aerialassault | 005 [Audio/Action]

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005 [Audio/Action]

[Audio]
Yo. Everyone.

[It was midday that he addressed the village as a whole, without any lead-in or hint of apology in his tone for being so goddamn casual.]

I'm lookin' for a friend of mine. He's got long hair and has a pet pig-- lemme know if you see him.

[Action]

[It was training, Souji had been insisting for the last few weeks when he set an enraged, squealing Saizou upon him without any warning. Speed training for a little game between the two of them that they both had a stake in. And, finally-- after many days of running from the grumpy little pig-- the game was on.

Cliff had 24 hours to catch Souji. Truth be told, he had no idea what the little prankster was up to.

He'll be anywhere and everywhere around town that day, searching every corner and under every table for any hint of that teasing smile...all the while remaining on high alert for anything that would attempt to dive-bomb him.]

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[Secrecy wasn't the issue. Fayt had made sure that his friends were updated with all of the relevant information as they entered this world, because it was a deep rooted part of their story that no one could have even forseen until well after the Vendeeni had tracked them back to the Elicoor system, with Sophia and Dr. Leingod in tow. Cliff shifted position and lightly squeezed the hand upon his, grateful for the subtle offer of support, and ventured forth with the story.]

Thanks. This...it could take a while.

Tell me, Souji. What all did Fayt tell you?

His role in it - what he can do. Admittedly, I was able to get that story out of him likely due to his medication.

The rest, I guessed at, but he wouldn't confirm anything - not until I spoke to you.

[He scratched his head with a free hand, accidentally knocking aside a few paper flowers and cranes with the motion.]

'Course it'd be something like that... we can start there.

[It was, after all, the best place to begin.]

So he told you 'bout what he can do, and probably mentioned the project his dad was involved in nineteen years before we got to this place...

Did you ever consider that maybe giving someone the power to destroy matter was just one part of the project?

A part? [He thought for a moment. He hadn't considered that, but then Souji was one who leaned toward destruction anyway. He knew there were others out there who thought of better things, but his world was always tinged red no matter what.

But if destruction was only part of it, then how many other parts were there? Creation? Something else?]

He mentioned there were other people, but nothing else.

Of course he did.

[After all, Fayt was leaving this explanation in his hands.

Cliff angled his gaze toward Souji, studying the lines of his face for any hint at what Cliff may have been in for as their conversation continued. As always, there wasn't much to be found that was beyond the ordinary.]

Yeah. Fayt's just one part of it. One part of three-- [He lifted a hand, showing Souji a single finger.] The others are Sophia, a friend of his that he grew up with, [he lifted a second finger, adding to the count,] and the other...

[He paused, humming softtly as he lifted a third finger.]

The other is Maria.

[Three. Destruction, its opposite..and what? Stasis? There were a lot of questions buzzing in his head as Cliff began to enumerate the others, and the buzz only got louder when Maria's name was mentioned. Was that why she'd been looking for Fayt? Because they were all a part of some grand scheme? A scheme for what?]

The woman you work for. What power does she have? And what were these powers for?

My daughter. [Cliff corrected after a moment's hesitation, as if he were trying to affirm her unofficial status to himself.] I fished her outta that lifeboat with Mirage and took care of her while she grew-- that makes her my daughter, right?

[He shook his head, briefly wondering when life had become so complicated by all of these details, and sighed. Taking up a paper animal, Cliff held it up in the air and studied the carefully made folds while he continued.]

All your answers will come when they come, Souji. Be a little patient. It's a long story.

[Well, that was a rather unexpected turn. Souji watched Cliff for a moment, then acquiesced as the man started to explain, more to himself than to Souji. The swordsman simply smiled and nodded.]

I've been patient for longer than you think, Cliff-san.

[Ever since the mission they went on, he'd been stewing over how to broach the subject. He knew there was something Cliff wouldn't tell him and this was apparently it. All he had to do was wait a little longer, but with the answer right in front of him, he finally found himself getting a little impatient with the slow answers.]

But please continue.

