I just realized that once the Deepground shit rolls in, I'll have to deal with the Hojo shit too...How the fuck do you explain half the silliness that takes place in Dirge of Cerberus anyway? Oh Vince, why did your game have to be so balls to the wall crazy?
Chapter 20
Bella was checking everything she was going to take with her. Her trunk may be connected to the Tent, but making everything was collected and placed within reach. Already, she had her wand attachments stored neatly along with some basic potions, both Earthen and Gaian. Currently, she was arranging her altar tools, putting thing in and then taking them out before putting them back in...but it was hard to decide what to take with her since she didn't really know what to expect. And what books did she prepare beforehand? And she would need to take the Tent too so she would need to take things out or set up a portal from Wutai's end so she didn't get into the way of Cloud's training.
Having everything in one place and anchored there was not a good idea.
"You know that me and Vincent can take care of Cloud's training. And since you don't know how long it'll take you it's highly impractical to relocate things from the tent, only to put them back in." he pointed out reasonably.
She turned to look at him from where she was sat on the table and pouring over a list of things she would need to take care of. "That's true. But then again, I was thinking of not really putting them back."
"So you are sure about that..."
"Only a couple of months now." she shrugged.
"Isn't your permanent residence back on Earth in Japan?" he asked, the bare basis of an idea forming in his head.
"Yeah and?" she prompted for him to continue with a flowing gesture.
"Nothin. Just saying." he replied nonchalantly, however he did concede to her own train of though. "Wutai is a good choice though Indeed." a pause and then it was as if a lightbulb lit up in his mind "I just had an idea!" he crowed, bringing his fist down on his open palm.
"Truly? And what would that be Dogfather mine?" she leaned into her hand, her fingers taping a slow pattern on her cheek with an enticing smile.
The evil cackling that followed that merging made the rest of their housemates duck away for hours.
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When the paperwork finally went through, Sephiroth packed his bags, and swiftly headed to the helipad where the helicopter had just been powered and was ready for immediate departure. Basically he escaped Midgar with just the minimum restraint required to not make look like skipping town.
Genesis was so mad that he couldn't go and had to oversee the starting talks about the building of a reactor in Correl. He had whined that he wanted to watch the show too.
As the helicopter rose in the air, the young man let "The Silver General" bleed away, the persona stored away for when it would be needed again. Under the constant sound of the helicopter blades, he allowed himself to start being Sephiroth again. And while it was not visible, he had a fine-tune pokerface for that reason, he felt his shoulders relax and his spine loose ever so slightly. As he looked outside the window and he saw the monstrosity that was Midgar become even mor distant he felt...lighter. Sephiroth pressed his back to the plush leather seat he brought his head back on the cushion and one hand absently on his lap.
Now all he had to do was wait the three hours it took to get to Wutai.
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Everything was, well, it was not set up. And nowhere near ready to go. Having everything in one place had been a really bad idea. Even when she decided to move most of the things she had in mind to the little villa of a pagoda Emperor God had granted them, that needed work. A lot, and all of it complicated as all get out. Holy Sekhmet, taking everything apart and putting it back together, even if magic did the heavy lifting, was like putting together an especially hellish IKEA set!
And even worse, she had pushed the search of the archives to the side to do this. Because c'moooooon it's not really a move~ it can't be that hard~
'Fuck this shit, I need tea.'
Oh look at that another Shin-ra patrol! How gracious of them to volunteer as stress relief! Why, bless their souls. And she had enough time to change too.
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Oh Gaia! Oh Gaia, what the ever-loving hell was going on here? What the hell had happened to his SOLDIERs?
"General?" "Is that really you, sir?" "We are so glad to see you sir!" "It really is the General!"
He was happy to see them too but they damn near fell to his feet the moment he stepped foot in the camp! The way they looked at him! Like an angel come to bring unto them salvation! What kind of morale was this!? For that matter, what kind of army broke apart the moment the commanding officer was out of the picture? Holy shit! He could feel the migraine banging inside his skull.
And he couldn't drag out exactly what was terrifying them! Yes, I know there is a "She" somewhere out there, but he could already tell that. Now what about the "She"?
At least other than some sleeplessness, his SOLDIERs hadn't physically suffered...small victories. Couldn't she have toned it down a bit?
But then again, if she had half assed it, it probably wouldn't have worked so well. Whatever the fuck it was she did.
Now if only they could let him walk outside the camp to figure it out...
Don't get him wrong, he was extremely moved by his men's concern for him, but...damn! He could take care of his own damn self! He was already resigned to getting mothered by Madame strife when he got there, he would not have it from his SOLDIERs too! It was, however, even more moving, when despite their acute fear for the Wutaian woods, his men were very quick to volunteer to come with him to this expedition. The way the rest sent him off looked like they were sending him to his own funeral though...
So here he was, with a team of five, all of them trembling and trying to hide it, treading the terrain that he could have sworn was nowhere near as bad the first time he traversed it. And fuck it was cold! While Nibleheim was dry arctic frost, Wutai was damp, drafty, seep-into-your-bones-cold.
About half an hour into the expedition, Sephiroth got his first taste of what had been driving the troopers mad all this time. It all started very subtle, so subtle in fact, that he didn't notice as all the little thing occurred, rather, all of it came to him at once while looking back on it. The forest was a little quieter and unnaturally still, the wind a little colder, their footfalls a little bit more muted, and suddenly, it was eerily quiet, frigidly cold and disconcertingly deserted as they couldn't well hear themselves.
