entrancelogs | 001 | Welcome to Wonderland Sephiroth

Entry tags:

001 | Welcome to Wonderland Sephiroth

Who: Sephiroth & OPEN
Where: Mansion Grounds; Checkerboard Hills then heading inside for the first time.
When: Upon Arrival 17th April
Rating: PG Will update as needed!
Summary: Sephiroth finds himself in Wonderland...
The Story: He'd failed. Again.

Everytime, a variation of the same maneuver seemed to guarantee his defeat. A chain of 13 unstoppable, unblockable attacks that he'd not even been able to move to dodge. The damage to his vessel, which he had willed into being from the Lifestream itself, was irreparable and if he continued to force his will over his creation then he himself could be forced back into the Lifestream with it's death. Better to let go, and preserve the core of his being, retaining that sense of self outside of the system of the Planet. Especially since he'd worked so hard to recover so much. His black-feathered wing was wrapped around and he dissolved away from the feet up in a thick flurry of smoking feathers.

Sephiroth landed from a few feet in the air, with a similar flurry of black feathers preceding his arrival, leather-clad knees and then face first into freshly mown grass. Then there was utter stillness, any moment then he expected the attack of the Lifestream, as it had on every one of his defeats. He imagined the way it would flow around and through him, ripping his entire being apart. Or it would try, Sephiroth had already guaranteed his future; this was retreat into the Lifestream, not a banishment.

There was something about the wet smell of the grass though, that brought him around to consciousness. The thick aroma of Spring assaulted his senses the moment he pushed up from the ground and back up onto his knees. A leather-gloved hand ran back through one side of his long silver hair, freeing a few loose blades of grass and the last small black feathers before they smokily dissolved away into the air. Green eyes expanded to their fullest and delicate silver eyebrows raised as Sephiroth took in his new surroundings; well he wasn't expecting to end up here that's for sure. Where ever here was.

He had skid a little down this particular Checkerboard Hill but other than that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. That feeling of his energy hemorrhaging from every pore of his being that he'd experienced just moments before, gone. Sephiroth still felt a little dazed but he wasn't sure anymore if that was due to that retreat he'd induced (and had clearly gone wrong!) or if it was simply the warm, bright sunlight from this pleasant Spring day burning his eyes due to the contrast with the polluted Midgar skies.

His polluted Midgar sky. On His Planet.

Where Am I? He thought as he hauled himself steadily to his feet. Still taking in the view looking down towards the mansion and idly brushing the odd blade of grass from leather-ed arms where it hadn't just fallen away when he'd stood up. It was then that his thoughts were caught by the very action of brushing down his leather attire. This felt different. No, that wasn't it. After a couple of pats down his front and stretching of arms out in front, it came to him. It was the very fact that he was feeling at all. He had mostly forgotten what it felt like, how constrained it felt, to have a physical form to call his own again. His consciousness bound to all the intricate fibers of the same.

He sunk his consciousness inward, as if for further verification. Like a wildfire which started within his chest, at a single thought all of the Power that Mother had bestowed upon him was awakened and ready in an instant. As he would have expected it to be, as empowered as he deserved to be. It felt even more complete than he had in a long time, though now perfectly contained within one physical being rather than swarming around inside the life of the Planet infecting humans. Sephiroth's mouth curled into a smirk as he came to this realization and opened his eyes again.

This had been his goal.

Now it was time to investigate where he was. If it were some illusion being enforced on his consciousness, he would discover that soon enough. He very nearly stepped on the phone-looking piece of tech that had apparently fallen out of a pocket when he'd hit the grass, taking a further moment to regard it for a moment before pocketing it inside his leather pants again, for figuring out later on.

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While she hadn't been expecting the warmest of welcomes, hearing his voice again makes her spine automatically straighten. Dropping her hands to her sides, she approaches him cautiously.

"Sephiroth." It's not a greeting, a warning, or anything. Just a simple acknowledgement. "Do you know where you are? I wasn't sure if you fiddled with your..." There's not really an official name she's aware of, so she'll bring out her own device, holding it up.

There hadn't been any kind of post so far, she would have remembered.

It might seem like he'd get even taller, when others reacted that way to just the sound of his voice. As if only his voice could instill such caution in anyone, in this Cetran girl not least. Apparently, his presence has lost none of it's weight and it brings a curling smirk to his features.

And why not, whatever illusion was trapping his senses - he'd already discovered for himself that he's very much gotten his own body back. That completeness is impossible to fake with him, his cells would know it.

"I should imagine..." He mused, though not particularly sure of himself as he reached back into a leather pants pocket to fish out the strange device again. "That this is some sort of wild illusion borne of the Planets attempt to conceal the fact that I'm completely myself again.

"But you would know all about that." He uses the phone-like device to point at her, a quiet threat evident in those glaring green eyes. "Wouldn't you?"

Her brow furrows in response. She's not aware of the Planet forcing illusions on anyone, but then she's not exactly the expert. Aerith only goes by her basic instincts when it comes to the Planet, but she usually can't put those instincts into words.

"Ah, actually..." she trails off, hand going up to tuck some stray hair behind her ear. "It's not an illusion. This is a different world than our own. It's called Wonderland."

