ARRIVAL.

[insusurromods]

𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑼𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑹𝑶: 𝑨 𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑳𝑫 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑫𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑵𝒀

𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 you moved under your own power. The shadows that dwelt in the corners of your vision vanished, the world is bright and the shackles of destiny fall from your liberated limbs.

You're free.

But before you can take that next step, before you can alter your fate, a terrible howling fills your ears. It's an ill wind full of malice, one that rips you off of your feet and back, back, back from this chance to seize your destiny. The shadows coalesce into a single entity, its hands locking around your throat. It cannot let this stand.

You think that maybe this is the end. The world goes dark as it rushes past you, this is the end.

Except you wake to the feeling of rain on your skin.

The cliffs around you bare the scars of a fierce battle. Before you, a massive city faces the sea. Behind you, greenery sprawls for miles. Midgar has never looked so beautiful, but it has also never looked so unlike itself. The Sister Ray points proudly towards the sea. A bustling city crawls out from its shadow, looking wealthier and more robust than the slums ever did. You don't have long to ponder this.

Because you aren't alone. Others are coming to, looking just as confused and uncertain as you do. Some are battleworn and bloody, as if they were pulled from a fierce battle. Others appear to be in perfect health, as if they were simply pulled from a long slumber, though no less confused and lost. The howling that filled your slowly begins to fade, and as it does, the rain begins to clear.

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐀𝐑 is within a few hours walking distance. 𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐌 lies not much further in the opposite direction. There is no presence urging you to walk to one or the other, no voice from on high telling you what path your feet should walk. Underneath this infinite blue sky the choice to go - or to stay - is entirely yours.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐓?

Comments

[vehementi]

[Sephiroth isn't quite so callous that he'd leave an injured man behind, but the thought admittedly crosses his mind as he watches Reno brandish his weapon. How much patience does he have left for this song and dance? He's beginning to wonder. Words alone seem to do very little. But then Reno spears the rod into the ground, using it to hoist himself to his feet, and... that's that, it seems.

Got hit harder than I thought, Reno remarks after a hefty silence.]

All the more reason to seek aid.

[All Sephiroth has with him is materia. He might be to cobble together some makeshift first aid, but that's assuming Reno will even let him near.]

Your partner. [He doesn't meddle in Turk affairs, but he's familiar enough with them that he's able to conjure a face to mind. Tall, bald, always wearing sunglasses.] I have yet to see him, I'm afraid.

[--As for himself...] I... do not know. [That much, he can readily admit. How he even got here is a mystery. Nibelheim, followed by blackness, then awakening on these cliffs. Very strange...] This is nowhere near where I was stationed, and it seems I've been separated from my squad.

[electroburst]

[ Good is what Reno almost says, but decides to curb his tongue at the last second. That is, good that Sephiroth hasn't come across Rude. That'd be a dead partner for sure, then, wouldn't it? Ordinarily... yeah. Now... hmm. Why any sort of supposed madman would care whether he's injured, whether he's "afraid" he hasn't seen someone... hmm. And—squad. That's the key phrase that gets Reno's attention, even more than stationed. What a supposed madman would care about stations or squads, that certainly calls for some consideration.

Reno's arm lowers, his e-mag loose in his curled fingers. ]

Where were you stationed? Who with?

[ He asks almost curiously, like he could be inquiring about what the weather's been like. This isn't his first encounter on the cliffs, and he's wondering if maybe there's a pattern to the raving lunacy of his first conversation versus this one. He brings his sleeve up to finally wipe that trail of blood from his face after he asks. ]

let's pretend i'm not an absolute potato who doesn't take two weeks to return a tag

[vehementi]

[Sephiroth's eyes don't wander. They remain-- fixed on solely Reno, who seems just as unwilling to turn his eyes elsewhere in return. He's taking in everything. Every movement, every quirk of an expression, every pause. If he can't find answers outright, perhaps he'll find them in between the lines-- in between what Reno does and does not say. Reno knows something, but whether or not he's willing to share remains to be seen.

So far, no one has found it to be worth the trouble.]

Nibelheim. Among my squad were Zack Fair and two infantrymen.

[...Reno keeps it casual, his probing question, and Sephiroth's not entirely buying it. He will, however, return it with one of his own.]

Have you seen them?

[electroburst]

[ Reno is smart enough not to pop off entirely, keep his eyes (and his big fuckin' mouth) from giving much away. He's been at this whole subterfuge thing a long time, y'know. When he tilts his head to the side in confusion, brows drawn together, it isn't just the blood on he's sleeve that he's frowning at. The look he gives Sephiroth is a quite intentional did you hit your head, too? kind of look.

It's not just that, though. It's that this weird-as-hell time thing seems to be making another odd appearance, and he's not entirely sure what the hell is up with that. It was a small thing, in the last conversation he had—Tifa was days later, not years. Also, Tifa wasn't a dead person walking around like it's nothing? Somehow that part seems the least bizarre out of anything to him now. ]

N...o, and I don't think you're gonna see them, either.

[ Well. Maybe that's not true. If Sephiroth is up and strolling around, then... Reno seems to realize something and turns to look back up the cliffside that he stumbled down. Searching for a particular spot, as it were. Could Zack be out there somewhere, too?! What the hell is going on?

No way he's getting back up there to search for him in this state. Reno's gaze returns to Sephiroth, weighing his options. Eventually, he ventures: ]

I dunno. Maybe you will. That mission you're talking about ended in resounding failure years ago, man.