queenofheartsrp | s vs. z | 010 [action/video]

[Sephiroth has few fears. She had fewer before arriving in the Gardens. Back home, everything is so certain. She keeps the peace, protects the populace. She is a hero. Here, she saw the look of fear and hatred in Tifa's eyes. She is mindful of the strange blankness in Reeve's expression whenever she mentions SOLDIER. Reeve has told her certain things, and the things Reeve does not say speak almost as clearly.

I will disappear. My friends will disappear. How similar is her own world to the worlds of those others? That is a question she cannot answer. The fear in Tifa's eyes and the knowledge in Reeve's trouble her.

Yet she did not truly know Tifa, and Reeve does not fear her. She wonders: what if she someday finds herself face to face with someone she knows, who also fears her? That, perhaps, is why she stands facing a young woman with black hair and blue eyes that hold a faint glow not unlike the glow in her own eyes. The woman's sword is drawn, and the expression on her face is nearly the one Tifa wore. There is more loathing than fear in those shining eyes.]

I have no desire to fight you, Zack.

[Sephiroth's sword is not drawn, because she does not wish to hurt Zack. This is most likely one of the illusions, but there is a slim chance it could be a real Zack, from another world. She does not know Zack well, back home. There, he is a young man: Angeal's protégé. He is bright, excitable. Tifa had spoken of him here, had said he had died. Sephiroth had wondered if Tifa meant to suggest that that might have had something to do with her, but she cannot say for certain.]

Please, sheathe your sword.

[The young woman does not listen to her, strikes with a quickness only a SOLDIER could manage. She's older. She is a SOLDIER. Sephiroth does not react in time, because she does not want to engage in this fight. She feels a sting, and when she looks down, her neck and chest are bright with blood. She takes a step back. The wound is superficial. She could heal it in an instant, but she does not. Blood trickles down over the black leather of her clothing. She's never been wounded in battle before, but this isn't a battle, is it? Zack has leapt back as quickly as she attacked, as if fearing a counter-attack. She is breathing hard, eyes wide. At last she speaks, echoing words Tifa had said.]

You're supposed to be dead.

[It is not the thought that she might die that troubles her, but the thought that her death could be seen as preferable to the alternative.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Speaking to Larry rouses Sephiroth out of her strange, thoughtful state. She can think clearly again.]

Yes, you have helped me, Larry. Thank you.

[Don't want to hurt her--that reminds her, there is something she can do without hurting her. Her Time Materia is fused to her armlet, and she does not need to do anything to access the spell she wishes to cast.]

[STOP]

[Stop is not a completely reliable spell, but this time, it works. Zack freezes. Sephiroth walks toward her. Her body is motionless, but her eyes react. She can still see.]

This is a temporary state. I'm not sure what to do once she is released from it.

[ Larry watches closely as Sephiroth uses her Materia, amazed at the power of this 'magic' stuff so many people here have. The other woman was simply stopped in place, obviously unharmed. ]

You could... I dunno, tie her up while she's like this?

[Sephiroth nods. It's a good idea.] I do have some of the soil with me. [She carries a little with her, in case she might need to make something. Simple, strong restraints are easy enough to envision and create. She removes Zack's sword from her hand, then lays her down on the ground and secures her wrists and ankles. Something feels strange about it--taking one of her comrades as a prisoner.]

I hate to do this, but if she is real and simply confused, it is probably necessary. [If not, studying one of the illusions could be interesting.]

I really hope that's all it is... there was that girl a while ago who had some issues with you too, though.

[ Not that she's really suspicious of Sephiroth - that girl and this could be from some kinda 'similar but alternate' deal. It's a scary thought that it might be a matter of time, though, that one of her friends is destined to become some kind of horrible person.

Best not to dwell. ]

Yes, Tifa. [She mentions her name without hostility.] The Sephiroth she knew was a man. There is another woman here, from a world like mine. In her world, Sephiroth is missing and presumed dead, but gave her no cause for alarm.

[She is glad that Larry cannot see Zack more closely, because her eyes, which still see, are terrified as she gazes up at Sephiroth. That is another reason she does not wish to harm her. To prove she is not someone who would.]

That is why I am not entirely sure if she is an illusion. She might be from an alternate world and confused about the difference. She is a young man in my world.

[ Face meet palm. ]

Just gets more and more confusing... and terrifying for a lot of people.

[ At least she can hopefully chalk this up to alternate world stuff. ]