seekinganswers | IC Mailbox

[There's a wrapped box...and in it another box...and another...and another...and more yet...in total there's 19 layers of wrapped boxes. But if Sheba manages to make it all the way through, inside the last one is a gold necklace with a single pearl dangling from it.

Attached is a note.]

A little late Valentine's gift~
-Lady Lambdadelta

[1 x small stone, green and round with a polished surface is dropped into Sheba's mailbox]

[She had been keeping an eye out for it, making a point of sending a note or two out every time she checked. There was no pattern she was breaking by stopping in at the mail room to look for the stone.

And here it is.

It's her cue to start looking; and so she does, carefully scanning each floor with her mind as she went about her day. She had a tendency to wander and a tendency to be listening in. None of this was out of the ordinary, either.

Finally she senses something that might be what she's looking for, and steps off the staircase. She doesn't seem to have been followed. It should be fine.]

...I'm here, whenever you're ready.

[It seems he's substituted training in the Gym for contemplating over viewfinders recently. Especially now that the Tower is broken. Perhaps he'll find some answer in gazing at his dead homeworld. Since he'd dropped that gemstone into Sheba's mailbox he makes a point of leaving his mental defenses a little bit lowered, not much but enough of a keyhole so that she could find him.

Though even if Sheba had been looking with her eyes only and poked her head in on this floor, he's easily identifiable anyway now that Glamour is back up.]

Sephiroth?

[She's almost certain that's his name. She's heard his thoughts before, had heard the thoughts of others while they were picturing him - and she's pretty sure. So as she approaches him - keeping her distance, because she knows from the last time that he doesn't like it when people get too close - she clears her throat to get his attention.]

You wanted to... [Take her up on that offer.] ...talk?

I do. Waiting any longer isn't in anyone's best interests, wouldn't you agree?

[He looks over his shoulder first and then turns to Sheba a moment later. Making sure his mental defenses were closed back off in the meantime.]

...yes. It's better to act sooner and take a few risks than it is to never act because you're waiting for the right time.

[Sephiroth needn't worry about his mental defenses. Now that Sheba's found him, she's cut off the flow of Psynergy necessary to read minds. She's not here to invade his privacy, after all; rather, she's here to make up for the wrong she's done him.]

So... What can I do for you?

The right time might not come now after all.

[Sephiroth agrees, though that last part lowers in tone a little. He's clearly displeased with the fact that in a year they're all apparently to have their souls extinguished, somehow. In truth, he's terrified of facing such a death but hides it very well.]

I want to know what happened. And you can find out for me.

[What happened. Sheba knows what he's referring to - what else could he be referring to? - and it makes her a little uneasy.

Because she doesn't have to go anywhere, or look for anything, or speak to anyone, to find out for him. She already knows. She was part of the group of people that made it happen, after all.]

You mean, with the... thing a few days ago?

[...she's stalling.]

[He just nods, a fluid motion with no hesitation. Yes, he's sure. More sure than he's been about a lot of things in this Tower for a long time. Sephiroth now has an urgent purpose to dedicate his time to and he must know all of the facts first.

Kariya hadn't revealed names, and there were a lot of questions he has about the microchips mentioned as well. Besides, Kariya was right; who gave anyone the right to be putting his existence in jeopardy. Especially when, clearly there isn't an alternative.]

I heard - [He frowns a little, only for a moment though before the creases melt away.] - some information on the network which needs to be verified. Should be an easy request, for one with your capabilities.

...it might be easy even without my... capabilities.

[Sheba's voice is low. She doesn't want that overheard - and she doesn't want whatever might come up next in conversation to be overheard, either. She's even ducked her head so that it's not so easy to see the way her lips are moving.

She'd seen the feed from the floors in Jason's office. Maybe he could lip-read, maybe he couldn't, but she doesn't want to make it easier for him.]

I haven't checked the network since Ruana left that message for us. ...what is it that you need verified?

[Sephiroth narrows his eyes at the way that Sheba's tone changes and the way she ducks her head down. He seems to get the hint, though he's smart enough not to take the look around. If they were being watched at this moment there wouldn't be anyway for them to tell. Just once flicks his gaze back to the stairwell in case his supervisory unit would be following. As far as he can see it's not there for the moment.

He tilts his head down and to the side slightly, his hair may go some way to throwing shadows across his face. He lowers his voice also to not much more than a grumbling whisper.]

A story about microchips delivered, by an administrator, then used to break the Tower. If true, as I suspect, then I need to know details.

That story is true.

[She says it quietly, but immediately.]

From what I've heard, the people who set the chips did so because it would open the way to finding the truth... about what the Tower really is, and about how to escape from it.

So, you're informed as well.