Which is why the wind momentarily picking up was almost deafeningly loud, the foliage shaking extremely startling and temperature drops brought about shivers. A quick look at his men, and he felt his stomach drop. Going through this once was highly unsettling. But subject anyone to this again, and again, and again, and they would naturally feel their sanity slipping eventually.
And it was only going to get worse.
Sephiroth started doubting himself after he passed by a familiar looking tree stump again. While this was a forest and tree stumps were rather commonplace, an inkling at the back of his head had him taking out Masamune and carving a marker onto the wood and continued leading his team forward. Almost an hour later, coming into another slight clearing of the trees, The General surveyed the surroundings and his eyes passed over a piece of the terrain in front of him. The very same piece of lumber again. After walking in a straight line.
What?
He picked a different direction, taking note of the little sounds coming from behind him. He carved more markers, taking care so they were all on his right. Unsurprisingly they ended up in front of the same stump...but his marker was exactly across from them, on the opposite of where they started walking... It had most certainly not been long enough to have gone completely around the entirety of Wutai.
Okay. Okay new plan. He led his men on the same path as before, only this time he used his blade horizontally to make sure they went straight. They were bound to eventually hit the bace of the mountain.
But no...this time the ended up in front of the stump only in the complete opposite...Lo and behold, there was his marker. Right next to his feet. On the left. And they have apparently looking at the mountain on their...back. How? The mountain peaks were radically different! How didn't they notice?!
This, this was...He felt heaviness settling in the pit of his stomach.
A deep breath. Sephiroth turned to face his SOLDIERs, and being confronted with tired expressions. "We will try one more time, I promise." The men following him straightened their backs and steeled themselves, if not ready, then at least resigned to endure one last trek.
Oh Gaia how could it have gotten worse?
It had been like all the previous attempts. Until it wasn't anymore. Abruptly, the wind howled, absolutely shattering the muted silence and knocking the breath out of them as it slammed into them. But as suddenly as it came it stopped, seemingly taking all the noise with it. And then, over the buzzing in their ears, wail resounded from beyond the trees.
Oh.
Breaths hitched and then suddenly it became very quiet as everyone imediately stoped in their tracks. As silently as they could the men behind him converged together with horror etched in their faces.
It felt like an eternity, but for the longest time all was quiet and for a moment Sephiroth was ready to attribute the sound to the wind. And just as shoulders untensed again another sound came from beyond the foliage. So close.
"Douuuu..." the word was cut with a mournful sob. And then another. And one more. And every little sound of pain sent pangs of sadness directly into their heart. The pain was almost palpable, as if it was their own. Before breaking into a howl, escalating into a heartbreaking scream. "Doushiteeee!?" The voice, clearly that of the woman, barely finished crying before emotion overtook again and the woman howled and sobbed again.
"Oh Goddess!" One of the men behind Sephiroth whimpered. "It's her!"
Oh. So this was She.
And then it was quiet again.
This time, the silence was broken by footsteps. Slow, deliberate footsteps, going around them. Close enough that he source should have been visible.
Then the humming began.
"Oo ooo-oh~"
Barely coherent humming, broken in between by little hitched breaths and high notes.
"Ooh o-ooo~"
The woman singing was just a tone away from crying. "Keshite ooaran-n...~" If the Silver General was to be asked, he would say he preffered the sobbing.
"...ena-ah-itae inga-h wa ih-nga..."
That broken melody was so much more heartbreaking.
"General-" a quivering SOLDIER spoke up quietly, trying to get his attention. As Sephiroth was broken away from the mournful tune and turned, he saw the utterly terrified expression the man wore. A pang of dread settled over him and just before he could deliver any kind of response, the tune swiftly changed.
"Itsu made demo nikumitsuDZUKE-EEAAAA!"
Strong and loud, the last line went past grief and anguish, being instead swathed in anger and hatred. Just. Beyond. The. Trees.
"Oh Goddess!" the whimpers behind him came back. Uncaring of showing their distress, the men behind him shook like leaves in the wind and huddled close together, backs pressing against each other as they looked around franticly for the crying woman.
"Oshiete iarou~"
He caught a glimpse of white just beyond his field of vision, and the next line came just off to his right. So, so close.
"Amata arou kann jou~"
He brought Masamune into a ready position.
"-hii~totchu hitotchu, keshisaa~te itte~"
He felt eyes watching him and turned, as the now soft tune circled around them faster, only to catch a hint of long flowing ebony hair.
"-shoushite-"
Now it came right behind him, carrying a mysterious undertone, and so, so soft, caressing his ear. "-son saigo ni nokoru junsui na omoi to wa nani ka~" whispering a secret, meant for him alone to hear and only him. If his eyes were not blown wide open, he might have felt the delicate touch tracing his cheek.
It chilled his spine.
"Ikari to iuu~ no daa~!"
It came directly behind him and this time, there was a soft cold breath. On. The back. Of his neck. And it was loud and resolute again. Carrying anger with it.
Sephiroth turned abruptly, raising his hand and slashing with his sword right behind him. Only there was nothing there.
It was silent yet again and he had the feeling that he had done something very wrong.
Oh how right he was.
Laughter. Starting as faint and slow giggling, only to escalate into fast, loud, hysterical cackling. Growing, and growing and filling the clearing. And when the insane laughter was the only thing they could hear, bouncing and resounding around the trees, another sound joined the fray. A rhythmical sound that they could not quite distinguish, not being as loud. But it did, it did become Louder. And louder. And then they could make it out very clearly. Footsteps, becoming faster the closer they got.
Running, it dawned on him with mounting terror. And it was coming closer.
