So for reference:
Shin-Ra: Company
Sinra: Person
Also, and you know who you are Sir or Madame, I am so deeply honored that my insane rumbling have elicited such a stark reaction from your wonderful self. Tis my uttermost hope that your hunt be bountiful.
Chapter 22
Chaos. There was no better word for it.
The poor secretaries were overworked as was, this was far beyond their area of expertise, damnit! And with the walking sentient beergut looming over them for results and answers they didn't even know how to go about acquiring it was even worse.
"Tommasi do you get anything?"
"Again, Alberto, I got neither Jack nor Shit. The moment I do, you'll know!"
"Both of you stop squabbling and concentrate!"
"Fuck of Jesse!"
"Everybody shut up!"
Yea...not good. One side was breaking down rapidly. The other one was a bit more composed, if only just.
"Has anybody tried the radar?
"No good, the mountain range mucks up the signal?"
"Try the base on the beach."
"They say the vessel up and vanished on the second run."
"Is the communication with the plane still down?"
"Yes ma'am. No change so far."
"Okay. Was there anyone, anyone, who saw what the fuck exactly happened? Anyone on the other side perhaps?"
"Negative. The soldiers can't enter the forest past that point."
"Since when?"
"Ever, apparently."
"Why were we not told about it?"
"Need to know basis ma'am."
"...What a load of bullshit..."
"Did you say something, ma'am?"
"Nothing important Jonas. Who organized this operation again?"
"Director Heidegger ma'am"
"And who authorized it?"
"Director Heidegger ma'am."
"Fucking peachy..." That incompetent asshat and his sentient beergut...
One a corner, unseen and unheard by any of the unfortunate employees, a Reaper sat silently and enjoyed the carnage that was very soon to get a certain Director of SOLDIER in a lot of trouble. It was the least of what he deserved. Biting down on her popcorn with feral glee, the deep magenta orbs of the Reaper flashed red, as canines crushed the roasted seeds as she reveled at the spectacle.
Her earpiece emitted a buzzing sound and she clicked her teeth. "Wolfe."
"What's going on on your end, Chaton?"
"Chaos and despair."
"Sheesh. Overdramatic much?"
"You're just jealous you didn't get the front row seats." she grinned as she snapped one of her fans open, nonchalantly fanning herself.
"Yeah, laugh it up. Don't get too happy."
"What a wet blanket you are at times, Black." The fan covered her lower face, even if it had no puprpose. No one could see her now...
"You take that back right now! You hear me Shatona Wolf?!"
"Hmm. Denied." she waited just enough to hear him take an outraged breath before she closed off her end of the channel. With a savage upturn of the lips she turned back to her show. "Come on little fat monkey. Dance for my amusement."
She needn't wait long. Very soon, the Director of "Public Safety" came waddling in the room, screaming and demanding at the poor workers didn't have to offer. Fists were raised and banged on the nearest surfaces with resounding clatter. Older workers knew and kept their heads down, typing away on their keyboards. He would get tired eventually. Shatona's lips curled in disgust. She remembered this fucker, pulling the same bullshit on a different setting. She had been stupid and naive back then, and her ignorance cost her dearly.
He was screaming still and she could with great delight see the beads of sweat running down his face. The fat monkey raised one meaty paw and struck an unfortunate worker on the back of the head, the muted thud drowned out by the sharp bang of the head as it struck the wood. Incompetent piece of garbage...
Her que was coming up soon.
Sephiroth did not know of the chaos ensuing back in Midgar.
Angeal, however, had front row seats.
Bella:
Hey Angeal could you do me a favour and feed the flames a bit more?
Sure, he had no issue with that.
While he preferred to limit his interactions with medical to a minimum and with it's head to never, Angeal could recognize an opportunity when it presented itself, he was a Commander after all. And really, he was just inquiring after the health of his friend. 'Because I was informed about a sudden bombardment near our bases in Wutai and I just wanted to know about any possible relief packages sent.' He had the pleasure of seeing Hojo go through something he could only describe as "glitch". His face relaxed from the perpetual sneer it was sculpted into, his mouth laxxed and he changed just about five colors before the "scientist " managed to school his expression back to cold contempt and professionalism.
"What exactly do you mean Hewley?" well, the scientist wasn't quite there...
"I noticed a few men preparing an aerial strike operation at the forests of Wutai. When I brought it up with General Sephiroth he didn't know of it himself. Were you not informed, Professor?" he replied with utter honesty and "innocence".
"When did this take place?" Hojo's jaw was clenched.
"The day before yesterday, sir. The attack was scheduled for today at twenty hundred hours. About an hour has passed since it was supposed to happen." Angeal was biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
"And why did it take you so long to tell me, you imbecile?!" the mad scientist exploded, a very rare sight to be treated to. Blessed.
He didn't hesitate. Angeal went for the kill. "I honestly believed you were informed Professor. Such an important decision should have been passed through you, as the Head of the Medical Department." he tasted blood in his mouth with how hard he had to hold himself back.
The greasy haired man halted in his speech, his face darkening and angeal's enhanced hearing caught the sound of teeth grinding. He saw the "Doctor's" hands clench but before he could witness another breakdown , Hojo managed to collect the frayed remains of his composure. He cleared his throat and stood up to his full hight. "I see." he sneered in the self important way that was purely Hojo. "I will confirm then and deal with this." The man sauntered out of his office no doubt ready to do damage to whomever was unlucky enough to get in his way. Angeal sparred a moment to preay for any poor innocent should to suffer today before departing himself, satisfied by the knowledge that he had just made Heidegger's life difficult. If he was caught whistling on his way back to his allotted apartment then, well, he was a jovial fellow, nobody could blame him.
Angeal briefed Sephiroth and Genesis, still in Correll, in a group call featuring a certain witch's cackles as background noise. The sort of it was that Hojo had "somehow" found out about the bombing fiasco and had pitched a fit of colossal proportions. As a result, a trans-departmental "war" had ensued, with Hojo demanding that Heidegger be remover for incompetence and "workplace neglect and endangerment of troops". Rich, coming from Hojo, but they would take it.
It did it's job though, apparently, the President was very, very panicked. For people like him, being powerless was the absolute worst feeling.
Soon, after the disastrous attempt at subjugation, from Shin-Ra's side came the attempts of salvage. So here was the question. How do you do that? Because the issue still stood, there was no way Shin-ra could get past the surrounding woods. Didn't seem to phase the President. The greedy imbecile had demanded for a treaty to be established stat. If there was any indication needed that nobody read his reports that was it...
One of these days...
Bella bust a gut laughing, barely managing not to spill her tea all over herself. "Oh Sephy-dear-" she cackled "-wouldn't it be just ideal if you were the one to salvage this situation with a before overlooked attentiveness to Wutai matters?" She had just barely managed to get out in between peels of laughter.
He almost threw the hunk of iolite she was using as a paperweight at her.
There was a plan...kind of a plan...Again...
He was getting used to it and he didn't like it.
Considering that most of it happened away from Shin-Ra affiliated eyes, it was a tad better than the very first plan involving Bella, but still. Admittedly, the only stenous part of it was writing up the treaty according to the President's liking. He wrote a second one, less infuriating, one that he was truly going to deliver to Bella.
"And where are you going General?" he didn't jump in startlement but it was a very close thing.
Of course he was caught just as he was about to head out. And by the person he least wanted to, too.
"Following the President's orders Tseng." he replied nonchalantly.
"And how exactly are you doing that?" The Turk inquired further, making Sephiroth have to stamp down the urge to strangle him.
"Trying to salvage this disaster." he hoped he would take the hint but no such luck.
"Again, how?"
"I thought that the shrines could serve as an in between." Sephiroth threw out the half formed idea he had established with Bella.
"Hmm. Astute observation. How about we accompany you General?" 'Oh for the love of-!'
"Regretfully, I will have to decline, Tseng. I would be very upset to have to explain your deaths." he replied very pointedly.
Tseng's face filled with displeasure and Sephiroth quickly made his escape. Let's hope Tseng didn't follow him.
Bella met him half an hour away from the campsite. Sephiroth could now perceive the wards, the tingling sensation against his skin, inciting a gentle feel of goosebumps as he passed through them. It was a feeling that he had come to associate with safety. He relaxed, welcoming the shivers as he walked into the clearing where the witch was sitting primly on a rock, playing with her phone. She made a very striking image. In the middle of the natural greens and browns of the forest clearing she was dressed in a black kimono with dusky pink accents and patterned with dark magenta and purple butterflies. She had a dark grey obi around her waist, held closed with a piece of red lace. Her hair was on it's usual bun and decorated with a vivid red rose on its base and a dangling white puff.
