caughtinanetwork | [video] ||Rising Sun||

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[video] ||Rising Sun||

[Flashes of violet and white tear, feral, across vision, blinding in their intensity, coupled with near-immediate thunder roaring, and somewhere amidst it, a child whimpers. Voices behind her urge her onward, encouraging, but the perspective whirls around to fill with bodies--adults--gathered a little ways away from the dais dressed for stealth with weapons across their forms. At the front of them, an old man smiles.]

You can do this, Sheena.

[Everything wavers, and maybe it's the addressed shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It jerks, then, as she whips herself upright, sets her shoulders. It's natural to be uneasy in a place like this, but she can overcome it. These people believe in her, and she believes in herself. She's trained for this. Even if it's frightening, she can do it!

But another crack of thunder so nearby has her flinch. There's no movement with the one that follows it.

The image shifts as she turns back to the altar.

A pair of small hands lift, much too small to belong to an adult, and cross at an angle one hand atop the other with palms facing out. Her gloves are a dusty red with yellow bracing the backs of her knuckles, sleeves tucked into guards at tiny wrists.]

I am Sheena!

[Her voice is just as small, young--she's only seven--but it's loud to her. She can feel her heart beating, feel it racing; it's in her ears, in her head, in her throat. She's nervous, so nervous, but she has the adults from the village with her. She can do this.

...But the crackling, almost indefinite form that appears before her, gazing down at her with terrible, terrible eyes utters out something so alien that it's all she can do to stay standing there, her vision filled with those eyes.]

What... is he saying...?

[Panic crawls into her voice.]

Grandpa, I don't know what he's saying!

[The bizarre voice continues, humming like electricity between metal rods, and using a language she can't even begin to comprehend. Annoyance at the disruption. Challenge.

Feet slide against the floor as she backs away, allowing better view of the Spirit.

Volt.

Form fading in and out, forming and reforming, purple-hued lightning wrapping around a denser core, and eyes that somehow don't belong to that face set above the mouth somehow carved by that lightning--fanged, perpetual grin. A bolt strikes the ground by her foot which sends her sprawling in the opposite direction. Shouts. Voices calling to her, urging her to rise and try, but--]

I can't! I don't know what he's saying! Someone tell me what he's saying!!

[Whether it's shock or terror, there's no waver of sobs in her voice, just a flat demand. She needs to know. She needs to know! She can't hear it, but her breaths come too quickly and her vision swims for a second; swallowing, she picks herself up to face the Spirit, but...]

Stop!

[She's shrieking at it, now, and her hands fly to her head to try and block out the noise.]

I can't understand you!

[...Which seems to be the final insult Volt's willing to take. A magic circle crackles to life somewhere behind her. When the scene turns to it--when she turns, the voices of adults--shouting before--become suddenly violently clear. They rush out of the circle, though a few aren't so lucky. Lightning rains down within the circle, and between that and the shouts and Volt still speaking, she...

She's sent flying by the next bolt, off the dais and to the floor, sliding over it past the foot of the steps. The old man's there, arms wrapping swiftly around her, and he murmurs to her little things, reassuring things, his face filling her vision instead of the horror around her, but she catches a glimpse past his shoulder of the others gathering the injured and racing for the entrance.

But Volt isn't finished.

Screams. Shouts. Cries of alarm and pain. Trained adults fleeing for their lives from the wrath of a Summon Spirit all because... because she couldn't control it. The old man sends her running towards the entrance, tells her Go!, and she tries, desperately wanting to keep her eyes to the front, but she can see the bodies and her vision swims.

She stops abruptly when she hears one more hit the ground as she reaches that threshold between the altar room and freedom.]

[The wail that rips from her throat is what forces her out of the dream, lurching and reaching for nothing though the sound is more a drawn out groan in the waking world. Sheena, refusing the pay this world any heed (she knows the SFC's probably broadcasting after Zelos' and some of the others' she's seen crop up on the network, but she doesn't care, so it doesn't enter her mind solidly enough to bother), curls up, arms around her knees and her face pressed against them. She forces her breathing to slow, shoulders trembling. It works for a second. Just before she breaks down again, whimpering apologies to the fallen and their families all over again.]

[ooc: Feel free to try and interact with her within the memory, or talk to her afterwards. ~~She needs hugs.~~ Now in the right comm!]

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[ Mithos had never bothered to do his homework on Sheena. Why should he? She was inconsequential. Someone who helped Lloyd, after trying to assassinate Colette. But at the same time, he knew she was the one who was taking the Summon Spirits from him, even if he was the one who betrayed them and invalidated his Pact with them. There was very little he could have done to stop her, but they had served their purpose as far as he was concerned. As long as they never got their hands on the Eternal Sword and released Origin's seal, there was absolutely nothing the Summon Spirits could do to stop him.