And just as it was about to break the tree line, the laughter suddenly became screaming. Incensed, crazed, eardrum rupturing screaming, putting an irational, instinctive fear deep into their psyche. And with it came extremely strong, howling winds, blowing many of them off their feet.
It was a miracle that the already terrified men didn't break into a dead sprint, running as fast as they could away from tis place. But Sephiroth was not going to stay any longer.
"Let's retreat."
They didn't need to be told twice.
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Bella was biting holes into her lower lip from trying not to laugh. she wondered if she should feel bad for poor Sephy. But then again, he came prepared. The fact that she scared him witless was a win in her book. Of course now she would have to be prepared herself for the absolute verbal reaming The General was going to give her.
A quiet ding drew her attention to her phone.
Sephy:
-We are going to be having words.
Me:
;-P
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Back in the camp, he quickly dismissed the troops he took with him and put all future operations and expeditions on hold until further notice. There was nothing productive that could be done right now, not until he found a way to deal with this "Phantom". instead, he assigned a camp wide rest until it was their time to be on watch, and that was their only duty. He could see the hero worship grow even bigger than before.
Now, how exactly did he deal with this. He still lacked information.
Attending to his men however would, regrettably have to be put aside for now, in favor of trying to convince Heidegger whomever else there was about his course of action. Because while they were no longer near to bother him, the higher-ups were still there, and they demanded regular reports. And he actually had to explain right that instant because the moment he stepped foot in the "battlefield" he did the one thing they didn't want him to. Heidegger would have to deal, he couldn't care less.
That first night a concerned (read curious) Angeal gave him a call.
"Wait, what did you say?" he could hear the disbelief, thick, on the other end of the line
"It's a real life horror movie Angeal. She went and turned the entire forest into a horror movie." Sephiroth was tired and cold and just so past pretenses at this point, he wasn't in the least bit ashamed of the fact that he was whining, to his friend. It didn't matter anyway, only him, and maybe Genesis, would ever know. And probably Bella. She had a way of knowing these things.
"...Is it working?" 'Is it-what do you think- I wouldn't be whining otherwise!'
"Yes it is! Everyone is absolutely terrified!" He had to keep reminding himself that this was her doing. That it wasn't real.
"Can you get them in there?" His friend asked, probably trying to find a way to remedy the situation.
"If I force it yes but nothing productive is going to be happening anytime soon."
"Ohhh rough. What are you going to do about orders though." Yeah, that was an issue. Both angeal and Genesis knew how he opposed those particular orders. No matter how legitimate the argument was, it would seem now very bad now. It basically told the company that he couldn't be trusted to follow orders. Shin-re Sr. and Heidegger were going to have conniption fits. Fuck Hojo is going to be furious. Why didn't they kill him again? And everyone in the Shin-ra board for that matter, they had infiltrated anyway?
"They will just have to deal."
"Sephiroth." Angeal admonished him.
"Don't "Sephiroth" me." it took all he had to not snap at him "We can't get past the outer layers of the jungle, we somehow end up back where we began after walking in a straight line. All the while being serenaded by a combination of sobbing laughter or screaming. My men tremble like leaves at the mere mention of going in there and, apparently, we didn't even have a proper encounter."
"Yikes. Are you okay?"
"I just told Heidegger to put his demands where the sun doesn't shine Angeal. I am not, in any approximation of the word, okay."
Yeah, that went well.
He finally joined the men as they stood around a bonfire in the centre of the camp a week later. The moment he stepped in the light of the fire all conversation ceased. The troops sat a little straighter as the General came closed to the fire. sephiroth felt the eyes following him as he sat down amongst the men. "At ease." he wanted to sigh.
"What is the matter sir?"
"Nothing, Private Silvan."he answered nonchalantly as he reached for a beer. There was a hitched breath from the infantryman he had just spoken to. "Just need some alcohol..." he muttered as he cracked it open and took a swig" A week of dealing with Heidegger's army of vapid secretaries (and joyous of joys the man himself sometimes), did that to you.
"Um sir, how do you know my name." the man, boy, sixteen years of age, asked startled.
"I know the names of all the people in this camp, Private." he drawled as he swirled the beer in the can. He wished he had something stronger.
"You do?" another one piped up from somewhere on his left. A glance later and he identified the man as Private Restok.
"It's only natural. I need to know each person's skill set so I could assign them efficiently." he explained, and it truly was for him. These men put their lives in his hands and he would not disappoint them.
"A beat of awkward silence. "Um sir?"
"Yes, Private Silvan?" he took a sip-
"Are we being punished?" he asked timidly. If possible, it got even more tense and quiet.
-and he almost choked. "No." he sighed "you are resting" he stretched the word "because as of now, there is nothing to be done in this situation. Not until a different aproach is found."
"About...She?"
"Partly." he replied dryly.
"What do you meean by that sir?" it seemed Silvan was the impromptu spokesperson.
"Even without..."She", the forest is currently untreadable. And technicaly, it is not definite that she is responsible for that."
"Then what could be?" the trooper asked incredulously.
"I don't know Private." he answered immediately.
"I am sorry sir!" Him and the men around the General tensed.
"There is no need to apologise." he said in response, trying to sound as comforting as possible. It wouldn't do for them to clam up now. "However, concerning todays encounter, there is a lack of information." It seemed that that had been the correct thing to say, as the men around him got the courage to speak out too.
"She's already been here when we arrived sir." a helmeted trooper spoke up.
"Correct! And she always chases us out." the one directly to his right added. Private Jameson.
"Right! She might be late but she always comes." Silvan spoke again.
"Is that so?" Sephiroth inquired.
"Yes! And she never attacks unprovoked." Silvan answered eagerly.
"And has never actually seriously wounded anyone."