"The Turks have additional orders to watch me." he opened the conversation with a barely restrained snarl.
"I expected that, to tell the truth." she sighed in long suffering agreement as she stood up, straightening up the fabric of her kimono. Sephiroth offered her his arm as he came closer and she daintily took it. Then she had an idea. "Can't you work something out with Tseng?"
"What...do you have in mind...?" he asked with dread already pooling in the pit of his stomach. Or it was the feeling of the teleportation as they passed under an arch of string she conjured up in front of them.
"Bribe him?" she picked the conversation right up as they were both whisked off to the familiar halls of her Tent.
"Must I?" he drawled, making his disdain of the idea known.
"Come Seph, take one for the team." she had the gall to laugh at his as she pulled him through the doors and hall to the now usual little alcove in the side of the mountain where they'd been having their talks.
"I'd rather not." No he was not whining!
Nor was he winning for that matter.
"Anyway, let me see the treaty proposal so I can decline and you can send it back to the tab of lard you call a president." she laughed as she sat down.
"No need, I have a second one written up that you can forward to the Emperor. I fully intend to report this attempt as a failure. We will see where we go from there." He got comfortable himself and handed her an envelope intended for the Emperor.
"Points for foresight." she nodded approvingly and had some food fly to them as she poured the coffee.
"The problem still stands though. How do we excuse this?" Sephiroth asked what had been torturing him ever since she had botched Shin-ra's latest attack.
"Why can't they just give up? I would thing one would be remiss of continuing if they kept hitting a brick wall!" The witch huffed out in indignation.
'That would be very much preferred, but we don't always get what we want.' "Much preferred, but highly unlikely." he shot it down, much as he though it was a waste of time if they did. He...was not ready to leave yet.
"Ok, I have an idea." she said with a tone to her voice and that was all he needed to distract him from his mutinous thoughts..
"Do I want to know?"
"Do you?"
"..."He never knew that silence could hurt so much.
"Most wise choice, my friend."
An anxious Sephiroth returned hours later, a bit haggard to sell the illusion, and requested the senior Turk come meet him at the earliest convenience.
Tseng entered the Tent, exuding an air of confidence, despite having no idea as to why he was there. Sephiroth didn't look up from where he was fixing a pitcher of coffee. It wasn't the one he had back in Midgar but this one allowed him to up the dosage as much as he wanted, so it had it's good points. He gestured for the Turk to take a seat but spoke no further. They waited a couple of minutes, both unwilling to break the silence, and Tseng willing to wait if it meant he cold have a nice cup of coffee.
Finally the pitcher was filled and the General grabbed two cups, filling them up as gar as they could go and brought them to the foldable table he had fashioned as a desk. Both sat in silence, relishing on their first gulp of the wonderfull liquid. Simultaneously, they put their cups down and made eye contact.
"This is absolutely ridiculous." The Silver General started.
"I concur General, but orders are orders."
"I understand that." he took another sip. "However, there is a limit to what we can do."
"Indeed." the Turk openly sighed. So he was getting heckled too...
"So what exactly are your orders?"
The other man looked at him in the eye but did not speak, not for a while. "You understand I cannot talk about that."
"Then I'll guess." Sephiroth went on unaffected. "You are here to make sure I don't do anything that would jeopardize the expedition." Tseng kept silent and that was all he needed to continue. "I suppose it would not be too far to theorize that that was their belief already, and what you had to do was provide confirmation." he stiffened now. Sephiroth had hit the nail on the head. And going off on that..."I suppose you were also to verify whether I was acting towards Wutai's interests." He was, kinda, but Tseng didn't have to know that. But the Turk was stiff in his chair, and he knew he was very very right. "Out of curiosity, what were you to do after that?" he pinned the other man with a nonchalant stare but still the other didn't answer. so Sephiroth continued. "I know that no matter how stupid the Prezident is, he wouldn't have you take me out. He's way into Hojo's pocket to to do that. Following that logic, the obvious thing would be either a demotion or a suspension, and I suppose you would assume control." Tseng wasn't looking at him, focusing rather on his cup.
"But considering how much resources Shin-re has put on this and the efforts of making me the face of success for this company I assume that it was going to be a temporary thing, I just wouldn't be made aware." Holy shit he didn't know people could turn that colour. "Do tell me, were you perhaps involved with that miserable failure of an aerial strike?" He asked and finally stopped talking himself, letting tseng stew for a bit. Tseng to his credit composed himself pretty quickly.
"I am not authorized to comment on these statements, however you can be assured we had nothing to do with the last part."
"I see. They didn't like it when thing don't go their way, do they?"
"That they don't."
"Tseng, I don't want to have to look behind my back every other step to make sure i don't have another scheme coming up on me."
"You don't seem to have problem finding them."
"You came here expecting a certain situation, yet what you found was a legitimate problem, with no signs of dissent." Tseng went to speak but Sephiroth didn't let him. "And do remember Tseng, I was born in this company, I was raised by this company and I was made what I am by this company. At this point, I am not the one sabotaging the situation."
"What do you want me to do then?!" The turk was just shy of exploding. Sephiroth however stayed calm, sipping his coffee like they weren't talking about a war.
"Drink some coffee Tseng." he prompted amiably and he could hear the other's teeth grinding. He did however take that sip of the coffee, mutinous as it was. "What i want you do is work with me on this Tseng. The situation is hard for you and it's hard for me. I don't like not producing results either, and I like being doubted because of something I can't control even less."
"Then we are at an impasse because neither of us know how to progress here."
The young General let a smirk make it's place onto his face as he slowly topped off Tseng's mug. "I might have an idea..."
The next time he saw Bella he did chuck the nearest paperweight at her.
"I, am never again, in my entire life, following any, of your suggestions." That had been one of the single most nerve-wracking things he had ever put himself through.
Bella just laughed at his face bearing the glee of someone who already knew that would not be happening.
He knew, deep inside himself, that this would not be the last time either, and he mourned his sanity. "You deal with Tseng next time." he sniped back.
"But it went well, didn't it?" she winked with a grin. 'Smug little-'
"Just barely. Negotiating with Tseng is hard on a good day." No matter what he had to say about the man he never acted like he didn't have the upper hand and that did horrible things to other people's confidence. "The report should be sent tomorrow and with this there are no options left."
"Good. Now what we have to do is wait for them to panic. I hope Angeal's not into any trouble after helping back there." She gnawed on her lip in worry.
"Angeal knows how to handle himself." He dismissed. "And with how haphazard the "operation" was-" he did not bother disguising how ridiculous of a notion it was "I doubt Heidegger will have the luxury to complain." He tacked the thought on the end.
"If we're lucky enough then he might end up out of our hands."
"Not optimal. The successor might actually be competent."
"True."
It took them a month to finally admit that shit just wasn't happening.
And Sephiroth had the dubious honor to be graced with Scarlet's presence and a ton of her robots.
Fun-fucking-tastic.
'Just put me in the ground and let me die already.' Sephiroth was trying his best not to grimace at the blonde woman's flirting. Her conduct towards him never failed to cause discomfort and her attitude in general went even beyond that.
He didn't even bother volunteering to guide her. He was fully dumping her there and claiming they got separated otherwise. After giving Bella the go ahead to fuck with the bint to her hearts content at that.
Thank The Goddess she just demanded to be given a tent to set up her controls and toys so he didn't have to deal with her unless she searched him out. Small mercies.
They just let her send her bots over the forest while he and Tseng watched the show, cup of coffee in hand like it was popcorn. They might not get along the best, but if there was something they agreed on it was their hatred of a few select individuals. Scarlet being one of them. His SOLDIERs seemed to hate the woman too, judging by they looks the entire camp was sending her when she wasn't looking.
"How long do you think they're going to last?" Tseng asked conversationally. Hm...how to answer that...
Sephiroth knew that Bella's brand of magic, didn't generally go well with electronics, depending on the density of it. He hadn't seen it himself but she had explained it to them so he knew that none of Scarlets little toys were going to start failing the further in they got and would fail the moment they reached a certain point. Too bad he couldn't say it because it would seem suspicious..."I suppose not long."
"How so?" Tseng didn't take his eyes away from the forest.
"The Phantom has a sence for intrusions." Oh did she... He chuckled internally he had seen that monstrosity of a map...
"Even the machines, you think?" Tseng turned to him, eyes full of curiosity. It was a valid situation, Sephiroth supposed. Tseng didn't know what he did.
"Especially the machines. If it's something they are categorized as, is invasive." He sipped his cup of coffee, letting the bitterness calm his nerves.
"I won't disagree on that. So one?" Oh there was the gleam that he knew Tseng for...
