nine ♓ video;

[cullscuttlefish]

[Feferi's gray skin looks pale as she steps forward, and it's clear that she's shaking. But she takes a deep breath, because this is too important not to tell everyone.]

My name is Feferi Peixes. Anyone who knows me knows I'm infamous for fish puns, but I'm going to hold off on them here, just so the message is as clear as possible. I don't want it to get twisted by a bad turn of phrase.


The message you all saw about the soul thing...it's true. I know, because...

[She takes another deep breath, swallowing hard.]

I went down the elevator, with some others, when we saw it open. We had to take the chance. We needed to know what was down there.

When the group I was with saw a soul being extracted from a dead person, we couldn't believe what we were seeing. More than anything, we knew what a precious thing that was. We didn't want it to be harmed, and so we followed where the retrieval unit was taking it.

...we didn't expect that it would be carrying the soul straight to Jason. We confronted him, we refused to give up the presence of the other groups that were in the administrators' area, and he punished us by forcing us to go through the soul extraction and re-implantation processes while we were still conscious.

Before I go on any further, I have to stress this point: DO NOT TAKE THIS AS AN INVITATION TO CONFRONT JASON. He will not hesitate to put you through that process, and no one should ever have to experience a thing like that. I don't want anyone to consider this as an invitation to take some kind of vengeance. That path only leads to pain.

I didn't think that he was actually capable of anything close to mercy until I went through that. Everyone in this tower has been through it while unconscious, and that is truly a mercy. When it happens, your body is taken downstairs and placed into a sphere. That sphere fills with a violet liquid, and then it begins to contract.

[Tears start to run down her cheeks as she remembers, and her voice cracks.]

It quite literally squeezes your soul out of your body, and that is like no physical pain in this or any other universe. I don't think there is a single word that is capable of describing it. Agony isn't strong enough, because the pain keeps going while you feel your body stop working.

And even when you are only that shining light, the pain doesn't fade immediately. It takes time.

Then, you're surgically put into - into a...a new body. I...

[She can't keep talking. She breaks down sobbing, and then the feed cuts.]

Comments

voice;

[cullscuttlefish]

I...

[She lets out a short, choked sob.]

I'm by the terminals closest to room 1-05. I think I would like some company...

voice/action;

[seekinganswers]

I'm on my way.

[She steps back from the terminal mere milliseconds after the words are out of her mouth, then turns on her heel and runs for the stairs.

1-05, 1-05 - she doesn't even need to keep an eye out for the door, because really, the sight of Feferi near the terminal is obvious enough. Sheba's steps slow as she approaches, and when she speaks, her voice is gentle.]

Hey... Feferi, right? I'm sorry you had to go through that. It must have been awful.

perma-action;

[cullscuttlefish]

[When Feferi sees Sheba, part of her heart just jumps. She's okay, after having been up on that platform and gone through what they did. The troll moves on auto-pilot at that point, very gently sweeping the girl up into a hug.]

W-we saw you, up on that platform, before we confronted Jason. I'm so, so glad you're okay, I'm just...we didn't want anything to happen to you, we all got so scared... I'm sorry I'm falling apart on you, I'm just so glad you're okay!

yup, perma-action;

[seekinganswers]

What--?

[Sheba's swept into Feferi's hug before she even realizes what's happening; her words register on her a moment after she feels the arms go around her. She'd known she'd died down there but - she hadn't realized Jason would have done that so soon...

But she tries to mask the growing horror on her face when she realizes the implications of that. If the rest of her group had gone further in, then - oh god...

She could worry about them and actually acknowledge the fact that it's happened to her, and not once but twice now, later. Feferi had gone through something much more traumatic.]

I'm - I'm fine, see? I'm right here. You're fine, too. We're all going to be okay... [She shakes her head and returns Feferi's hug now that the surprise of being hugged has worn off somewhat.] This is all... really confusing, but... we're okay now. [There's something in her tone of voice that implies she's trying to convince herself of this as much as she's trying to convince Feferi.] Everyone who was down there in that elevator's made it back and... w-we can figure out a way to... to...

[Her voice breaks and she feels her eyes watering. Damn it, and she'd been trying not to go to pieces on Feferi too--]

[cullscuttlefish]

[Feferi makes a shoosh sound, one that's meant to be comforting. Making Sheba cry hadn't been her intention, not at all. She'd just gotten swept up in her emotions, and...no. No feeling bad about that. Those little shooshing noises get accompanied by light pats to the back.]

I - I know it's a lot to take in. I do. I shouldn't have just sprung that on you like that, but I was just - [Her voice breaks again, a little, but she swallows hard against those tears.]

I got scared, and I didn't want anything to happen. But it didn't. It didn't. You're right, we all made it back in the end. That's - that's what's really important, right?

[Oh, mother glub, she did not want to cry again, but there go the tears.]

[seekinganswers]

No, it's okay, I - I just didn't realize that... [She takes in a few quick gulps of air, trying to calm herself.] Don't - don't apologize... anyone would have been surprised, it's... it's completely normal to have...

[The shooshing noise and the pats on the back are comforting, though Sheba's not quite sure why. Her tears slow, and though they're still there, they're not as overwhelming as they had been moments before.]

Yeah - that's...

[But her voice trails off and she tightens her hug on Feferi.]

You and - and the rest of your group... I'm so sorry you had to go through that... It was really, really brave of you... a-and it was even braver of you to talk about it now so everyone knows what we're up against... Thank you...

[Sheba's never liked crying, not really. She's done her fair share of it in the past. But there's something almost therapeutic about crying with someone, knowing you can share their pain and that the both of you will come out stronger for it.]

[cullscuttlefish]

[Feferi continues making those soft shooshing noises until Sheba's tears slow a little more. It's going to be okay, and she's trying to remind herself of the fact. But she has to shake her head at that thanks, even if it's with a tiny smile through the tears.]

You don't need to apologize, not for any of that. We didn't hesitate to act there, because it was the right thing to do. Talking about it now hasn't been easy, but the right things to do aren't always the easy ones. You don't need to thank me for it.

[Feferi's never been particularly good at keeping back her emotions. They tend to be like a miniature ocean: calm and placid sometimes, periods with waves of laughter and delight, the occasional storm that builds and builds and only dissipates after being profoundly destructive. This past month has been a storm for her, and these tears are the last of the rain for now, the kind that signals clearer skies ahead. But it takes someone else being there with her to really navigate it well, and Feferi's glad for Sheba's presence.]

[seekinganswers]

I'm so glad that there are people in this place who won't hesitate when they need to do the right thing... I'm going to thank you for it. It takes something special to be able to keep doing the right thing in a place like this. There are too many people who wouldn't...

[She takes a few unsteady breaths, and between that and Feferi's shooshing, she's able to manage a watery smile. That was the funny thing about adversity - it could be almost crushing to stand up to, but what was left when the skies cleared was almost always something wonderful.]

Moving forward from here is going to be difficult... but I think we can do it. ... Right?

[cullscuttlefish]

There might be people that wouldn't, but...it's not what I want to do. I want everyone here to be happy. I don't want anyone to have to be afraid of monsters, or experiments, or scary machines. I don't want to hesitate about doing what's right, so that in the end, we can all find a way out of here and to a place we can all really be happy.

[Feferi takes a deep breath of her own, and when she smiles, it's got conviction behind it.]

I know we can do it.

[seekinganswers]

As long as we keep believing that... I'm sure we'll manage to find a way to get everyone out of this situation, safe and sound.

[Sheba wants that to be true - more than she wants anything else right now, really. And she needs it to be true, because if there's no hope at all, well...

She just wasn't going to think about that. She couldn't.]