"?" He motioned for them to elaborate, his eyebrows furrowed in though. That checked out with what his father had told him.
"Yes. The teams that are given the order always black out and apear suddenly at the mouth of the campsite" Restok rejoined the conversation.
"Out of nowhere?" Sephiroth steered the pot.
"Yes, First there's nothing there and a bink later, there's the unconsious attack team."
"I see. Is there a time limit to when she appears?" he took another sip of the beer as he stashed that in the back of his head.
"No. Not really. Sometimes we go a bit further into the woods before she gets to us." Hmmm that was Private Jensen.
"Also sir, I've been on the previous assault too, you see. We can never get beyond a center point." yes, Jensen had been on the frontlines then, he should have gotten a promotion.
"Huh."
"Oh sir! Rarely, there is also a little kid that appears before the woman shows up." Another private mentioned somewhere behind the others to his left.
"A kid?" he felt his brows raise and turned to the speaker 'Please don't tell me...'
"Yes. Though we couldn't really notice any details. It's very blurry...but not? It's like my brain can't make the final leap to reach a conclusion? If that makes sence." Huh.
It did. Oh, it did...damn it Bella...
"Oh, oh! After we got the order to take...her out, there suddenly were arches made from red string wrapped around nearby tree trunks. The little kid disappears through these." Silvan spoke again.
"And there sometimes are flat little monuments behind them." Jameson added.
"Monuments?" He had an idea as to what they saw.
"Yes, little wooden houses decorated with rope and paper."
'Shrines.' he gave a nod to the young trooper. "Huh."
"Did you get an idea sir?" Silvan asked, voice filled with hope.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I thank you for sharing your experiences with me." he drawled with a smirk and raised his half-empty can in a toast. He has joined by his men with a sonorous cheer.
It was trully a wonder what a few encouraging words and beer could accomplish.
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Sephy:
I'm coming tomorrow first thing in the morning.
Me:
:-D !
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Sephiroth tried to leave first thing in the morning. But the morning change of shifts spotted him. And woke up the whole damn camp trying to stop him from going alone.
It took more time than he would have liked to explain to them, that according to the information of yesterday night, he had come to the conclusion that they had stumbled upon shrines that the Wutai people left for their dead as discribed in salvaged documents. And according to those documents, retrieved from the last assault in Wutai and translated, spirits stayed docile if you gave them an offering, which was why he had with him a bottle of alcohol. No he did not require an accompaniment, he was very sure in his conclusion.
He had the impression that Bella was laughing at him, perched on a tree somewhere. How convenient that now that he was doing the trek alone he had no problems reaching one of those little shrines in the end of a clearing, after one hour of walking.
He approached the shrine, noticing a multitude of offerings. 'At least she is an equal opportunity terrifier.'
"I have the impression you just though something rude." he heard from behind him.
"I don't think I am the only one." he drawled as he lazily turned to face the woman, indeed, perched on a tree branch.
She giggled, eyes lighting up with her joy and jumped down from her branch. She floated to the ground and he noticed her state of dress. A very distinctly Wutaian kimono in a deep magenta colour with delicate golden butterflies and light lilac dots arranged in squares in the background. The robed dress was kept shut with a black wide beltand a line of dark purple lace in the middle. On her feet were standard wooden sandals. Her hair was on it's usual tight bun, held with two metal pins of Wutaian origin. She walked to him with dainty small steps and hands tucked into the customary wide, long sleeves. "How have you been Seph?" she asked, looking him over furrowing her eyebrows. "You lost wieght?" she observed rather questioned as she turned her eyes on him again.
"You are responsible for half of it." he smirked at her. Not exactly true but she had caused him an undue amount of stress.
He got a raised eyebrow in return. "Would it make you feel better if i told you that I am currently inconvenienced as well?" she responded with a holier than thou tone all the while managing to look down at him even if she was far shorter.
"Greatly." Sephiroth played along, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Such an ungrateful child." The witch sighed dramatically.
"Such a bothersome woman." he shot back.
"My!" she recoiled, failing to fully conceal he own smirk. "Have you never been taught to show respect to your elders." she brought a hand to her chest and putting on an accent.
"Should I refer to you as ma'am?" he tilted his head ever so slightly, now he was failing to retain his facial expression.
"Don't you dare!" She yelled at him, fully abandoning the ruse and laughing openly. He himself let out a couple chuckles "Truly, how have you been Sephiroth?" she calmed down a bit and asked, more subdued.
"Not as well as I would have liked." he replied honestly.
"I see. Would you like some coffee? Perhaps with a pinch of rum?" she suggested taking a step closer. She leaning a bit to the front and tilted her head a bit sideways. "Is that really all?"
'Would I ever...' he held in his sigh "I cannot stay long. I need to return to my men."
"That's arrangeable." she extended a hand to him. "How do you feel about sitting somewhere with a nice view and relaxing?"
"I wouldn't be against it." and he took her hand.
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He wasn't exactly sure how they ended up in that high alcove overlooking almost the entirety of Wutai. Even if not for the vantage point then the the view alone made this spot precious. On one side the sea water glittered as the sunlight reflected on the waves only to transition into glistening white golden sand where the waves met the beach. Even the monstrous shin-ra ship, sitting there like a dark coloured tumor, couldn't really retract from the image. If only, it gave it a sad, tragic undertone. And he had a perfect view of the Shin-Ra camp from here, along with the main paths the patrols would normally trek. Well, past the sea of trees that was the wutaian jungle. And then. like a beacon of civilization, stood the imperial city of Wutai, with the high tower serving as an almost beacon of pride and freedom. I almost made him sad, having to eventually lead an attack to that beautiful little place.