"Less than half." He smirked back at the Turk.
"Are you sure General?"
"Very."
"So you won't mind to set it at five cups." Sephiroth had to stop himself from snarling at the smug fuck that was setting his eyes on his coffee while drinking his fucking coffee. Too bad the Turk wasn't winning that.
"Not at all."
He won that bet when pieces of scrap were thrown out of the treeline twenty minutes later.
"Holy shit they're persistent." Bella sipped her tea in an ironic parallel to Tseng.
"That they are." he sighed in long suffering agreement as they both saw more and more bots entering the forest from Bella's map. If Scarlet kept up she would run out in less that two hours.
"Are you sure it's okay to be here?" Bella turned her concerned emeralds on him and he couldn't help smiling.
"It'll be fine as long as I'm back before she get's out of her tent. I excused myself for paperwork people know not to bother me." He fondly pat the unruly locks, for once out of the customary bun, like she did with Cloud. Where Cloud however would escape the gesture with a pout, Bella sighed with a roll of her eyes and leaned in.
"Alright, I'll give you a portkey for easy access." she snuggled further into her blanket and into her chair. It was a chilly afternoon despite the cold season being almost over. The warming charms rendered the blanket obsolete but it made her feel cozier. "How much more do you think?"
"Month. Tops." The General answered without hesitation and she giggled at the certainty.
"I'll trust you then." She went to refill her cup and pointedly looked at the books and notebooks Sephiroth had brought with him. "So how do those runes go?" She asked with a smirk.
"...Help please."
Sephiroth was right. It wasn't even a week after Scarlet went back to report her failure.
He just stared at the order. And stared. And the words stared back at him.
"Holy shit!" he scrambled to call Bella because she needed to know this.
The President was coming himself to survey the situation.
"Oh Goddess why have you forsaken me?!"
Why was he here again? Oh yes, the President. The insufferable tub of lard that fucking demanded to get the whole fucking experience.
"Have some more patience sir. As you saw yourself the path has changed again but I'm sure a clearing should come up soon enough." Sephiroth drawled towards the very not apropriately dressed man behind him. As was customary of Bella's little show of horrors, the "procession" Sephiroth was forced to lead into the woods, was trudging in said woods for about two hours.
"And how are you so sure, General?" The President's words had such an inflection of contempt it made the silver haired man's teeth itch.
'Do not strangle him, there are Turks.' because yes, of course they were fucking there. "Statistics sir." he ground out before very pointedly turning to the front, in a pseudo vigilant way. Thankfully for his, and evryone else's really, sanity, about half an hour later they found themselves on a nice little clearing, with conveniently placed rocks around. Of course the affectionately nicknamed tub of lard they called a president, collapsed on one of them, heaving and sweating. The Turks had already moved to the perimeter to ensure their superior's safety. Sephiroth had to hold himself back from snorting because he knew that it would do absolutely nothing when Bella finally got involved. And he knew she was going to.
Not surprisingly, their dear President couldn't take the humid weather of, the now mid March Wutai, demanding they return to camp immediately. All with the pompousness and arrogant entitlement befitting of the World's biggest corporation. So as per their boss' demand they started the trudge back, with Shinra Sr. loudly complaining.
However, after walking and walking and walking the camp just wouldn't come in sight. Dread settled in their stomachs like a piece of concrete.
"Fuck!" The redhead Turk cussed as realization settled.
Immediately they took positions around the President, weapons out and positions ready το intercept any kind of attack.
"What is this? What is going on?!" The man questioned in a fed up tone.
"We are not sure sir." Tseng answered with momentary hesitation.
The President's face was becoming flushed with irritation. "How can you not be sure?" he demanded to know derisively. However none of them looked at the middle aged man. Too focused on the surrounding brush, rustling almost ominously, as they slowly walked forward.
Tseng took the role of the speaker, well versed with Shinra Sr.'s temper "The space has somehow distorted. We don't know what causes it." They all knew that moment that that was the wrong thing to say.
The man's face got alarmingly red and swollen as his anger exploded. "How useless!" He burst out. "All this time here and you don't know!?" Holy shit he was being loud. Sephiroth saw the well cultivated fear in Tseng's eyes as the man got even louder, drowning out the surrounding noise. That was not a good thing.
The brush was moving more slowly now, sluggishly, lagging. "Sir you have to be quiet. We don't want to draw the Phantom's attention." Rude spoke up in a cautioning tone but the other would not be persuaded.
"This bullshit again! Stop with the excuses!" He got even louder, drowning out the surrounding noise, driving his feet into the ground and refusing to go further. Oh, the Turks were panicking now, seeing how the forest was exhibiting the signs that their president was to busy being entitled to notice. Sephiroth had to bite his cheek to not burst out laughing.
"It is not an excuse sir."Reno tried to placate his boss desperately. The woods were unnaturally quiet now.
"Shut up! You imbecile! What do I have you for if not to deal with this kind of shit?" somehow the man got even louder. He was absolutely furious, partly perhaps because his men were refusing to look at him, rather focusing on the wood where, from his perspective, nothing was happening.
"Please sir, calm down."
"NO! I refuse to be silenced! This situation is inexcusable! I will n-" And it was quiet. They immediately swiveled to look at the now freakishly quiet man.
Only there was nothing there.
"Fuck!"
Bella watched the bloated mass of anger have a conniption fit on the forest floor. Her respect for the Turks was without her consent rising. But looking at the mann with the greying blonde hair, in that ill fit suit, she could see how that man stood on top of the world's pecking order. She could see the arrogance of someone who spent his life, fought his wars in offices and board rooms, and probably never walked up a flight of stairs in this life either.
She had followed them from the moment they stepped into her playground,patiently tailing from out of sight in the foliage, patiently waiting for her moment to strike. And really it was such a sight to behold as the man broke down in the middle of his little safe zone when everything went wrong.
He got louder and louder and she knew when her moment had come. slowly the witch left her perch, ascending slowly in order to get right over them. It was fiddly use of the floating charms, assisted by float materia and she had to be precise and careful with the airborne strands of hair and the wide flowing fabrics. When she reached her prefered hight she started slowly descending. Arms outstretched she gently caressed a a silver lock to inform Sephiroth she was there when she was close enough. Without waiting for a reaction she reached and ever so gently traced the hollering man's face. His head snapped to her, eyes widened not comprehending what he was seeing.
She grined, wide and full of teeth as she grasped his face roughly and pulled. The man abruptly stopped speaking, eyes widening in absolute terror as she whisked him away.
She dumped her lump of burden unceremoniously on the darkest clearing she had found in forest of Wutai. Only this one was far more special that just that. So, so much more. It was far further in the woods than she had allowed any scouting team or patrol get before. Also it was one of the legitimately haunted spots that could be found in the forest. The worst one at that. this place had caused her to nearly blackout when she had found it, and that was after she had beefed up her mental shields. She would make sure the angry spirits didn't tear him apart, but that was it.
The man scrambled to his feet, eyes whiping around in terror but it's too dark for him to see to well. She floats behind him and blows on the back of his neck, swiveling around and out of his eye range as he turns around. She takes extra care so that the tail end of her robe is caught by the corner of his eyes, but nothing quickly retreats and watches with rising glee as he turns around wildly, trying to pinpoint the source of his torment. She gets ready and the next time his back is turned she rushes at him, giving a strong push to his back that has him falling with great force in the grass. Bella lets out a multi pitched, cackling laugh for safe measure before disappearing into the foliage again.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
The cackle just escaped her, resulting in a demented, nightmare of a sound. Oh he wasn't doing was so pale now, finally seeming to notice the absolute silence around him. His eyes snap to every single sound, the slightest of rustles get shim to jump, he yelps and trips over his own feet and just as he turns her way she makes hard eye contact and he screams and she just stands there and luxuriates in it.
Oh how wondrous...
This place was messing with her, and this time She. Did. Not. Care.
"HMmmm~mmm~humM~hMmmm~." She hummed as she circled around, glowing while eyes staring at the quivering thing, tracing her route through the brush. She retreats further back, vanishing with deafening cackles that shake the clearing and she waits. Waits for him to get worked up and waits for him to calm down a bit, regain some amount of composure, before she releases he holds on the wards and completely and utterly destroys all hope he may have had.
And so she stays, sipping tea and waiting, and of course without fail after a bit of absolutely nothing he manages to gather himself. Straightening up and fixing his suit and the arrogance returns.
"Lousy things, what was I thinking." he chuckles in self assurance. "There is absolutely nothing there." there's a scoff and he surveys his surroundings.
"Huh. Where could those useless boys be now?" the mutterings seem to help the man's confidence. "I will need to have a stern talk with them. What an inexcusable way to treat their superior." she was stifling her chuckles, he was digging his own grave there and she didn't even need to throw that disruption rune she had in mind.
