♘ 3: Video

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[For him, the door opens. He'd actually been on his way outside, headed for gods knew where, but the second his gloved hand touches the knob, a soft chime sounds and instead of the bright outdoors, the scene shifts to a place he thought he'd forgotten.

The video tilts wildly as the skyphone slips from nerveless fingers and clatters on the concrete floor, a quirk of fate setting it on its side, able to view the room at large. Leather swishes as Sephiroth ignores it and steps further within, gazing about as if in a trance. Standing near the desk, he tilts his head and reaches down to pick up a ball of black fur, a very worn, very old stuffed toy.

A light chuckle wafts through the sterile place, followed by a melancholy sigh.]

...hn...I'd almost forgotten.




{ooc: backdated to 1/23 if necessary; welcome to the place where Sephiroth grew up, in the bowels of Hojo's madhouse.}

Comments

[video]

[aquareina.livejournal.com]

[Gazing at the footage with a look of wonder, a pink-haired girl calls to him.]

Is this a memory of yours? It seems so plain, so...empty.

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[He didn't realize the phone was still on. Sephiroth picks it up and sits down on the small bed, it creaking beneath his weight.]

I grew up in this room. It seems so very long ago, now.

[video]

[aquareina.livejournal.com]

Really?

[She inspects the room again briefly. It seems too empty to be a child's room in her opinion, but that bed is certainly small enough to belong to a child. With so many questions to ask, Lenna decides to at least introduce herself first.]

Sir, my name's Lenna and I've seen other events like this one appear as of lately across the network. Is this the first time your memories manifested in such a way?

Many claim this is the second time such a feat has happened, but I'm unsure what to believe.

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

Until I turned sixteen, or thereabouts.

[He can return the favor, somewhat.]

Sephiroth, of Midgar. And yes, it is. [And he's not exactly thrilled with the prospect, either.]

[video]

[aquareina.livejournal.com]

Midgar?

[The girl paused briefly as if she heard of that name before.]

Is Midgar your home?

[wanderlusting.livejournal.com]

It's been a while, I take it?

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

Years, it seems.

[And he can still see himself, sitting there at the desk staring out of the small window, seeing only the starkness of the ShinRa Tower on the other side.]

[wanderlusting.livejournal.com]

It can't be a childhood home?

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

...it was never home. Simply a place I was kept.

[video]

[chaos-vessel.livejournal.com]

... where are you?

[It's not anywhere Vincent recognizes.]

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[Home. No, wait. This was never home. It was simply the place he'd lived.]

These are my quarters...from childhood and youth. I grew up here.

[video]

[chaos-vessel.livejournal.com]

[Vincent examines it. It wouldn't be unusual for Shinra quarters, but to have grown up there...]

In Shinra?

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

Yes. Old storage rooms just off the Science Department.

[Under heavy lock, guard and key, doncha know.]

[Voice] (will backtag this when I get home, but I couldn't resist <3)

[thishealingwind.livejournal.com]

[It takes Aerith a long time to decide whether to speak to him. As it stands, she's heard that his sane, and her morbid curiosity is simply overwhelming. And she doesn't want those she loves to be his victims if they turn out to be wrong. She has to know for herself. And, based on his words and the video, it's very likely that he's very close. She's in the ShinRa building, after all. Thus, she uses the voice function only, so that he can't see her face. Just in case.]

No matter how much we wish to forget some things, they never entirely go away.

[She knows that feeling well. It only then occurs to her that wherever he is, it's likely near where she and her mother were held as well. The irony is not lost on her, either.]

Re: [Voice] (Awww, poor kids! ShinRa put 'em through so much hell. <33)

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[The voice is unfamiliar, as are most here in this strange new world. But nevertheless, Sephiroth vents a light chuckle, one tinged with a bit of irony and a heavy dose of self-amusement.]

No, they don't. [A pause, then a gentle - almost forlorn - sigh.] I suppose they serve a purpose in the end, making us who we are. [Or some other such propaganda drivel.]

[Voice] (I know, right? ;_; I swear, no one has a happy ending in these games. XD)

[thishealingwind.livejournal.com]

[That's what she was counting on. Likely her face wouldn't be familiar, either, but she's not taking any chances.]

[Yet, anyway.]

You were kept there? [It's not entirely phrased as a question.] How long?

[Voice] (God, they don't. It's depressing as all get out.)

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

Until I turned sixteen and was enlisted into SOLDIER.

[video]

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

[Even with his previous attitude, Cissnei still felt sorry for him. No person should have to put up with such conditions.]

You're in Midgar as well, sir?

[She remembers to address him in a more formal manner. She really, really didn't want someone like Sephiroth on her ass for forgetting her place in the chain of command, even if it was nonexistent here.]

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[A Turk? Speaking in a civil tone of voice? How shocking. But it's useless to hold grudges, therefore Sephiroth doesn't waste the energy.]

So it would appear, Cissnei. ...although how that's possible eludes me.

[Because this damned sure isn't the Midgar he remembers. Or even wants to remember.]

[video]

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

An illusion, so I've been told.

[Civil tone, indeed. She's smart enough to know that he could be a good ally for anything and not to cross him and his self-righteous ways. She's not going to give her location on her own though.]

[video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

I'd hope so.

[ShinRa's General has no intention of returning to this. He'll fall on his own sword first. Nevertheless, of those from his own world, he could rightly care less. Burned bridges take ages to repair, after all.]

video - Am I too late?

[waitedinwinhill.livejournal.com]

[That place looks so... stark. And Raine frowns just a very little bit because it disturbs her for reasons she can't quite put her finger on. A frown that she chases off immediately with a warm smile.]

Is it somewhere you recognize then?

[Video] - Nevar :)

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

Ms. Loire.

...unfortunately, yes.

[Video] - yay!

[waitedinwinhill.livejournal.com]

[Not a reassuring answer.]

Will you be alright?

[Video]

[furorimperator.livejournal.com]

[It's the only one he has at the moment.]

Why would I not be?