What would Bella think if she knew that despite everything she did to keep it from happening, he still itched for the conflict. Everyone really did. They had all been training for it for so long. For many of them that was what their lives led to. The Glory of SOLDIER. He itched for his blade.
Chancing a glance at the woman across from him he was relieved when he saw she wasn't looking at him. He truly believed that she would be able to figure out his thoughts, even if she had swore to nevevr look into their heads. She was just so perceptive... It felt like a betrayal.
He turned to his cup. The smell of the alcohol hit him before he could even touch his lips to the edge. She said it was called raki and it was usually served hot and diluted with honey. It felt like he was drowning his sorrows.
"Seph? You alright?" Fuck. Did she notice?
"Just overworked." He replied as naturally as he could.
"Okay." she said lowly with a slight nod. For a split second she looked saddened. "I do hope I can help you."
"We could establish a way so that my men can have less nightmares."
"Oh? And would you have a suggestion for that perhaps?" she placed he elbows on the table and leaned forward, lacing together her fingers and resting her chin on top. She gave him a teasing smirk. "I mean you could try to get past me, but unless Genesis got a mastery in runes and warding in the last nine months, I doubt you could get past all my work." She taunted. And she was right. They couldn't get past it.
"And what if we tried?"
"I say you're welcome to. I can give you all the material required too. It'd be fun. It's lonely at the top."
Actually that was a good idea.
"Could you send it to Genesis too?"
"Sure. I'll even give you Sei's phone number to give you some assistance with the wardings."
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Genesis had received the best gifts he could have ever asked for. Even if they were delivered by that God forsaken owl . Books. Books upon books on runes and warding along with a study plan. Better yet, everything came along with Bella's own handwritten notes.
Oh Goddess, Bella's own, notes and research. That which has helped that elusive woman reach the insurmountable level that she was. He felt like he was holding artifacts of immeasurable value.
And to wrap this all in a picture perfect package, everything came as a request from Sephiroth himself. The Silver General was asking him for help because he was absolutely stumped, acknowledging him as better at something. It couldn't get better and yet somehow it did! Because Shin-ra's poster boy would be working on this on the same time as him and it was the best opportunity to show how much truly better he was.
He felt on top of the world.
For all of twenty minutes. Then he actually got into the material and after spending all of those twenty minutes rereading the same paragraph of all of...seven lines and he understood he couldn't follow the simplified material. He crashed hard back into reality and it actually hurt. Ever so slightly. This wasn't some clandestine achievement. Both him and Sephiroth were so bellow basic level at this shit, it wasn't even funny. At this point it was an ergonomic issue. They would be getting more work done if they split it in half.
"Oh Goddess, Sephiroth! What the fuck is this?" he was on the verge of pulling his hair out.
"I was hoping you could tell me Genesis." the voice on the other end sounded ehausted and he felt bad for being a pretentious asshole.
"I just spent two and a half hours trying to figure out one chapter. And it's the fucking introduction!" he had answered instead, being truly surprised by the reply he got by his friend.
"Me too. Who crams so much in the introduction?" Sephiroth was probably already pulling on his hair in frustration.
Fuck, why did he have to start developing a consience now. A year earlier he wouldn't have even thought of, perhaps, coming clean. "I know this is going to sound bad but I was hoping to show you up." but then again he may be underestimating how well this particular friend knew him. Apparently a decent amount. "I already knew that was going to happen and was suitably prepared." He didn't know how to feel about that.
"Yeah sorry man."
"Hn."
There was an akward pause there as none of them knew what to say to continue the conversation.
"I'm giving it another hour and I'm calling Gakusei." He swallowed his pride once today already. What was another one
"I'm going to beg some tutoring out of Bella." 'Oh come on-'
"Fuck! Can we switch?"
"If you're willing to deal with Heidegger's bitching."
"You are making this hard for me and I hate you."
"Soak up the Correl sun Gen. You might just come back with a tan." The General's voice came from the other end mocking and taunting.
"Fuck you man." because really man? Ginger jokes?
But then again sometimes you got the impression this guy didn't know what a joke was.
"Pleasure talking to you Genesis."
.
Omake 1: Wait how long did you say?
"Fujiwara speaking."
"Yes, Gakusei. This is Genesis Rapsodos." For some reason Genesis was slightly sweating
"Oh hey. Bella said you'd call. What can I do for you?" there was a recognizant lilt to his voice. He was, as he remembered, rather pleasant to talk to.
Genesis sighed "What indeed."
"...I see." the other redhead's understanding wince was audible in his voice. "Tell you what. We're making this a video call. Hang up and I'll call you back."
"Thank you."
Not even five minutes later he got a request for a face call and after accepting he got gritted with Gakusei's hand obscuring half the camera as he deposited his phone on some kind of flat surface. Finally Gakusei got into the frame with a cup of something steaming and he suddenly wanted some of Bella's tea. Everything from the waist down was out of frame but from what little could be seen in the little screen was enough tho distinguish a slender build. His arms weren't covered by bulging muscles nor was his simple back tee stretched over his frame. He sported long, pianist fingers and surprisingly slim wrists. The man was far more effeminate that he had originally thought especialy with how long crimson bangs framed his face. He did indeed look really young for that matter. Barely past twenty.
"How old did you say you were again?" the fact that the one in front of him looked to be the same age as him made him feel even more inadequate.
"Older than you think." his fellow redhead quipped, doing a terrible work of hiding his smirk behind his cup. "So. Hit me up man!"
"Yes." he reached for the first book and his own notes. "Let's start with whatever the hell is going on in page 17, paragraph 2, line 1."