And then at last, just to drive the point home further he strikes the last kick on the very thoroughly dead horse. "Once I deal with these filthy barbarians I am going to burn this whole place to the ground and turn it into a kitschy tourist trap of a resort." Holy fucking shit this man has no sense for danger.
As one, driven by rightfull fury, the restless spirits slam on her shields, beating down onto the wards, threatening to overwhelm her and her shields and she can feel the pressure build and build and the wards heave. As if burned she releases her hold and brings forth the matrix point. Thank the Lady and the Lord both that she had added an extra layer for this exact reason. It was going to be a nightmare when the time came to exorcise this place.
The runes light up around her as they spring to life and encircle the dark clearing and lighting little space with an otherwordly green.
A thought crosses her mind, a bit delayed considering the situation, how much of the timeline would it fuck up if the president was rendered too traumatized to further lead the company?
On second thought, buff these runes up a bit more so that the killing intent didn't completely traumatize the snowflake.
Like a very detached instructor overseeing an especially bad training excersise she stays out of the way and kees an eye on the runes and the now sniveling man on the forrest floor. She had hated the man the moment she saw him. Regardless she watched.
This should be about the time...
"Somebody help me, please!" Too much like Vernon to ignore the suppressed rage of her childhood.
She activates the wards again and the walls raise up, plunging the space in absolute silence again. The spirits get suppressed and they are not happy. Holy shit they were not happy.
Perhaps the reason behind the detachment she watched the man's suffering with.
"I'm begging you!"
Was this man really worth the trouble and pain? Then again if he died, his son would take over and he was actually competent.
So she braved the screams and strikes against her shields and glided towards the quivering man in front of her.
Perhaps it was the monster his greed had shaped him in.
"PLEASE"
'Yeah, yeah. Shut up...'
Well he did shut up when she came in front of him, going even whiter somehow. He should have read the reports, even if he ignored them in the end. The president didn't stay silent for long though, already decided in his course of action. The pitiful man grasped at the hem of her black dress, tugging pitiful and looking at her hopefully. The pause in her movements caused him to almost hyperventilate but it was nothing sort of absolute disbelief at the extent of his actions.
As Bella however fixed her eyes on his, her wonder turned to resentment. The man's thoughts reflected his true emotions , the contempt he felt for his situation and the dishonesty of his actions. 'Well no surprise there...' She narrowed her eyes and the man stopped daed and stock still. The meaty fingers holding her dress laxed and she found the chance to pull back harshly, making the man fall flat on his face again. The witch took an unholly amount of pleasure when he scrambled to her, half crawling half dragging his large form across the grass. "Please..." his whimpers did nothing to create any sort endearment. "Have mercy..."
Should she have him sweat a bit more? Hm...
She opened the black bruised lips but no further movement came "Why should We?" She rasped, lips unmoving but words clear. And he recoiled. Good.
"Wah-wah-what-t, why..." he was stuttering, obviously the answer she gave him was not what he expected. But really, this was supposed to be a vengeful spirit in front of him. What did he expect?
"Dids't thou?" she continued to drive her point, looking reproachfully down at him, as if at a cockroach that was to be crashed. His eyes widened and she allowed herself a moment of glee. 'Doesn't feel so good now, huh?'
"Pardon?"
"Dids't thou?" She coloured her voice with a dangerous undertone and the man shivered in fear. Good
"Did I what?" Merlin he was stupid!
"Mercy! Pathetic mongrel!" She screamed at him making him yelp and scramble backwards but she wasn't letting him get away. No, she rushed at him, grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up painfully, so that his eyes met her's. "Shows't thou anyyyyy...?" she whispered, gravelly and choked and right into his face "SO?!" this scream came multi pitched and scratchy.
The man cried and whimpered as he tried to desperately back away but she wouldn't let him. And she laughed. A crazed giggling noise and he redoubles his efforts to get away. The witch lets him making a show of trowing him away as she continues to giggle, becoming less crazed and getting more disgusted by the second. She advanced slowly and deliberately before rasiding a hand to the man, immobilizing him.
"Tell us, Rodolfus Jacob Shinra. Didst thou?" The hand advanced more, coming to grasp the immobilized man's face and roughly grasping it. Her nails would leave marks. But he stayed quiet, he couldn't answer that, she saw it in his thoughts. He couldn't because he hadn't and admitting that may get him killed. So she would make the choise for him.
"Thou has't not. Again I ask thee, why should we?"
"I'm sorry! Please!" He begged to be forgiven, even more frantic now that his freedom of movement had been taken away. "I'm sorry. Forgive me Please! I didn't KNOW!"
'What didn't you know you fuckstick? That you were hurting, killing people?' Outwardly she scoffed, unimpressed and the man gasped in fear.
"If that is the case..." she grasped and threw him forward. Suddenly he found himself able to move again and he scrambled to his feet, putting a tree on his back and facing her, legs trembling. Well at least he knew not to turn his back on danger... She stayed in her place, fixing her eyes on his and stared at him hard. He really had an issue staying upright. Perhaps he should see to lose all the extra...
'Maybe let's give him a hand.'
She raised her hand and suddenly he didn't have to struggle to stay upright. Rather his biggest concern would be being able to breath as he found himself struggling against something unseen, choking him, dragging him up the side of the tree. Once his legs were fully outstretched she spoke again.
"Leave now, Rodolfus Jacob Shinra. We shall not be so tolerant should thou chooseth our kindness to disregard." She left him and he run, far faster than she would have expected of him. An appreciative whistle left her when he was finally out of earshot.
Finally she allowed herself to breathe in, calming dow and relaxing as she pushed the Black Madness to the back of her mind. "Hooo that was a lot." she pushed the errand strand out of her eyes and took out her contacts with a snap of her fingers. Absently she brought forth the matrix point again to track the man's progress in his mad run out of the forest. She set a route for him to stumble into the convoy if men that brought him into the forest. Fishing her phone out of her pocket she checked the time. Okay, not too long. Bella let out a sigh and started tailing the man. He wasn't going to stay away. He wasn't going to start immediately again but he would eventually. So she needed to plant a mental trigger on him too along with a few long term illusion spells.
She popped in her headphones and cranked the music up to max, letting the sound drown all outside noise. That way the screams and wails of rage at her actions didn't reach past the first rudimentary blockades of her mind.
This was starting to be such a fucking hassle.
Sephiroth had not expected things to happen ad they did, even if he had largely started to get used to Bella's methods. However, not even he was saved from the sheer stress of it. All he managed to catch was a glimpse and suddenly there was quiet and that was a bad sign because the president was not there anymore.
"What the hell just happened?" The use of profanity was an indication of the Wutain Turk's loss of composure despite the calmness of his voice. A complete opposite to his red haired junior, who was losing his shit.
"Don't look at me! I don't know!" both of Reno's hands were in his hair, carding roughly through the strand in a display of anxiety. "He was here! How did this happen?"
"Spiriting away, perhaps?" Sephiroth remembered something he had read in Bella's books. It had surprised him because he had seen the references in the folklore of Wutai as well.
Tseng turned his irate gaze at him "Don't be absurd. This is reality." Tseng himself, must have grown up to these stories and as such, acknowledging even a shred of validity of them was unsettling at best and nightmare fuel at worst.
Sephiroth braved the stare and persevered in his point "Tell me Tseng, one time that anything has made sense, ever since that Phantom appeared." He found himself pressuring the man for an answer. While he knew it was all bullshit, Tseng did not. He had no reason refusing so staunchly what was in front of him.
"Still, General. This is unprecedented!" Perhaps, Sephiroth pondered, it was exactly that. It was very easy to act how you wished when the threat of retribution from the divines was discarded.
"And unwanted I assure you." the silver haired man rolled his eyes before returning to observing the underbrush
"What do we do now?" Such a rare occurrence this was, they heard Rude speak.
"We search, obviously, but..." The silent man's partner looked to their senior for guidance. Sephiroth had to cut in again before Tseng spoke.
"Don't separate." It was delivered with finality.
"It's a lot ground to cover." At least Tseng did not sound condescending...? Small victories...? But he conceded, having learned the hard way "But unless she wants us to, we won't get anywhere. Separating is pointless."
"Standing here does un nothing either. Let's move."
So they trudged along, ears open and eyes peeled and hoping to see something, anything that would lead them to their boss.
He didn't like admitting it to himself but even he wasn't sure about the man's safety at that moment. He trusted Bella, beyond a shadow of her doubt and he knew her actions had a very good reason behind them. And that is exactly why he was afraid. Shinra was responsible for some truly abhorrent acts, he was painfully aware, and so was she. He didn't know if what they would find, and he knew they would find the man, was living man or a maimed corpse.
