002 [Video]

[pauldrons]

[8:45 AM]
Didn't see you during last night's patrol, man. Everything okay?

[4:20 PM]
General? You still reading me? Not like you to ignore a hail like that.

[7:20 PM]
Hey, Seph...where the heck are you? Just...let me know, okay? I'm getting worried.


[Evening, Animus-folk. Have a rather concerned looking Zack on your network today. He's definitely worried about something, and considering the late hour, that's not surprising. Monsters will be out soon.]

Has anybody seen General Sephiroth around today? I looked all over and I can't find him anywhere...his name's not on his door anymore, either, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? [a glance over his shoulder, probably at that door in question, then he looks back at the screen.]

Just...lemme know if you've seen him around, okay? It's not like him to not check in.

Comments

[absolute_perception]

[Elian looks almost bored and sighs. What's with all these people panicking and not give a good picture of what a person looks like?]

What is his description? It would help to know what someone looks like before you call out the search brigade.

[pauldrons]

[Mostly because panic keeps them from thinking? ...Or maybe they're all just as absent minded as Zack himself is. Hence the sheepish look on his face now.]

Huh? Oh, right. Sorry. He's really tall, with long silver hair, and he carries a long sword with him wherever he goes. He'd never leave it behind, and I couldn't find it in his room, so I figure he's got it with him, but...[frown.] Can't find him, let alone that sword.

[absolute_perception]

With the absence of his name on the door, do you think he might have moved residency?

I'll look around to see if I can find anyone that matches your description. Do you mind telling me your name? I am Elian Zigmarl.

It would also help to forward this information directly to Security.

[Some old habits are just hard to break and Elian is no exception. The former Communications and Intelligence officer looks nothing more than a mere child. He's a janitor here so he could find out for Zack if no one else can.]

[pauldrons]

He might have, but he would have told me! Even if he hadn't, I'd have found him somewhere else; I looked all over, man. I can't find him!

[a pause as he swallows hard, raking his hands through his hair. Breathe, Fair. Breathe. Seph's tough, he'll be okay.]

Zack Fair. Do you really think telling the people who brought us here that one of us is missing is a good idea? People went missing back in July, and that was because of them, wasn't it?

[Still, all the help they can get...which is why Zack's not making any comment on Elian's appearance. Besides, it's not like his world doesn't train young people to be soldiers. Nope. Not at all.]

[absolute_perception]

[He gives it some thought with a thoughtful expression. His grasp on emotions is getting better the more he works on it. It's not without sympathy, and he is trying.]

You have a valid concern, Mr. Fair. I cannot say if they were the direct cause of the disappearances, however, it would be a fair assumption to think so. When was the last time you had seen him?

[anon, text] [she's getting in the habit of anoning now whoops]

[beknightedheroine]

Check if his trunk is empty.

If the name is gone and his things are gone, then...

I'm sorry.

[anon, text] no worries 'bout that~

[pauldrons]

[because it's a text, Zack doesn't feel bad about leaving the terminal to do just that, but he soon returns. This can't be happening.]

Just like that? Just gone? No warning or anything?

[anon, text]

[beknightedheroine]

no warnings. we don't get warnings here. they just vanish.

sometimes people come back, most don't.

[anon, text]

[pauldrons]

Does anyone know what they're going back to? If our worlds are really gone, then...they're just going back to die, aren't they?

[midgarhorizon]

Checked his nameplate. He's gone. Sorry, Zack.

[pauldrons]

[Don't mind him, Reno. He's just going to fist his hands in his hair. He can't believe this. No. There's no way.]

How is that even possible? I saw him just two nights ago! How can somebody disappear without a warning like that?!

[midgarhorizon]

Have ya forgotten where the hell we are? It's the Tower. It's happened to Rude and Siira, too.

[pauldrons]

No, I didn't forget! I just thought....I just thought...[he stops, shaking his head. It doesn't matter what he thought, clearly.]

...I just thought that we'd get a chance to say goodbye or something. I didn't think they'd just...disappear like that. Not after the letter said we got saved. Why send people back if they were trying to save us?

[Text, some time after Sayaka's thread.]

[thisclinchesit]

"The authority" on going back 'home', eh? Not sure if that's an honor I'd want to have, but I can definitely tell you what it was like.

It... It was like someone had set something off that wiped out life in general. I couldn't find anything else alive in my time there. I stuck around in my home city, so I don't know if the rest of the world as a whole was like this - though I imagine if they were, someone would have come to investigate by that point.

It was a wasteland. A shattered husk of the world I knew.

[Text, some time after Sayaka's thread.]

[pauldrons]

[Zack's reply is a bit delayed, since he'd just now returned to the relative safety of the dorm floors, but as soon as he sees that text, his heart sinks. Is that what Sephiroth is going back to? No...it can't be.]

How...how long were you there before you came back? How did you survive if there was nothing else alive there?

[Text]

[thisclinchesit]

I'm not certain of the specific amount of time, but multiple months for certain. There was a lot of scavenging done, to say the least. If your friend has military training, then he may have a better time of it than I did.

My condolences - it'll definitely be a rough situation, but he won't be dead on arrival.

[Text]

[pauldrons]

Yeah, he...he was a commander in the army back home. He'll be fine with that training, and he may come back.

[Maybe if he says it enough times, it'll be the truth. Because he believes it. He has to believe it or he'll fall apart and he can't do that. Dammit, Sephiroth...why now of all times...]

Thanks. For telling me. It helps, a little. Knowing he's got some options.

video;

[hardknoxlife]

Sephiroth... Can't say I've seen anyone by that name 'round these parts.

[ Tilting his head. ]

What's he look like? I'll keep my eyes peeled. Wouldn't worry too much though. He's prolly gonna show up without a warning, fine as you please.

video;

[pauldrons]

Yeah, probably. [sigh.] He's really tall, with long silver hair, and he carries this really long sword around with him at all times. I couldn't find that thing either, so he probably never got back to his room last night.

video;

[hardknoxlife]

[ He's nodding at the description, making mental notes and trying to come up with the mental image in his mind. ]

Right. Think I can manage to remember all that. Who should I tell him is looking for him if I spot him then?

video;

[pauldrons]

[Zack would show him a picture to be sure, but he doesn't have any. Sadly.]

Zack. He'll know who you mean. [wry little half-smile.] He always knows.

Voice;

[atouchofstrife]

[ Sephiroth's gone. Cloud can feel it, just like with the Remnants. It's probably time for that talk... ]

He's gone, Zack.

We need to talk.

Voice;

[pauldrons]

[It's different, hearing it from Cloud instead of Reno. He trusts Cloud much further than he can throw him, so there's little doubt. Besides...Sephiroth wouldn't leave without telling him if he had a choice. It just...needs time to sink in, that's all.]

...Where are you?

Voice;

[atouchofstrife]

Media room.

[ He forgets what floor it is on, only that there are a bunch of chairs that were a bit more comfortable than the one in his room. ]

Voice --> Action;

[pauldrons]

Gimme ten minutes.

[Cloud may not remember what floor it's on, but Zack does, which is why he shuts off the feed. Sure enough, ten minutes later, Cloud will be able to see his old friend coming into the room, looking like a lost little puppy-dog who's been in a few scrapes. What a day it's been...]