"Read it out loud."
"Alright."
Sei proved to be a very good teacher. He was concise in his explanations and he was very careful with his wording. He was very easy to understand and Genesis found himself taking whole pages of notes, feeling like he was just discovering magic again. And on that note, Holy Shit! This was so enchanting and at the same time so complicated! The possibilities were endless yet even the simplest of runes required such concentration and precision it seemed almost impossible.
"Just how the fuck did Bella do it?"
"What you though it was going to be easy? Runic Arrangements and Wardwork take years to get down, let alone master. It took me five month to make my first triangular overlapping array and implement it. And If you think Bella whipped that monster of an array in just the scant few months she took to meet you, you are woefully mistaken. It was a collaborative effort of at least two years, that was put on the self just before completion. All she had to do was figure out the particular workings of your situation and subvert the already existing work to fit into those rather narrow margins and then put the finishing touches. That was what took her the most time really. Not that she does anything normally anyway." he made a put upon grimace. "She went made it a blanket remedy."
Now that he actually had some kind of context, he understood how much of a monstrous achievement that was. All the fucking variables... "Yeah, I see..." he couldn't, he had to know. "Would you, perchance, know what exactly she has going on in Wutai?"
"The entire forest is a consecutively overlapping circular array with further overlapping lanes with the centre "inactive until further notice"." he raised his cup to take a sip with one hand and gestured circularly with the pointer finger of his other hand.
"Yikes" The Crimson Commander winced. This was going to take time. "The fates are cruel..."
It must have shown on his face, or it was perhaps the tone the last line was delivered, because Sei rushed to comfort him. "Hey, look. Don't feel bad about any of this. I am, for starters, older that I look and secondly, considered a genius in my field. Furthermore I have years of studying this shit under my belt, while you have what, five hours? You are doing remarkably well if you want my very humble and very professional opinion." He even added an extra haughty inflection in the end and it broke a chuckle away from him.
"Thanks man. That makes me feel a bit better about my utter failure to grasp basic calculus." he joked back.
"Okay, let's look at the involvement of sigils next. They are very useful shortcuts if you connect them correctly with the outer levels."
"Yes. Do they really substitute entire core arrays?"
"If you gauge them right. They allow you to cram more than what you normally would be able to."
"Yes but the same chapter cites that you can neglect many safety failsafes to save space. Wouldn't that be risky? More properties but less insurance in case something goes wrong? They apparently backfire spectacularly." he inquired while checking the book to be sure he had read that correctly.
"Very astute question. That's why you use put a lot of weight in the appropriate geometric builds. And sometimes you do want to deactivate the safeties in a controller environment. We do that so we can refine the arrays before finalizing the end project. In the end, you have tweaked it so bad that the failsafes are supperflous. In very basic arrays, we put the failsafes mostly obligatorily. They fill up the space that may look empty and that makes it look professional and then the clients are happy."
"Seriously?"
"Yep. Consumer arrogance and stupidity, am I right?"
"Ooookay then. Go on please."
linelinelinelineline
Genesis: How did it go?
Me: Enlightening.
Genesis: Same here. I'm at Ch4
Me: Halfway into 3. We're on break and will be finishing it after.
Genesis: I just finished. My brain has turned into mush. So much math...
Me: We're in for a very long haul, aren't we?
Genesis: The fates are cruel.
.
Omake 2: First tide.
Knowing that at lest some of the Sabbats lined up here in Gaia, Bella was rather anxious to test the theory with the one nearest. And that was Yuletide. Not that she needed any actual reason to be domestic, as many of the Sabbat traditions were. Yule however was good for Shadow Work, work unto one's self, as it was a renewal celebration, so renewing one's goals and protections was most customary. And it was a couple days before Christmas too. Actually, should she do anything about that? She herself wasn't a believer of the religion but many of her acquaintances were, but there wouldn't be the normal host of people coming and going from her home this time around.
She'd probably send presents appropriately.
But then again Cloud was sure to appreciate the decorating and the presents. Many of Yule's and Christmas' traditions overlapped so it was easy to celebrate one without sticking out too much.
Did Gaia have any celebrations like that?
"Hey Cloud, wanna help me decorate for one of my holidays?"
linelinelinelineline
Truly, she never could do anything normal, could she?
And here she thought that it would be simple, simply because she was only going to be doing the gift giving. If only gifts was something easy to do...when you were not prepared to do so at all...
Well Yule presents were supposed to be homemade so she could work with that but still that didn't help much when she had more than a dozen people to make things for.
linelinelinelineline
"Hey nee-san, what are you making?" A little head of blonde hair popped over the counter.
"Sweets fot the holiday." she replied with a smile. The way his eyes lit up made her smile widen.
"Can I help?" he was almost bouncing on his feet.
"You just want to eat the leftover batter." she mock accused with a faux judgmental tone.
"Of course not." he recoiled, miming affront by grasping at his chest over his heart "But it would be most wonderful if that were my payment for so gracefully offering you my aid." he adopted a self important stance and tone.
she just looked at him for a moment, making a little smirk appear on the boy's face "Where the bloody hell did you learn to talk like that?" she asked in incredulity.
"Books, video games, you know."he shrugged, still smirking.
"Sure.."
"So what can I do?"
"Hold this for me and pour little by little when I tell you?" she handed him a kettle filled with steaming light grey liquid, and gestured to where she was holding a coffee filter over a cup.
"What exactly is this?" He asked as he slowly tipped it as she instructed.
"Alisiva, or Soot Water. Boiled powdered ash basically..."