Part of him wished for the latter, but an even larger part hoped beyond anything else for the former. HE didn't know which was worse but he was afraid and uncertain of the future with Shinra dead.
And that was by far the worst feeling he had ever come to know.
Much to his relief the man was alive.
Much to his amusement he was scratched up, clothes rumpled and dirtied in...peculiar...places.
Much to his ire they found him when the fattso burst through the trees and right on fucking top of him.
With a look, Sephiroth foisted the now unconscious man o the Turks. He refused to carry him all the way back.
When Sephiroth was dismissed when they were back in the camp he set the usual excuse of paperwork and went in his Tent, however he didn't use the port-key, he couldn't leave the camp with The President here. Scarlet was one thing but with Shinra Sr...that was asking for to much trouble.
Imagine his surprise when Bella traipsed into his tent a few hours late while he was making a cup of coffee.
"What do you think you're doing woman?" he hissed in surprise.
"Wrapping up loose ends." the witch shrugged as she laid her cloak on the back of a chair and stretching. He heard the cracks her bones made and he wanted to wince. Still he didn't relent.
"Are you daft? Coming while it's just me is fine but with Turks? And the President? Do you want to get caught?" the witch however didn't seem to be as concerned, simply draping herself on the chair like it was a throne made of leather and silk.
"You worry too much." She stuck her tongue out tiredly. She propped her hand on the plastic arm of the chair and leaned her hand on it. Sephiroth sighed, unable to stay mad at her.
"You look dead on your feet Bella." the silver General took one of the light blankets on his bedding and draped it over her. "Just what exactly were you doing?" he asked her softly as he tucked the blanket around her.
Bella snuggled more deeply into the warmth, eyes half lidded and looking content. "Mental triggers." she drawled slowly. "It was mostly protecting the fattso that was the most trying." she yawned and snuggled more deeply. "There were a lot of angry spirits."
Sephiroth was worried, she didn't usually look this bad unless she had done something exceptionally strenuous. And she was more pale than usual...He didn't register to him in the start but, without his saying so, his hand had found her cheek. She was disconcertingly cold. He only really registered it when she leaned into his palm, slowly nuzzling. With how cold she felt that wasn't surprising. She really wasn't at her best. A warm breath touched his skin and goosebumps spread all the way up his arm. His first instinct would be to pull the hand away but she looked so relaxed, so content, he couldn't find it in himself to jar her out of it.
"Was it truly that bad?"
She hummed in disgruntlement. "Not now Seph." She damn near begged and he couldn't push further. Instead he gently extracted his hand and pulled her cloak from the back of the chair. "Alright. Rest but tell me when you leave, alright?" he got a lazy nod and a hum in response and he covered her up, chair and all, thus making her completely invisible.
With a sigh he sat on his desk, resolving himself to try and dent his paperwork, keeping an eye on the place the witch was resting in case she moved or the cloak fell off.
They were all so happy to see Shinra Sr. finally leaving, too bad it would have to wait. The very traumatized man was very eager to leave as well but it seemed that a certain witch had a different idea.
Sephiroth couldn't really fault the logic behind it. They had been banging their head on that particular wall so the moment the opportunity presented itself, Bella grabbed it by the hair.
Early the next day, the eyes of every person in the camp were drawn to the forest as a deafening howl came from deep beyond the trees. The howling came closer until it reached the treeline and a monstrously stong wind breached the trees, blowing the vegetation out of the way to sweep through the camp. With a rising sense of dread they got ready to draw their weapons.
The wind continued to howl and from beyond the darkness something started to become visible. With a decisive pace the figure got ever closer, making itself known. It was a ninja of the Crescent Unit. The masked figure marched out of the trees carrying a white flag on his back.
The man spoke and Tseng stood to attention, speaking back. He then turned to the pale form of their president. "He says that the Emperor wants to discuss peace. The Phantom Lady will temporarily allow passage to the capital but only this once."
The ninja of the Crescent Unit led them through the forest in a brisk pace. But previous experience had them wary and it was proven if not right, then warranted when glimpses of white fabric made themselves known, following them from beyond the trees. It was driving the point home.
No funny business.
As they entered the city, more men joined the procession in leu of the Phantom staying behind and within the boundaries of the woods. They followed them discreetly and keeping a distance, jumping from roof to roof rather than on the ground. High ground advantage. Sephiroth could see the validity.
Shinra though, now that the Lady of the Woods was well away - if only he knew - was regaining his stance and confidence. He scoffed at the procession of red clothed men. "Such barbaric behavior. Why not walk on the ground like a civilized human beings?"
There was no response from the men, not even a twitch. As if they didn't even matter and the bloated blonde seethed.
Sephiroth would later learn that Bella had hand picked and coached in preparation for this very occasion. Their remarkable maturity and patience had distinguished them and in the end made them perfect to learn the language under the witch's scholastic care. They were there to gather information and wait for the opportunity to strike.
"I don't even know why we're doing this without the translators. Will that senile old man even understand us?" "If they think they can use the language barrier to pass things through they are sorely mistaken."
Sephiroth at that point had felt thankful that the Crimson Unit didn't understand "The English".
They walked through the city, doing much better than the last time he'd been there during the first expedition. The buildings looked sturdier, the construction...cleaner somehow, more precise, and with more than one floor. The roofs were tiled or wooden now rather than impacted grass, the walls were made of clay or wood decorated with white paper instead of woven reeds. The people were better dressed, looked to be at better health, happier.
It was such a stark difference to what they'd seen the first time and quite frankly, disheartening. Seing the city doing so well when the first strike had been so clearly in Sin-Ra's favor. Having that failure rubbed into their faces like that.
And then, through an open sliding door they saw a light. A lamp. An electrically powered one.
Holy shit. Holy. Shit.
The President's face was so red at that point. And he was silent. This could be very good, or very, very bad.
Finally, the Emperor'r tower came in sight and where the rest of the city had very clearly seen worse days, the tower itself was far more majestic than would have been afforded to a nation in the middle of a war. Yes, this was grating. They stepped forward and were greeted by a woman in ceremonial white kimono and wide red hakama, so long the feet were not at all visible. A thick white and gold lined overobe fell over the usual attire of the Wutai priestesses with long white sleeves, obscuring the arms. Her auburn hair was adorned with two white flowers and a veil made only her eyes visible. A priestess of the Leviathan, a cumpolsory presence in important affairs of the state. The ornate mirror that hung from her neck with a thick red cord indicated that she was a Grand Priestess.
"Oh it's a different one this time." he observed in mock interest "Wonder what could have happened to the last one."
Sephiroth knew what had happened to the last one. Her death had been a heavy hit to Wutai's morale.
The woman looked up, her deep red eyes fixated on them, delivering a most unnerving gaze. But from the shape of them...she was not Wutaian. A quick glance at Tseng and he knew the Turk had noticed too.
The ninja leading them bowed to the woman in respect and she bowed back. "Priestess Lily." he greeted her in perfectly pronounced English-Holy shit!
"You speak our language?"
The man of the Crescent Unit spared him but a cursory look before turning to the woman again. "It is but an inevitability, Rodolfo Jacob Shinra, for it would be utter foolishness to not know something as rudimentary as thyne enemy's language." all spoken with perfect pronunciation, only the slight accent giving away the fact that he was actually Wutaian. "I leave them in your capable hands, Priestess." he bowed again and just disappeared in a flurry of leaves. That was new...
The young woman turned to them again, bowing shallowly and beckoned them forward. "Please follow me, gentlemen."
"So you are the new priestess." The bloated man comented derisively "Not Wutai if I am not mistaken."
The words sparked no reaction from the woman "You are indeed not mistaken President."she answered in an emotionless tone. "I don't suppose you would have an issue with that now." She pointedly shot a look at Tseng's direction conveying a 'You have no room to be speaking' message.
"And young too." the disgusting man continued speaking,determined to get some sort of rise, actually checking her out before scoffing "Quite young for such a dangerous duty."
"Your words are greatly unneeded and their contents acknowledged and dismissed." she spoke airily and uncaringly.
"Whatever would you mean, Oh Great Priestess?" He inquired patronizingly, ridicule lacing his voice as he spoke her title aloud.
Still the woman refused to react in any way to the President's words "Grand Priestess Kiku's death, while a mournful event was an inevitable one non the less. It is an honor to serve, as children of the Leviathan, and death while in service is a source of great pride."
"So you throw your priestesses out to die? How expectable of savages!"