[It's a statement more than a question. Sephiroth searches her face then, for any tell-tale sign of half-truth, or any form of deceit. Finding none, his narrowed eyes relax a little but retain every fiber of their sparked intensity of color. How many other people had made this decision for him?]

Well it certainly uncovered a truth. Not so for the means of escape that doesn't involve our apparent obliteration. Typical admin ambiguity.

[He sneered that last part, how could anyone have been so stupid.]

How many people?

Yes.

[It's not a question, but she raises her head and nods to confirm his suspicions anyway.]

But I don't know everything. It's safer that way, so I didn't go looking.

[And I'm not going to is what she wants to say. She's still a child - barely fifteen, full of the stubbornness that a few years' worth of perspective would probably have worn down. But that's one thing she's not going to budge on, and her determination is clear to see in her eyes.]

I think Ruana's lying, though. Not just to us, but also to herself. I think she honestly believes what she said, but... the administrator who left the box wouldn't have done so if there wasn't another way than what she said.

[At his question, she shrugs.] A lot. I don't know all the names or all the faces, but there were a lot of chips. Too many to have been placed by just a handful of people.

[He raises an eyebrow inside those curtains of silver bangs, and then sighs lightly. He should have known there would be a limit to the favor he might be able to call on.]

Lets not forget the facts, Dax was an administrator. Just like the other four.

[He sounds relatively passive when he makes that comment but Sheba shouldn't let that fool her. Why bother to hide the name like that? It's obvious who she's referring to by now, clearly Enoch isn't the only one with high regard for the expired Host.

And to make it worse, there is a great following as well. Sephiroth very nearly scowls; he's not got the time go on a warpath for the sake of vengeance hunting down those responsible now. His future hangs in the balance. The next words are whispered even quieter.]

You are willing to take that gamble, then. I most certainly am not.

He was an administrator but he wasn't... malicious. It didn't hurt when I tried to look into his mind.

[Jason and Zo, on the other hand... that had hurt. She's almost afraid to try it with Ruana, but there's an almost morbid curiosity in her that's urging her to do it. It's just a matter of coming into contact with her, face-to-face. Part of her hopes she'll never have that opportunity.]

It didn't hurt when I tried to look into Riki's, either. Jason and the child, though... [She frowns, then shakes her head. Considering he called her here so she could do the favor she owes him, they've strayed from the point.]

We didn't do this to hurt anyone. We're looking for answers, too. I think there's - more clues about how to escape in the Tower, somewhere. [It had certainly sounded like it, from the conversation she'd had during the glamour failure.] I'll be helping to look for them. Whatever I find out, I can tell you.

...the others who set the chips and I... we got everyone into this mess. We didn't mean to, but we did. [She bows her head.] So we have to do whatever we can to get them out of it. I think our time here was always going to be limited, but... our actions led to the confirmation of that.

[Despite on several occasions he wanted to, in fact felt entitled to interrupt Sheba - Sephiroth refrains until she is finished. Interesting it all is, especially how Sheba has tried to enter the minds of the admins before.]

I do not appreciate such a step being taken on my behalf. Especially considering the unknown nature of the escape that would even be a possibility. I believe you may be gambling with forces that have not been defined well enough - yet.

[He looks away from Sheba then, partly to glance back over to the stairwell, just in case and partly to keep concealed his own concerns about being 'freed' from the Tower. They were private, for him to figure out alone.]

Please keep me informed. [She's been polite enough to be truthful to him so it doesn't hurt to be polite back.] It's VERY important now, so that any possible outcome can be prepared for. I cannot allow this to be my end.

...I'm sorry if you feel we've overstepped our boundaries.

[And really, she is - that's why she doesn't try to justify it. That's why she doesn't tack on a, "But would the forces ever have been defined soon enough for us to act otherwise?" The frustration that Sephiroth's feeling is valid. Sheba knows that if the situation had been reversed, she would have been incredibly angry.

So she's not at all surprised that he doesn't seem very pleased.]

I will. We - we didn't want this to lead to anyone's end. [There's the first hint of a lie, there. Sheba thinks she really wouldn't mind it if this all led to Ruana's demise.]

[There isn't much of a limit to Sephiroth's anger, it's volatile and very easy to ignite. Though it is crucial now that such anger is saved, concentrated and diverted with pin-point accuracy where it was due. At himself is not going to get him anywhere, though too many times it end up being inverted that way.

How could he have been so in the dark about what was really going on? Bitterly, he considers Ganondorf - plots leading to plots which have distracted him until now. Even Ryoji, what use had all that power-playing been to him, really?

Outwardly Sephiroth narrows his eyes again a touch at that thought but then blinks and looks back to Sheba]

I doubt that, personally. But we shall see.