"That...is not edible..." he stated blankly with all his eleven year old wisdom.
"It is when boiled. Perfectly harmless. It acts like baking powder. You can substitute it with beer or orange juice." She giggled at how incredulous he looked.
"So potion ingredient?" he reasoned. 'Sure let's go with that.'
"I suppose you could say so." Even if it was used by normal people as well."
"What are we making by the way?"
"Mellomakarona. It's Stella's favourite recipe."
"Oh. Is it tasty?" he lit up at the mention of his phone buddy.
"Very. After they are backed we will submerge them in syrup and let it seep in for the whole night." she brought a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion, whispering conspiratorially while looking around, seeing if Mama Strife was around any corner.
"No! Don't make me wait so much!" the little ray of sunshine laughed.
"Patience is a virtue dear~" she let him sulk for a bit. "After all, that's not all I'll be making today." she winked.
"Really? What else?"
"There's another one that Stella taught me while I was in Greece. Then there is treacle tart that I have so sorely missed, a couple different kinds of pudding, cranberry bread, Roll Cake and then I was gonna make some Gingerbread to make a house out of it. Oh and then I was planning on making a few alcoholic things as well." She went on to list, holding in her laughter as the little boy tried, and failed to conceal his enthusiasm.
"Isn't that a bit...much?" He gave a token protest, smiling like a loon.
"Maybe so, but I have magic!" Bella bent to his level, waving a finger in a lecturing manner. Her smile never left her face.
"As long as I get to sample everything I'll help!" He stated haughtily.
"I figured as much."
linelinelinelineline
"Good morning." Vincent greeted her early in the morning with a cup of coffee. Seeing that it was not anywhere near a sleeping cycle and she had no cups around her he had come to the conclusion that she was coming from a straight all nighter.
"Good morning Vincent." she greeted back with a blinding, grateful smile.
"What are you working on?" he took a sip of his own beverage, tea for him.
"Currently, on gifts. Any Ideas for Sephiroth's." she tilted her head to the side inquisitively, ebony strands sticking out of her usual bun. She must have being quite puzzled. It was making herself look like an adorable befuddled owl.
"Why?" Out of curiosity really, since she didn't normally need a reason to do so.
"Wiccan tradition." 'Ah'
"Something practical. He will appreciate it more."
"Hm. I see. Anything he has difficulty with?" she went off of that train of thought.
"Not really. Magic comes naturally to him and he has no issues with physical combat..." he paused in though "If there is something...it would be that he sometimes forgets to heal, since the damage doesn't really register due to his...high pain threshold." he said, distaste seeping into his voice as he spoke.
She could understand. Fucking Hojo. Too bad it was too much, too soon still...
"How about an item that will distribute healing magic to the appropriate places after a certain amount of damage has been dealt?" she proposed.
He paused "That would be more than ideal actually." Vincent answered astonished.
"Oh, By the by, I had an idea about a project utilizing bullets. Would you be like to help me test them sometime?"
"I don't any reason to not." he answered with a pang of excitement.
linelinelinelineline
Winter in Midgard was...well it was stuffy. And very dank. The cold, while not extreme, had that way of seeping int your bones that felt...slimy. There was no better way to describe it. It made you feel dirtier the longer you were outside. It was an even better treat when it actually snowed, somehow. Grey flakes descended from the sky and everyone avoided even more than an actual thunderstorm. It stained one's clothes and it made the skin feel grimy and chaffed at the same time. Really, what further proof did you need that something was very wrong with the planet?
Even worse, the snow, when melted would collect in the street and coalesce into a dark grayish sludge that would become even darker until it was black as it collected ground-bound smog and pollution. And it stunk to high heaven The poor people that had to clean that stuff...
December 20th was a typical, cold winter day. But for three people that was going to be different.
Sephiroth Valentine woke up like any other day, alarm blaring in his ear, threatening to blow his eardrums off, it was so shrill. An ingrained motion at this point, he brought his hand down on the clock, perhaps with more force than what was justified. The resopunding crack was followed by blessed silence and he instantly felt much better. He dragged it away from the surface of the nightstand and shook it to rid himself of all the little metal bits uncomfortably pricking his palm. Jaws opened wide open to release a mighty, undignified yawn. That had been a restful sleep, why did he have to wake up again?
Oh right. Paperwork.
With half lidded eyes he got up from his very comfortable bed, a contribution of Bella's, and headed to the bathroom to wash the sleep off of himself. He scratched his head absentmindedly and his hand halted at what, by touch alone felt like a pretty bad knot. He grimaced.
Just a normal day.
It took him some time to notice that something was different. He had already had his shower, gotten dressed made and consumed at least two pints of coffee (Thank you Bella) and was already two hours into his share of the mind numbing crime against sanity known as paperwork. And then, from the corner of his eye he caught something out of place.
Just beyond his office door, was an unusual shadow. Judging by the size and placement of it, it had to probably be right in front of the balcony door, catching what little of the sun came past the smog.
Cautiously he stood and walked towards the door and took a peek at the anomaly. He was torn between groaning or laughing, he settled for a long-suffering huff. He had been right, it was indeed right in front of the balcony door, on the outside, Thank Fuck, a big, brightly wrapped box. Tasteful though, glittering red wrapping paper and tied with a wide silvery white, and a more narrow glittering green ribbon, all of it arranged in a beautiful bow.
And as if he needed any more confirmation that it was Bella' doing, there, Dangling on the side was a little note on lily scented paper.
"Hello Sephiroth,
I trust you are doing well. If not then I hope these manage to help you in some way.
Many Yuletide Blessings
Kind regards, Bella"
'Insufferable woman' he read fondly.