"Why of course not. We are all but insects, placed on this earth to live our lives before the time comes to rejoin the Lifestream. What was your meaning?" Here though, here there was a certain inflection, a faux innocence and obliviousness. This woman knew very well what she was doing.
Tseng tried in vain to get the man to stop, having seen through the woman's words but he was too late "But didn't you just say that you saw through my threats?"
"Did I?" Yes, she knew very well what she was doing.
"Why you-"
"We have arrived." she stated airily as she stopped in front of the grand door's to the Emperors private office. The guards on either side bowing to her in respect as she pushed the large doors aside with an ease disproportionate to her small stature. "Choose who is to accompany you in this meeting, if you would."
"Sephiroth, you're coming with me."
Was he now? He supposed he cut a pretty intimidating picture even without all the context. He was the Demon of Wutai, The Silver General. Sephiroth was the one who had brought Wutai under heel the first time. Still, Sephiroth had expected Tseng to be the one to accompany the man. He had a feeling he could just not shake about this.
Inside the Emperor stood in wait and this time he looked the leader of the nation he was. Dressed simply but still majestic and regal in his posture it looked as if he had gained years rather than lost them to stress. Emperor Godo stood to greet them with a jovial smile.
"Welcome! I trust your journey has been pleasant."
"Your Majesty." Shinra bowed shallowly in greeting, face twisted in a self satisfied sneer.
The peace talks had started. Such thing were expectedly rife with underlying tension. He'd gone through the exact same thing before once already, however it quickly became clear that it would not be as easy as the first time. Tensions run higher and higher because this time, Wutai wasn't in a disadvantageous position.
They weren't treating Shin-Ra like a threat, like invaders. This time they were an annoyance and they had no way to be a threat to Wutai in any way shape or form. They were an independent nation, they sustained themselves from the land and Shin-Ra couldn't change that, now more than ever. The monsters had never bothered them so they didn't need the muscle of SOLDIER. And they did not need the product Shin-Ra provided. - And oh Shinra Sr. had tried to paint Wutai as thieves for very obviously possessing electricity. The response had been a ridicule filled explanation of something called water energy, ending with the knowledge that even if it had been theft they couldn't do anything about it.
Again and again and again, the president was pushed back and rebutted and all delivered with the same thinly veiled patronizing tone.
The farce of a negotiation reached its peak with one last sentence.
"Please, would you stop this silliness? It's honestly painfull to watch."
Sephiroth remembered these words. They had been uttered before but from Rodolfus Shinra's mouth.
It all crashed down at once. The city, the people, the utter failure and those words, all thrown right into their faces. The President's face was red and he was clenching his fist in anger. He stood up abruptly, banging his hands on the table."You will all pay for this." the atmosphere changed.
Was this really happening?
Noise came from the outside as the three Turks came bursting in, bodies of of guards, and he dearly hoped they were unconcsious or else he feared Bella would gut them, behind them. Shinra pointed at the Emperor and the woman "Kill them!" he barked and Sephiroth balked.
Was he suisidal? What was the end goal here? Was it because Sephiroth was here? Well if he pushed it he could probably slaughter the entire of the Wutai army along with the Crescent Unit, but protecting the president during? That was going to be a nightmare. But he couldn't do anything but obey. The Crescent Unit descended and fell on the Turks while Sephiroth pushed Shinra behind him and drew his sword.
Just where the fuck was Bella?
Wait a minute, there were only two Turks there. Where the Fuck was Tseng?
The Emperor yelled something in fast paced Wutaian and the woman responded in kind. Whatever was said was enough for the man to calm down and move back, with his back to the wall and taking out a materia, casting barrier and staying there. At the same time the woman moved towards the General and drew a sword from Goddess knew where.
So this would be his opponent.
He spent a scant second asking for forgiveness for the death of the young woman, and if Bella didn't intervene, whoever else came in front of him.
Tseng was running in the halls of the palace heading for the Royal quarters. He had no doubt that the Emperor would die today, so he had to take care of the Empress as well. If one monarch was dead, then the other, and probably the heirs, had to die as well, in order to plunge the nation into discord. And while he was not looking forward to it, he had his direct orders and he was going to follow them.
His objective was in sight. The doors lay in front of him, but there was someone standing leisurly in front of them. A figure wreathed in red and black, leaning on the doors with arms crossed. Tseng stopped, every instinct in his body telling him to run.
But he was dressed in the clothes of the pallace guards and the helmets concealed enough. Everything was not lost yet, he could make it if he played everything right.
The red cloaked man raised his head and glowing red eyes fixed themselves on him and the man finally spoke "What is going on?"
"An attack has been launched. The Demon of Wutai is here. The Emperor has ordered all units converge to their position!"he put the alarm that was required in his voice with minimum effort. If he managed to get the man away from the room then he would be successful.
"Oh, so she's been right. No surprise." The man pushed himself of the doors, hands falling to rest on the sides, making a very deadly looking gauntlet visible in one and a thi barreled gun in the other. Heavy sabatons took a step towards Tseng and raised his gun to point at Tseng.
"What are you doing?!" He managed to keep his voice calm as the gun was trained to his head
"Nice try little Turk, but not this time." The man answered him before lunging.
The woman was proving to be a very worthy opponent. So far he had only managed to land very few solid strikes while she bobbed and weaved between his. She hadn't landed a hit of her own yet, but it was a very close thing. Her blade sang as she swung in wide twirling motions around his strikes, getting into his guard to swing back. He was quite impressed with her range of movement, outside of battle her footwork wouldn't have looked out of place in a dancer.
Just then he found a chance. He grabbed the wrist swinging the blade, halting her attack and with a visious stike he brought his own blade in an upwards horizontal motion, a clean and deadly strike. Only where he expected a shower of blood he got whitish indigo mist as his blade went through her body and she fazed out of existence, the mist moving back and the woman reappearing intact just a few feet away.
What the Hell?!
She let out a wispy throaty chuckle and her stance changed. She shrunk into herself arms almost crossed and the blade turned down. Almost as if she was floating she jumped up, spun lazily around once, halfway incorporeal before stoping abruptly turning to face him and flying at him. He brought up his blade to block but as her own sword clanked on his she used the rebound of the force behind it to turn and strike at his other side with a never seen before speed and ferocity.
The end of her strikes left her wide open though, arms stretched as if she was dancing and he took advantage of that, bringing his blade down on her. However it went through again.
This was very very bad.
The Priestess raised he sword up high, twirling it in her hands as if to build movement and descended on to him again in a series of hard spinning strikes. After the last block she took a dainty step back and as he went to strike her, he blade rose immediately to block him before backing away in a floaty twirl. Her step steadied and he had a slit second to get ready to block as she fazed out and fazed back in the tail end of a spin, using the centripetal force to bring down her sword. He blocked but she was slightly unprepared for her to follow up with another three, each one harder than the last. And after the last one he barely caught a glimpse of a pale hand coming around and extending to him in a grabbing motion. He didn't know what that was but he didn't want to be grabbed by her.
She chuckled girlishly again and floated back, getting ready for another round.
If he wanted to get anywhere with this he needed to try and get behind her.
Just as he brought his blade up again to attack there was a deafening gunshot and Sephiroth flinched at the excessive noise. And in the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red...Wait...
"Your play is over here." That voice...'Father?'
His opponent relaxed and seethed her blade, giving him the chance to at least look at what was going on. And he couldn't take his eyes away. At the mouth of the grand doors was his father, Cerberus in one hand and a very familiar Turk on the other. And besides the novelty of seeing Tseng in such a position, came the shock, when Vincent threw that particular Turk, at his fellows, by the hair. Vincent made very quick eye contact with him before turning to the woman.
"The Empress and the Princess are secured. You can eject them." Sephiroth's stomach droped. Was that what Tseng was supposed to do? Wasn't the Princess just a little girl? A toddler?
His dread heightened when the woman laughed, heartily and merrily. The drastic change to her attitude so far made a weight plummet on his shoulders as the woman laughed and laughed as her movements got jerky and stilted as she raised her hands forwards as if puppeteered by something. And as she stopped dead in her movements another pair of hands came under hers, paper white fingers interlaced with the hands of the Priestess and turned them around in a very unnatural movement.
Behind him came a whimper and he could understand why. In front of them, in the Priestess' place stood the Phantom Lady of Wutai and she was far more terrifying now that she stood in the middle of the well lit room. The air got heavy and the room darkened unnaturally fast.
Black strands of hair rose up, climbing on the walls and shutting all light out as nobody moved, rooted in their spots by a combination of snaking black strands and an unknown force. The strands of hair rose and coiled tighter around them and then there was nothing as Sephiroth blacked out.