The dream he witnessed was... interesting. He knew Sheena was here, but he had never even tried to talk to her. Why should he? She wasn't important. She was just another human, another enemy. But what he saw was enough to at least make him curious. He certainly didn't have this kind of trouble with Volt. About the closest he had to this was Ratatosk, but at that point, Mithos, Yuan, Kratos, and Martel mopped the floor with him right before he betrayed him. Their Cruxis Crystals, along with the Eternal Sword, was enough to dethrone the guardian of the Tree, and permanently remove the Centurions from the equation.

Mithos would be seen watching, his eyes half-lidded. He's been resisting the urge to sleep, but even with his Cruxis Crystal removing the need to sleep, he's still felt strangely tired. Without Kratos and Sophie here, he's... been strangely depressed.

And that mental fatigue essentially had the same effect on him as physical fatigue. He's dreading his own dream. ]

Edited (coding fail) 2013-02-07 03:24 (UTC)

[By the time Sheena notices Mithos has "tuned in", so to speak, it's been a while. She almost drops the SFC, and there's a sudden, powerful flicker of embarrassment. Mithos had previously forged pacts with the Spirits. Since he was a half-elf, and since the pacts were made by Mithos before, he'd probably had no trouble at all understanding Volt.

The only thing that keeps her from flinching away and coming down on herself again is, really, Zelos' visit. And because she knows she isn't going to betray the trust of the Spirits, unlike Mithos.

But, she... keeps things civil. No reason to start a fight when, as far as she's concerned (and when she's concerned), the issues with Mithos are settled.]

Brace yourself for some weird dreams if you fall asleep.

You think I don't know that? [ He already knows what he's more than likely going to dream about. Frankly, he's dreading it. Mithos almost never had to sleep due to his Cruxis Crystal, though he'd occasionally relax and turn his mind off for awhile due to Zelos's urging.

But he was in no hurry to start having weird dreams about Martel. He already went through his annual winter depression because of her. He didn't want to do this again. ]

Volt never got over his grudge from what I did, huh? [ Mithos finally said out of nowhere. He scoffs. ] He's just like Ratatosk, then.

[Snappy, much? Not that Sheena can really blame him, she guesses; he's kind of out of his element to begin with and already on such a dedicated path, and now the whole sleeping thing...

But then he brings up Volt, and Sheena feels something not unlike defensiveness creep up.]

You betrayed him! Of course he didn't "get over" it!

[...But that's about all of it that lasts, too exhausted by everything, deflating.]

You can't just hurt someone and expect them to get over it without talking to them or making any other kind of effort.

[ Mithos doesn't make much of a reaction, for at least a few seconds. Actually, he's rather quiet. Sheena just said something rather significant, apparently without realizing it. ]

Now you know how I feel.

[ His eyes close. She just described exactly the reason why he still, to this day, can't trust humans. ]

[Sheena stares at her hands for a moment; she knows she told Kratos she... wouldn't do anything to set Mithos off, but he's seen this, so... She inhales, fidgeting with something on her hand, hidden from the feed.]

It's the same way a lot of people feel.

The difference is Volt won't admit that what I did was for the good of the world. They didn't care enough to save everyone, but I did. And my sister died for it.

[ No... no, he's going to calm down. He takes a deep breath. He wasn't going to argue with Sheena, least of all over a dream. ]

I just want Martel to show up here, someday.

[She doesn't actually want to go over all of this, but...!]

You don't get it, do you?

[There goes her mood...]

Get what?

[ He's gotta hear this. ]

You don't break something further to fix it. You don't hurt more people who aren't related to someone's death to do anything but make yourself feel better. Because in the end, it wasn't about Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. It was about Martel.

[Sheena breathes deeply.]

Do you think your sister ever wanted half-elves to be vilified? Do you think she would have wanted people to be given an actual reason to hate or fear them?

Edited 2013-03-07 19:46 (UTC)

Don't make me laugh. The only reason you're even complaining is because it's not as fun when it's happening to you, instead of the other way around. Besides, once it's all over, nobody will ever hate anyone ever again.

[ Still in complete denial. He hasn't had Martel reject his plan yet, so... ]

Excuse me, not everyone in the world turns sadistic upon the loss of a loved one.

[Snapped and sharply cold.]