He brought the gift inside and placed it on the coffee table. The moment he opened it his nose was filled with the wonderful scent he had come to associate with the witch's cooking. Oh how he had missed it. Inside he found about a week's worth of food, more if he conserved it right. The sweets alone were going to take ages to be consumed. After that there were a couple of small bottles with brown liquid, 300ml's each, It looked like coffee...lifting one up and examining it was indeed coffee. A type called Cold Brew. Taking another look in the box he found another note.
"Be careful with this one, it is highly condensed coffee. A shot glass of Cold Brew contains the amount of caffeine of about six espressos."
'Holy Shit.' He took a moment of silence to send as much gratitude as he could to the witch that had just delivered him salvation. These were going to be hidden away for very special occasions. "Actually, did Genesis get a box like this?" If yes, then he could expect to see the effects of this new coffee play out, since his redheaded friend had never been one for restraint. He lifted them out of the box with great care and saw that they were sitting on another neatly wrapped package. As he handled it he concluded it was books and it turned out to be a combo of guides in Vocabulary and Grammar. 'These are going to be very well used very quickly. She pays a lot of attention.' he thought with a smile. He wondered if she knew that he was getting himself deployed to Wutai in less than a month.
Lastly, there was a little wooden box in a corner in the bottom. It was decorated like all her boxes seemed to be, sporting ornate floral carvings and gilded metal in the corners. The fancy little thing was practically a gift on it's own, but as he had heard something clinking inside as he lifted it up he knew to expect something more. Actually, looking at the Cold brew bottles and at the box again, it seemed to be the perfect size to fit the precious liquid. He let out a chuckle.
As he opened the box he was greeted with yet another note, sitting on something wrapped in soft, black velvet...Never went halfway either it seemed...
"So, I heard you have a very high pain threshold. I do as well and I know that despite all the advantages it has, I tend to misjudge the damage I take, quite a hassle to deal with, I've come to find out. This should help you balance that out. It has a diagnostic function that activates a healing rune after a certain amount of damage is dealt to your body. There is a secondary function that makes it warm up when the damage is too much for it to heal.
I hope this helps you."
He felt like kissing her, could he kiss her, he sure as fuck wanted to at that very moment.
Sephiroth gently moved the velvet aside to see a silver bracer. Closer inspection showed very delicate designs that he managed to recognize as an array of runes, surrounded but flowing designs that fit together so well, had he not known what to look at he wouldn't have registered anything other than the elegant decorations. The inside was smooth and devoid of designs. Instead there was a phrase in the witch's pretty, loopy script. It must have been hard to inscribe. He quickly clipped it around his wrist.
And then a though struck him. He picked up his phone. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was still too soon for Genesis to be awake, but it was around the time that Angeal should be getting up. So he dialed that number.
A couple of rings and his friend picked up.
"Hello?" the other man sounded groggy.
"Were you sleeping?"
"Kinda. I was contemplating smashing my alarm and catching another hour. You just saved me lost time and 100 gil." A yawn resounded on the other end of the line. "Everything alright?"
"Yes, Check outside your window or your door. Bella sent me a package." he absently took one of the cookies and took a bite. 'Not too sweet.'
"Oh Goddess. Nothing bad I hope." Sephiroth's sharp hearing caught the sound of the other man's footfalls. He was slowly becoming more awake.
"Not really. It's a present actually."
"Really?" Angeal asked as he opened his front door and there, indeed was a nicely wrapped present. "Huh. What's the occasion?"
"She said Yuletide. Probably something Wiccan."
There was a hum on the other end. And then a pause before a sharp inhale. I f he wasn't awake before, he was now "Holy shit."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Are you going to wake up Genesis or should I?" "The redhead was a Commander, he should learn to wake up before twelve.
"I'll do it. See you in the simulation room at 5 like usual?"
"Okay. Have a nice day Angeal." he bid his friend farewell with a smile.
"You too Seph."
.
Japanese translations:
Doushite: Why / For what reason
Keshite owaranu: Never ending
ena-ah-itae (= egaite: I sketch / draw) inga wa inga: Karma is karma
Itsu made demo nikumitsudzuke: Forever and ever, I will keep despising you
Oshiete yarou: I shall tell you
Amata arou kanjou: Those feelings (I have(?))
hitotchu hitotchu, keshisatte itte: One by one, all of them disappear
shoushite: Like that / Even so
son saigo ni nokoru junsui na omoi to wa nani ka: I wonder what kind of pure emotion will be left
Ikari to iu no da: It's name is fury
(I tried to write how they sounded from the perspective of someone who speaks English and thus is not well accustomed to the sound of Japanese. Plus, half of these are riddled with sobs so I hope I did well on that front. Don't get me wrong, these translations are as correct as can be, however Japanese syntax is...well, kinda backwards.)
What is this? Two Chaps in a month? OOOOH I'm on a roll! and also I actually had time to write. My hand is cramping like crazy though...
Yeah, Sephy is snarky and really fed up in this one. Also, this was brought to you by months of research That is an actual song. " Yonbanmemono "Narakushou"／The Fourth Performance "Hell's Choir" " from Touhou Project. Not surprised it ended up being TP that I would find this in...and completely accidentally too.
Btw, the previous chapter is going to be rewritten. Cause i don't like it, it feels forced to me. when that happens I'll put mention it either in my profile or in the chapter it comes along with, if you know what I mean.
Tank you all for reading, feel free to leave a review, criticism helps me improve and reading your reviews always makes my day.
Merry late Christmas everybody and Happy late Holidays!
I wish you all a very merry day
~Sil