When he opened his eyes again he was seeing blue, blue sky. There was a stiffness in him body he was unused to as he slowly sat up to take stock of his surroundings. Around him were littered the unconscious forms of the president and the Turks. And they were back outside the forest.
Just peachy.
Now that he was outside in the open air, breathing the clean air he allowed himself to feel. at first he was overcome with elation because he had just fought with Bella. He had spared with her and he felt so alive in so long...But that was a katana, had she said she could yield one. Sure he remembered mentions of a curved greatsword and a scythe, not a katana. He didn't know if there was a sword like that in the Virtual Reality game she played, he hadn't played in a while...that was something that would have to be rectified.
His mind flew back at the fight, playing it back in his head, analyzing the movement and the blows she rained upon him and, inevitably, his mind was drawn to the way it ended whem his father walked in the room dragging Tseng by the hair. He was suddenly very thankful they were interrupted when they were. He could have seriously hurt her if his plan had worked and he had managed to get behind he. He could have hurt her that first time she turned into mist too... At that moment he was overcome with rage at Shinra's play. Goddamnit, if there was such an order couldn't he have at least been given a hint?
Deep breaths Sephiroth.
Perhaps he was never supposed to be included. There was no kind of communication between the president falling asleep yesterday and their traipse into Wutai today, was there. He had made sure that the man was asleep before leaving him to return to his tent. And he had woken before the president as well, he'd been talking with Tseng until the man had woken up for that matter so that couldn't have been it.
Had they talked in the night after he'd left them? But Bella had been doing something in the camp yesterday which was probably why they were so well prepared for today. So the question remained, considering he was an important part of this plan, why hadn't he been told anything? Was he considered such a commodity that they didn't even bother with the formalities anymore. Were they expecting him to follow every order unquestioningly,to say fetch and him to run? Teeth ground together he stood up fully, now hearing the groans of the others around him. He turned and oh what a coincidence, how kind of you top grace us with your presence Tseng. The Turk came to, shaking his head in dizziness, up until his eyes met the very scathing Mako greens of the General. Tseng froze in place realizing that they had a lot to talk about.
In the aftermath of the attack Bella layed sprawled on a chain in Godo's office, panting in exertion from her fight with Sephiroth. Her body ached something terrible but she couldn't keep the shivers of satisfaction that run up her spine away. That felt goood! "Hoooo I'm gonna be feeling this tomorrow." she groaned with a lopsided grin.
The Emperor stared at her in awe from where he was sitting in his own chair. "You held him off. You held The Demon off..." his eyes surveyed the damage on the room breathlessly.
The witch breathed out a pained laugh "He wasn't taking it seriously and when he had to Vince over there crashed the party." she jabbed a finger at the Vessel of Chaos helping the ninjas on the other side of the room. They weren't much better than her, sporting some bruises and a few minor burns "Nice timing by the way. A little bit later and I would have been in trouble." she breathed out at Vincent.
"You did a good job withstanding his strikes though."
"I cheated." she dismissed the compliment and tried to sit up from the chair. Pain shot all the way up her arms and her lower back and she gave up with a sound of pain, face distorting in a grimace. "Give me five." she groaned.
Vincent shook his head and headed towards her. With what was now the ease of long experience and exposure he carefully wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders, placing one of his hands on her back and the other under her legs, lifting her up easily, and disregarding her protests.
"Fine, have it your way." she sighed and then turned to address the Emperor. "As of a minute and six secs ago, there are no more Shin-Ra affiliated personnel anywhere in the boundaries of Wutai and the wards are working according to their usual standards." she took a breath and sagged back into Vincent's chest eyes closing. Holy shit her vision was starting to go black and she still needed to send O'rin back to Nadeshiko. "I would normally offer to repair the room but I am currently too tired to lift even a finger, so please forgive me for that." she took another shuddering breath. "So, with all that been said. Your majesty." Vincent bowed as much as his position allowed him and Bella managed to bow her head as well before they were gone from the tower in a flurry of red.
Vincent landed on the balcony of the house they were given by the Emperor and headed straight for the door that led to the rooms of the Tent. "We're back." he nudged he softly and she hummed in response "M'kay..." she drawled pulling a face and trying to get her eyes to open. "Take me up?" she requested tiredly. Vincent gave a grunt in agreement, allready on his way to the witch's quarters.
When they passed the door she tried to get him to move her to her desk buit Vincent sent her a look. "I need to send O'rin back Vince." she tiredly prompted him to take her and he eventually relented but with one condition. "Tell me what to do."
She grimaced but realised that she wasn't wining that argument. She carefully instructed him on how to prepare to open the gate and when the time came she executed the spell. When the colours of the Kaleidoskope shimmered and the gate opened, Bella retrieved a little carved obsidian plaque from the inside of her clothes. "Thank you for helping me with this O'rin, I appreciate it." she said honestly.
From the plaque came a the same whitish indigo mist that had enveloped her during her fight with Sephiroth, forming the ghostly figure of a woman woman clad in a pastel pink yukata with a wicker basket-like hat covering her head completely. She bowed in response "It was an honor Lady Death." she uttered and dissapeared. Bella dropped the plaque through the portal and that was the end of that debacle.
Or it would have been. As the spell fizzled out, heat started rising from her core, completely engulfing her. A startled gasp from behind her told her that it wasn't just her feeling it. Everything was so hot, she felt like she was boiling from the inside out. Darkness started encroaching on her and her vision became murkier and murkier until everything went black. She welcomed the unconsciousness, her mind now unable to register the heat.
Flashback
Bella followed the Shin-Ra convoy back to camp where the shivering president was escorted by Tseng to a tent so he could sleep off the traumatic experience.
Statistically unlikely...
It wasn't long before the man was left alone in his tent for the sake of privacy. Bella waited sufficiently long for him to get ready for bed, because she didn't want to see that thank you very much, before swooping into the tent under her invisibility cloak and heading to the bedding were the man laid uncomfortably and complaining...shocking...
Slowly she lurked in the corner in front of him and bit by bit she lowered her cloak to reveal her eyes. All she needed was a second.
But even if the initiation of the process was easy, the continuation of it was always tiring and she stumbled out of the tent feeling the loss of her magic. And the heat wasn't doing her any favors either. She was close to another Cycle as it was. Okay. she could spare a couple hour to rest before having to prepare for the next day. She could use Seph's port-key...
Her feet had taken her to the Generall's tent before she even thought it through. The decision to take a short rest there was completely impulsive. No matter how opposed to her presence there was, he still looked lonely, so she stayed.
No matter who or when, if asked Bella would have the same answer every time. And that was that Empress Sakuya was fucking terrifying. "Explain your reasoning again." the folded fan banged on the table with a decisive snap. Yeah, Sakuya as the one person in this entire place that Bella had never managed to win over.
She suppressed the urge to flinch at the Empress's hard gaze. "It is the best time to put the lid on this issue. The last strike against Shin-Ra and directly at the head of it all."
"That I understood. Why must we allow that Demon in here is what I struggle to comprehend." they'd been going over that one point ever since the idea was first pitched, a month ago.
"I will deal with Sephiroth myshelf, and even if I wasn't, the same protection that is around the forest extends here as well. None of them will be able to do anything. There is still no actual danger." she tried to comfort the woman but she was unswayed.
"But why to this extent? It was you who said that Wutai is safe now." Sakuya really didn't want Shinra and his lackeys anywhere near the city and Bella couldn't really blame her. The woman just wanted her people to be safe but had had very bad experiences with the "outlanders".
"It's for leverage. One day I will topple Shin-Ra, that I swear to you, Your Majesty. But for that o happen the public opinion needs to be swayed first. And for that, the evidence needs to be overwhelming."
"So this is for your convenience." She really didn't like the woman's tone but the witch swallowed her indignation, It's okay, she was used to this. Not everyone was going to believe that she didn't harbor some sketchy agenda.
"No, it is for all our convenience." She contradicted gently "You haven't seen it firsthand, but Shin-Ra has painted Wutai as dangerous, uncivilized savages, because that paints them as the righteous protectors dealing with a threat before it emerges. All of it is going to be a set up, an illusion." The Empress scoffed snapping her fan open again and turning her eyes away very pointedly.
"Then you are deceiving the people as well." 'Then you are no better', that hurt her, and Bella didn't like admitting it.
"I know I do. And I do not like it. However we are passed the point where we can feasibly maintain our preferred tactics. The facts are important, but the importance lies in the perspective here. The public doesn't know of Shin-Ra's true perspective and all the underhanded techniques they are willing to use. And if we put into perspective the extent they go to maintain them ignorant, it stands to reason."
"It is not a bad plan Love." Emperor Godo was trying to calm his wife down.