[There are a few people who maybe shouldn't be allowed to be freed...]

We're not like Ruana. We don't enjoy playing games with others' lives.

[The words come out a tad bit more harshly than Sheba really intends. If there's one thing she really dislikes, it's having people doubt her.

But what's almost painful here - and what she can't avoid - is that the suspicions people might have about Pandora are, in some way, justified. They didn't want to take others' lives into their own hands, but by crashing the glamour system, they all but had. Especially with the new time limit that Ruana had imposed on them all out of some twisted form of revenge.]

[Sephiroth isn't phased at all by Sheba's slight harsh twinge, it was up to her however she wanted to take what he just said. Though in truth, no one is so innocent. No one is so clean-slate.

Everyone would enjoy to have such power, there is no two-ways about it.]

Careful not to sound so sure about that. People do many damaging things in the name of heroism, and history is written by the victors.

Just because the things we do might hurt someone doesn't mean we enjoy hurting them.

[She nods a little in response to his "history is written by the victors," though. She's experienced that firsthand already in more than one way.]

...I'll seek you out if I find out anything you might want to know. You're free to seek me out if you have any other questions in the meantime, though. Okay?

[He's not going to push his point any further, it might damage what useful liaison he may have gotten out of this conversation. Humanity revels in hurting each other, in so many different, complex and many-times unseen ways.

Sephiroth draws his gaze over Sheba as a whole once more before nodding in return.]

Yes, perfectly so. We shouldn't linger too much longer here.

[That's that, then. Sheba manages a small smile before turning away from Sephiroth, and starts heading for the staircase.

She pauses at the first step and looks back, though.]

...take care.

[And with that, she steps up onto the stairs and makes her way back up the Tower.]

[A long green scarf, though the original color is almost indistinguishable; the material has been thoroughly burnt, and carries the scent of burning flesh.]

Happy Birthday Sheba

-S

[Just three words. What else does one put in such a note anyway...]

Hi, Sheba! Can you meet me on the meadow floor around noon the day you get this?

-Jenna

[ Urotsuki actually accidentally forgot all about this being a thing Arthuria suggested for a month or so.. the problems of being really spacey and daydream-y, really. But at least she remembers what she heard about Sheba, so she looks through the mailboxes until she finds the girl's and leaves a note. ]

Hi.

I think we might be the same person.

We should meet up sometime.

[ .. It actually takes a little while before she realises that huh, something is probably missing about that note, but she doesn't know what..

So it's not until a day or two later that she actually goes back to add another note to it. ]

My name is Urotsuki.

[ NOT LIKE THAT LAST NOTE SEEMED CREEPY WITHOUT A NAME ATTACHED AT ALL.. ]

[Sheba really isn't sure how to respond to the first note, and she's got no idea of who to even try sending a response to. So she tries to put it out of her mind for those few days before the second note shows up.

With a name, she's at least able to reply...]

It's not uncommon around here, I guess. ~~My name is Sheba~~ [Those words are crossed out because she realizes after she writes them that Urotsuki must have already known her name to send the notes.] Where and when do you want to meet?

[...she'll just be very cautious, just in case.]

Anywhere and anytime you want is fine. I'm not often doing anything special. [ Well, she's a bodyguard for one of the teams researching the collar fluids, but Urotsuki is so spacey that she forgets about when she has to be there half of the time.. ]

So you can just tell me a place and time. I'll be there.

What's your collar color? Maybe we can meet after one of our collar checkups. I can come to yours if yours happens before mine, or you can come to mine.

...my collar is violet, if that helps at all.

Mine's yellow.

Like pee.

[ ... yeah. Yeah... I'm not even going to comment on that one. It's probably better to not ask. ]

So mine's first, I think. If you don't mind coming then.

[this note is in lots of colourful crayons, in handwriting which is childish but neat.]

deer everyone

i am riting a book on all the heros of the tower so that no one gets forgotted. but i dont know everyone and i dont want anyone to be missed out

so if you would like to can you please say who you fink is the best hero you know and what makes them a hero

you can do more than one name if you want

please send yore answers to romeo

or to room number two on floor one

thank you

romeo

[There are pictures at the end of smiling faces]

Sheba,

Though we've met little since the rooms, I feel as if I can trust you. You experienced Dax's sacrificial gamble for yourself along with me, after all, which is why I wish to ask you to join us in Pandora. We want to see his wishes through to the end. I hope to hear from you soon.

-Enoch

IC Mailbox

March 3rd; package

Backdated 7th June

action;

Floor 5 - Action

perma-action because I'm lazy and don't want to type it every time;

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a package

12th October: A Note

Sent 10/11 for receipt on 10/12

note; 1 / 2

note; 2 / 2

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Letter; Jan 18