[He believed Souji. There was no reason to have any doubts in this regard-- and Souji had been entirely correct. While the facts didn't matter in this world, this was still a very big subject that he had tried to keep hidden away. It was only a matter of time before information started to come out.

Cliff smiled in return, grateful for Souji's quiet support and patience. It was a gift that few in any world could give him.]

...So, you know that Fayt's got the power of Destruction, right? It's... probably a little more complicated than what you're thinking. His powers are based on our world's Symbology, or something you'd probably call 'magic.' It goes against normal logic-- he doesn't just break things. He makes it like his target never even existed.

[So it wasn't just to destroy, but to obliterate. That...was actually a more terrifying power than he'd imagined. Terrifying and useful, but Souji would never admit to thinking that. He could never use someone as a weapon, not here. At home, he was at war and using people as swords was normal, but here he had to be careful. He couldn't let his instincts get the better of him.]

I see... And he was given these powers to fight against whom? The people in these other realms Albel-san mentioned?

[Fayt's powers were more terrifying than anything Souji was likely to imagine. The memory of that scattered battlefield where Fayt first unleashed it still chilled Cliff down to the bone-- as did another incident, and neither were something that could be forgotten by anyone who had witnessed it.]

Yeah, [Cliff replied,] mostly. But, it ain't as easy as going through a door, you know. We needed a key-- and that's where Maria and Sophia come in.

So your goal was to open the door with the two of them, and then destroy the people on the other side?

[Ruthless, but effective. He'd do the same thing, given the chance. It wasn't kind, but neither was he and he had no illusions of what would happen if the Joi gained control of the land.]

[Cliff shook his head.]

I already told ya-- I'm still in the middle of it. All I know for sure is that our lives, and everything we've fought for, is nothing more than entertainment to these people. [he grimaced when he said that, spitting the words out as if they had a foul taste.]

...We're nothing more than little bits of data that they watch in their spare hours. And, that? That really sticks in my craw.

[Enter..tainment? That caught Souji's attention and he watched Cliff carefully, especially his expression and the change in his tone. Souji could certainly understand the distaste. Their lives weren't for anyone's twisted entertainment. It was part of the reason why, although he put on a happy face for the Malnosso and kept out of their way, he knew if he was given a chance he'd stab every single one of them through the back.

But that was only here. Cliff had to deal with that at home as well. He had to realize that his world was-- He was constantly being watched. His life, all the struggles he had, all the deaths, all of it was for some shadowy overlord's fun. The grimace on Cliff's face spread to Souji's, pulling on the corners of his mouth, flattening his expression out.]

I would kill them. If I were you.

We do, [He replied, in a husky, solemn tone.] 'Least, that's what Fayt and Albel say.

[Cliff leaned back, feeling the weight of his home's dilemma resting on his shoulders once again. There was no doubting that this was truly Fayt, Maria, and Sophia's mission, but there were certain moral quandaries about it all that he just couldn't shake.]

...We're a video game to these guys, [he continued after a beat, riding on a thought that annoyed him to no end...but, might make it easier to understand.] And our science has advanced too far for their comfort. I think we cracked some of the code with what we've learned. Gravitic Warp takes us across space faster than light, and the Symbology that the academics study...well. It's pretty unbelievable if you've never seen it before.

But, the bottom line is that these guys created this game, and we're lucky just to be able to breathe on the other side of that door. It's thanks to Maria and her Alteration ability that we can...but, I dunno. It's hard to wrap my head around all of it, even now.

[Over a year of distance and experiences in a completely different dimension still didn't make hard facts like this any easier to accept.]

It isn't surprising you have a hard time with it.

[If he wasn't having a hard time with it, Souji would actually worry about him. To be told he was a game - a sentient game now, apparently - was hard enough. To know that the people who created you were actively trying to kill you because you actually gained sentience? There were few people in the world, any world, who would be able to deal with that in a level-headed manner. It was just too much for a person to take in. It was like him finding those comic books that mirrored his life too closely in the first few pages so he'd burned them without ever reading the rest.