"But why must we let those monsters through our lands again when it is unnecessary?"
"Believe me, I don't wanna see the m either. But the President is not in a good pace mentally right now. This serves as a tactical move to unbalance him even further and get him to never attempt anything like this again. People like that get angry when things don't happen their way and that makes them careless. Then all we need to do is wait for him to screw up and the entire company will take a bad hit to start with the swaying of the public opinion."
"Then why are you doing all these preparations?" the woman sighed in resignation.
"Because I suffer from clinical paranoia." The look she got made her shrink into herself.
As Bella disguised hershelf into the priestess Lily, an insistence of Godo as far as the name went (Ha! If only he knew!), she was suddenly very thankful she had been so insistent on all the protective measures. The emotionless stare while it served to unerve the little fat monkey, it also was an excellent way to delve into his surface levels of his mind without doing a full dive. And then she was thankful that she had her phone on the pockets of the wild sleeves. With practiced movements she accessed the thought to text function and shot a text at Vincent.
- If it goes to shit they will kill the royals. I have the Emp. You the girls.
Poor Sephiroth looked like he was waiting for shit to hit the fan too. He had no idea...
As she led them sedately to the office, she engaged in conversation, getting the object of her contempt rilled up to properly set the atmosphere and sent a slight pulse of magic to the ward just to check if everything was alright. So of course,something had to be going wrong. A wave of dizziness hit her and as the world spun, it took all she had to not show any outward signs to her condition.
Was she going to pull through if she had to fight? Moving after a certain point, required magic, triggering the wards that she had recently set up required magic since she hadn't had the time to anchor them to the rest that fed on emotions and the earth's inate magic, using magic required magic, everything used up her magic. And suddenly she found herself pulled on every single direction with no way to feed back to her core and as she was nearing a Sleeping Cycle she was falling really fucking short.
How had it gotten this far without her noticing...
Was the one ether she had with her going to do it? and when did she down it? If things went bad and she was really going to be fighting, probably Sephiroth, was she going to even be able to?
Just to spite her it seemed, the grand doors had come in front of her and she expended more energy than she would have like to push them open. At least her few circuits didn't pull on her normal magic, but still, with that movement a quarter of her Prana was depleted. At least she could pull from the sun to recharge those, no matter how little.
'You are deeply invested.' a wispy voice spoke in her mind.
'I am, O'Rin. I truly want to help these people.' she moved to the Emperor's side, clasping her hand in front of her in her lap.
'But why?'
'Many reasons. It would be a shame if this wonderfull culture was lost. It is nostalgic of Japan back home and I feel that I just have to protect them. I have some of my best memories taking place there, like I would have betrayed my feelings towards them, the friends, that beautifull country if I let this one fall. It is also the most familiar to me.' she kept an ear out as Shinra kept throwing scathing remarks around.
She wanted to be able to scoff in his face but she had a character to keep. She had heard worse things in the parties Madam Zabini would occasionally drag her to.
'Nevertheless, should you need assistance feel free to ask and I shall provide.' the spirit was shockingly cooperative for one of Nadeshiko's.
'Carefull what you ask for O'Rin dear. You might need to take the reigns completely.' Bella replied sheepishly.
'That would be very physically taxing.' the ghost's voice bore a peculiar inflection to it's usual monotony.
'I can deal with that later. Push comes to shove, Sephiroth should be able to pass me an ether if I reveal myself.' Even if the logistics of that option were just as, if not more, costly than that of the first.
'Lady Death...'
'Thanks for your concern O'Rin. I will be fine.' she reassured her friend's spirit guardian, hearing a sigh back in return.
'As you say.'
With that the conversation with the Ghost was over and she refocused on the conversation, resolving herself to meditate as much as she was able to draw from the Earth, or the Universe, or whatever at this point, she wasn't picky.
as predicted, the fight came, and as bella drew her blade, she knew she wouldn't make it. 'O'Rin!'
'At once.' the spirit responded and the next moment she wasn't on the helm anymore. Her body moved in unfamiliar motions. O'Rin's style was drastically different from her own, yet so much similar. But there was something about the way her muscles tensed and moved so minutely under O'Rin's control that made her body hurt. And then she felt her body completely shut down, the muscles now straining very painfully. But O'Rin didn't feel it, she wasn't alive and the body wasn't hers. Her body kept moving and then O'Rin blocked a strike from the Silver General and scalding hot waves of pain shut up her arms and shoulders. Holy shit that was a strong one!
She took a moment to send an apology to O'Rin for handing her such an unresponsive body but the ghost didn't answer, too preocupied consentrating on the fight.
And then the first actual hit came. 'Trace on!' She scrambled to push Prana through her circuits to activate reinforcement. 'Oh Hecate it hurts!'
'I'm sorry for hurting you Lady Death' O'Rin had retreated in order to take a breather. Sephiroth followed however, on her unrelenting in his attack as O'Rin continued to weave around them.
'Don't think of it O'Rin. Just try to stay in the sun.' she herself concentrated, ready to use reinforcement again if she needed to. O'Rin controlled the flow of battle subtly so that she would stay in the sun and Bella was able to at leat draw back some Prana.
And then the worst of the attacks came, a clean, solid upwards slash from Masamune caught her across the chest and O'Rin tsked as she upped the ante. When the mist came into play things got a bitmore easy as the mist itself came from O'Rin and assisted in the movements. Now O'Rin was able to hit harder, dodge better and riposte faster and the strain on her body lessened ever so slightly.
Finally Vincent vame through the doors like the glorious Harbinger he was and the battle stopped. O'Rin seethed the blade and quickly downed the ether and Bella could breathe a little bit better.
Just a little bit more now...
The President left, finally, shaken and looking fearfully at corners, jumping at his own shadow. Sephiroth knew it was Bella's doing and he silently sent his thanks to her. Good riddance.
He was past caring at this point. Hopefully this farce was going to finally be over now, stir-crazyness be damned.
The moment he was gone, taking the Turks with him, Sephiroth excused himself, asked to not be disturbed, and immediately took the Port-key. He crossed the familiar hall, besides himshelf with worry about the witch. She had not contacted him at all after the incident in the tower and even worse, his father wasn't picking up either.
Once he reached his objective he knew why. Bella had fallen into an unexpected sleeping Cycle, having reached and went past the point of exhaustion. As such she was running a horrendous fever that needed constant monitoring, lest the witch boil alive. But not too much, because her temperature would plummet so severely the room temperature would drop as well and they had to scramble to raise it so she wouldn't freeze to death.
When Sephiroth himself entered the room was so cold his breaths came out in in white puffs as the vapor froze instantly. Many candles and braziers were lit around the room along with a bigger brazier suspended from the ceiling, a flame roaring ferociously, providing even more warmth. Sirius was sitting and casting what he assumed were warming charms. Still it was not enough. As he came closer to the pale form on the bed, shivers started wracking his frame as he thumbed a Fire 3 materia to provide assistance.
"What is this?" he immediately cast that Fire the moment he laid his hand on her forehead, still the warmth didn't seem to reach her. She was so cold, like touching hard, dry ice. There was ice on her face for that matter, a thin sheet that melted the moment he touched it and freezing over again the moment the droplets slipped down the curve of her brow. Her face was so serene though...
"Gakusei and Sirius say it's an exacerbated case of something called Ague." His father said from where he was casting his own Fire.
"But...?" he asked, heart climbing to his throat as he looked at his father, terrified.
Sirius answered from the other side of the room. "But it doesn't get this bad!" He had a bubble around his nose and mouth, so it was probably contagious for them.
"Is there a cure?" was the logical thing to ask even if he didn't know if he would like the answer. He refused to believe that Sirius would have let it get to this level if there was one.
"Yes,-" a breath of relief left him "-but we exhausted the Ashwinder eggs and I am not confident in brewing the potion which can be fatal if brewed incorrectly." the man was not well himself, his voice was painted in worry. "Thank Merlin that doctor, Yuri said she will see to that part but we don't know how long it will take." so it was just that severe.
"Can I help somehow?" He kept his hand on her forehead, his palm was staring to hurt from the frigid still held it there, hoping that perhaps he could offer her some warmth, alleviate even a little bit of her sickness.
"Help maintain the temperature and I will try to set up some wards to help." Sirius instructed and went right back to what he was doing.
"Alright." He responded softly with a nod.
Helloooooo beautiful people! how are you doing in this oh so wondrous quarantine? I'm working on my Dark Souls III skills. And writing this. Legit, I was writing while I was on the video conferences my University arranged to continue with the lessons.
I regret nothing.
Somebody help me I can't stop writing.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to leave reviews and comments, they always make my day and help me improve.
Love
~Sil