The "only reason" I'm "complaining" is because you're too much of a self-absorbed kid to realize how much you put the rest of the world through. Imagine if everyone in the entire world did something like that if they lost someone. What would be left? I really wish things could have gone differently for you two--Martel was an amazing woman, compassionate and kind, and I think you were a good person too, once. But here's the thing: Would she want to put the world she wanted to save through the kind of emptiness your Age of Lifeless Beings would bring about? Would she want people to never know the love of their families again? Would she want you hurting half-elves in her name? I thought you wanted to put an end to the discrimination, not make it worse.

I wish it was that easy. [ He looks away from the camera. ] Humans will never accept half-elves. The only way they'll ever stop hating those different from themselves is if they're literally incapable of it. It's the only way Martel's wish will ever be granted.

I know it isn't easy, but that doesn't mean you just give up! If you take away their ability to feel, they'll never understand the reasons why it was wrong, and nothing's really accomplished other than suddenly you have zombies everywhere. No one would learn anything. I'm...

[...unsure, but she's got to keep going.]

Your sister was a lot like Colette is. There's a lot of love to share in her heart, but if you don't let the rest of the world feel that or give her a chance to share it, then it's going to break her heart, instead.

[A breath out, and Sheena shifts, hand going to her hair to toy with loose strands by her shoulder.]

We're still working on it, and it'll take time, but I think we'll be able to at least diminish the problem. It'll take generations to fully get rid of it, of course, but... You j--You can't fix hate by reaffirming it with the Desians or Cruxis, by giving people an identifiable reason for it, Mithos.

We saved their world when they never did anything but hate us. You can't show much more love than that. And then they thanked us by killing her. Everything that happened after was what they deserved!

[ He has a lot of anger in him, Sheena. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. ]

I'm tired of getting my hopes up only to have humans throw it back in my face. They're going to choose to hate every single time, no matter how many Martels or Colettes there are in the world.

What they did was wrong, Mithos, yeah, but what about the people who came later? What about the generations you destroyed any hope for? Why do you think it's so hard?

[Sheena deflates a little, but keeps her head high. There's more to the world than just hate.]

And they won't choose to hate every time! I've seen that hate break down in some places! We're actually... We're actually getting somewhere.

Why should I believe you?

Do you have a reason not to? I'm not totally human either.

[And why does that come out so easily?]

I travelled with two half-elves, and I now run back and forth between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, joined together again as they should be, for the sake of peace. I go through a lot of towns and cities along the way to see how things are going. We're all doing something towards that effort.

You might be lying.

[ He sort of figured she wasn't totally human - she was able to form Pacts with Summon Spirits, after all - but hearing it from her was different. ]

If you aren't human... what are you? [ Because he knows a fellow half-elf when he sees one. And... well... she isn't. ]

Look, Raine and I don't always get along, but she's still my friend. Genis is, too. I wouldn't lie about them, and I wouldn't lie about something that the world can only benefit from. I'm as sick of the stupid arguments and fights as anyone, especially when they're basically over nothing important, in the end. And... I can empathize a little.

[But that's as far as that goes, because she doesn't want to think about that anymore.]

As for what I am? I don't know. I'm not all human since I can Summon and form pacts, but beyond that? Someone in my family fell in love with an elf, and their half elf child fell in love with someone else, and down and down the line it goes, however far. There isn't just hate to be had, there.

You're one human out of millions. It's not enough to matter.

I'd tell you another case, but it's not my story to tell. A third case, the people of Iselia stood up for Raine and Genis, though. Loving them for who they are instead of hating or fearing them as half-elves. If one village can change, it's entirely possible others can, too, which will add up over time until maybe the whole world can change.

It's easy to hate, and that's why it's a difficult task, especially when people think there's validation in it. I might just be one of millions, but that doesn't mean I'm alone. Human, elf, half-elf, and everyone in between: people will learn that their race doesn't matter.

[ He's heard it from so many people now. Collete had said something similar, earlier. So had so many others, and there was also the fact that so many people had been kind to him here, regardless of what he was, and in some cases, what he had done. ]

I waited so long. I don't think I can wait much longer.

[Sheena makes a frustrated sound, looking away from the screen for a second, down at her lap, before lifting her head again.]

A lot of people are waiting, Mithos. A lot of people who keep having any chance ruined because of the things you've done. Are you really going to make them wait without stop? Take away their chances to be able to smile and be happy without having to face bone-deep discrimination? They're just as alive and hurting as you are, Mithos.

[She knows it won't happen; she's from later in their timeline than he is, but... She wants to open his eyes here, even if it might not matter in the end.]

Edited 2013-03-31 17:50 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be better to not feel anything than to feel pain?

[video] ||Rising Sun||

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