It was too much for a person to carry on their shoulders. Far too much.

Souji reached over and tentatively put a hand on Cliff's.]

It doesn't change how real you are.

[He glanced over at Souji, momentarily surprised by the offered comfort, and wrapped his fingers around his partner's with a soft chuckle.]

I know.

[He smiled. Truth be told, he hadn't even gotten as far as having an existential crisis over learning about the truth of his world-- the surging anger over the notion of someone bigger and more powerful than him, someone declaring themselves a 'god', going and removing everything he cared about from existance had overridden all of his concerns. There was no time for anything else.]

Trust me, I know. In that situation, your mind's all you got, so you need to have your priorities straight...

And...you know what? I've always considered myself an athiest and, if those guys are gods? They just ain't worth the time wasted on 'em.

[Sometimes he forgot how level-headed Cliff could be. In this situation, his first instinct would be to question himself and everything that was happening. Instead, Cliff railed against those who were causing the problem and went for action. It was a fundamental difference in them and one which made Souji remember why he'd found himself drawn to Cliff in the first place. A person with a strong will and a call to action would always gather people around them. He'd followed someone like that at home as well.

Souji smiled faintly and gave Cliff's hand a slight squeeze before letting go.]

Thank you, for telling me all this.

No. Thank you for understanding. I was planning on telling you, but...I didn't exactly know where to begin.

[Or how. And, above all else, he didn't want to be judged for the treacherous state of his universe by someone he cared about-- a fear that he knew was foolish, but was still enough to quiet his tongue.

After all, if not for a small series of accidents in his life, odds were that he would never have been in position to do anything like what he was attempting back home. Whether it was by luck or design, events had fallen into place in his life in a way that shaped his perspective and influenced his decisions. And, without everyone that he knew in his life, what did he have?

His actions truly were nothing that special. He just did what was good by him.]

[He nodded his head slightly and then brushed a pile of origami on the couch aside.]

It can be difficult to reveal such things about ourselves unless strongly pushed.

[And even then some things would never see the light of day. Souji knew that he could ask some things, but not others, and he wasn't about to push for the impossible things.]

I just hope I didn't push too strongly.

Nah-- ya didn't. You just helped me find the right words.

[Even for a person who made tense negotiations a regular practice, finding the proper words for this context was tricky. He didn't know which ones to use at first, but it wasn't impossible. Nor was it too far.

Cliff shifted a little closer to Souji, feeling more comfortable with the air between them cleared of tension.]

I'm just gonna ask that you be a little bit patient in the future. Learning all of this was a shock, and all of us who made it here have come from different points in time. Nel...she hadn't even made it off of her homeworld by the time she got here. She had very little idea about any of this before we told her. And, that might be the case if anyone else comes. There's no way to tell.

[It was a simple request and it was simple to fulfil. Souji knew better than most what it was like to want to keep things close to the chest, and so he bowed his head in acquiescence. He wouldn't tell anyone or push the issue any further unless absolutely necessary. It wasn't his secret to tell anyway and just like he wouldn't want Cliff or Fayt or Albel to find his books, he wouldn't go telling other people about their world.]

You should know by now how patient I can be.

But my lips are sealed on this for now until such a time as you say otherwise.

Thanks, [Cliff said with a warm, grateful smile.] That was actually gonna be my other request-- we can't have Leon, that Fellpool in town, finding out. He's...ah, sorta famous to my understanding. But, besides that, we've got a few centuries on him. None of this is ever gonna affect him...but, that ain't the point.

Nel needed to know. He doesn't.

Ah. [That explained a lot of the secrecy quite easily then. He smiled faintly to show his understanding rather than nod again.]

I know Leon-san and I can find a way into the library to find any information on your time in case you need me to remove it.

I've already checked the shelves. [Multiple times, although he won't say that. There was no reason to point out just how unnerving this information was-- he didn't want anyone throwing questions at him out of left field.]

Looks like we're in the clear on that front-- a nice bit of luck for a change 'round here. But, I might take you up on that if that ever changes in the future...

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