death.

[heavenslament]

Terra shrugged, a wry smile forming on her lips. "I know...I don't want anyone to be stranded here, either. But since it doesn't seem as though that's up to us, we'll just have to do what we can with what we have. That will be our choice, even if the rest seems out of our hands."

[obsidian_chaos]

Shadow briefly closed his eyes. He also supposed he could spare to be just a tad more optimistic. He never cared much for optimism or idealism, yet pessimism would cause that much more of a burden when all the odds seemed against them.

He opened his eyes before responding. "I'm not interested in being or becoming too dependent on the gods either. But you are right, all we really have is ourselves. One would think if we hold up our end of the deal, the gods will have to hold up theirs as well."

[heavenslament]

"There must have been a reason why it didn't happen, last time...but we'll find it. We have to keep going forward, or we'll never get our answers." Terra had to believe that, had to believe in something other than the notion that things would never change. But then, to her, that wasn't blind optimism. She knew dreams could turn into reality, if one worked for them. That would have to be enough.

"...do you want to explore some more around here?"

[obsidian_chaos]

The idea of exploration was as good as any, and he gave her another nod. He hadn't minded following her lead, and remembered to commit the paths they took to memory.

"I'm sure you've gone to the areas where Chaos reigns. I would imagine that we may be at a disadvantage if we were to linger there too long."

As he walked with her, he wondered more about just that again, the sides of Cosmos and Chaos. "No one has ever betrayed one of the gods they were to serve before, have they?"

[heavenslament]

After seeing that nod, Terra started off. She wasn't sure where she wanted to go next, so she would just go with the nearest portal crystal that was in the area.

"I...I'm not sure. Golbez served Chaos, at least in name...but from what I know, he was as much likely to give us advice as fight us. I think in the end, he only wanted to look out for his brother. He was the only one of Chaos' warriors last time who didn't die. He just left...."

[obsidian_chaos]

"He left? And Chaos allowed it?" Shadow thought that Chaos did have an intriguing selection process. He knew of at least one other person who seemed to be in a similar situation to this Golbez if she could be taken at her word.

"I'm sure Cosmos was aware of his actions as well. She might have had some part in allowing him to leave?"