She can't be sure if he'll believe her, though, if he's already convinced this is an illusion and that she's part of it.

She had to be the expert. How else could he explain the transition from that world to this one? If she were an illusion right now in front of him, with her only purpose to draw him in further to this illusion...

But her next words made Sephiroth stop for a moment to consider. As bull-headed as he can be, however sure of himself, the fact is he doesn't know. He breaks his gaze with Aerith and takes another, slow look around again, his eyebrows furrow together for real this time. Deepening with each second before trailing his gaze over all of Aerith's details again, as if trying to find that hint of deceit, that crack in her resolve.

"-What?"

Hoo, boy. This is going to be much harder than she thought. She wonders if she should have just let him go to the mansion, maybe find someone else...but then she pushes that thought aside. No sense in worrying about 'what if's at this point.

"Wonderland. This place, the mansion -" and she'll gesture at the mansion in the distance, in all its huge glory. "It pulls people from their homes. I have no idea how many are here exactly, but it's a lot. Most of them are from different worlds altogether."

And blaming it on the mansion probably makes her sound a little less sane than before. "There's magic here, but it isn't like using Materia. The Lifestream isn't here, either."

She'll sound a little perturbed over this - she's still not over it.

It might well have been easier to have let him figure all of this out on his own. At least then he might easier believe all of it and she wouldn't be subject to that expression that is on one hand completely adamant he's being lied to, but on the other hand has nothing to prove it with.

He pulls his gaze up, across the Mansion once more, squinting his eyes a little at the bright sunlight as silver bangs fall away from them. Wonderland. Who came up with that name? Fitting though, for the perfection all around them. Perhaps this wasn't all so far-fetched as all that-

"But I-" A thought struck him then, Aerith forgotten momentarily as he looks down at his hands again. Still holding that device in one hand he turns his hands a few times. Trying to verify that feeling of being real that he'd felt empowered with not more than a few moments ago.

How can he be real, if the Lifestream is not here. It's not like he had a physical body of his own back home. He will not voice this question to Aerith though, putting himself in such a weaker position in front of the Cetra he couldn't do. Sephiroth takes a long pause before he raises his head again.

"If it's true. How do you know?"

Looking a little unsure, she waits while he studies his surroundings. She knows how much of a shock it was to her, and she can't predict how he'll react to news like this. What little contact they've had in the past has been fleeting, and not enough to be able to read him at all.

Not that Sephiroth is an easy man to read for anyone.

"That device in your hands-" she'll gesture at it. "It works a little like a PHS. You can send video messages, text or voice messages. It's connected to some network here..."

She trails off a bit because she's never been the world's expert in technology, and this specific piece of it makes no sense to her.

"Through the network, people can see you and talk to you. There's a lot of people here, from different worlds. You're the first one I've seen from home."

She might not be at her most relaxed while talking to him, but he hasn't tried to run her through with a sword yet. That's something, right?

Sephiroth turned the PHS-like device around in his hands a few times. Indeed it did remind him of those devices from back home, Cloud had a similar one, from what he remembered. Perhaps he'd had his own in his past, but that sort of detail wasn't here nor there and was certainly not important enough to be recalled. To even have been retained.

There wasn't any other proof to this fantastical theory of Wonderland, other than her words and what he was perceiving all around him. Sounds, smells, even the warmth of the sunshine felt real enough. But was it real? This was a conclusion Sephiroth himself would have to come to, when he'd had a thorough look around.

"Different...worlds?" Eyes looked up into Aerith's once more, his voice turned a lot more concerned just then. A light breeze tickled the ends of his long silver hair, his expression showing no more emotion that it always did. But his tone was now careful when he spoke again. "What about My World?"

His wording is noticed - His World - and she frowns the tiniest bit. There's a part of her, very ingrained and instinctual, that feels protective of the planet. It's not just any one person's - it belongs to everyone in her mind.

That isn't the debate she wants to start (or ever, really), so she sighs. "It seems like it's still there. I've been told that while we're here time comes to a stop back home. We're eventually returned right back when we vanished, and we go from there."

Which still sounds completely unreal, and she doesn't expect him to believe her at all. A part of her doesn't really believe it either, but she prefers to be optimistic. That way, her absence won't be noticed. She can continue on her journey, and figure out what the Planet is trying to tell her.

"Our memories are also tampered with. We won't remember our stay once we do return."

"Well isn't that convenient."

Sephiroth doesn't even bother trying to hide the distaste from his tone. He might have crushed the PHS-like device in his hand just then, if he hadn't logically figured that he might later need it for something. Like talking to other people? Since when he had ever had any need for that?

He supposes that at least if her story is true, then it's not as if the Lifestream could be eating away at his influence while his consciousness was in another physical form somewhere else. Sephiroth isn't entirely new to the idea of multi-dimensions after all; one could argue the Lifestream is a split spiritual dimension from the real world of Gaia.

Though this would be the first time he's been forced somewhere without him knowing about it. The longer he's stood considering that fact, the victorious feeling he'd felt upon realizing he had a body again quickly became soured.

Oh no. She can hear his tone change.

"I wouldn't say convenient exactly..." her voice trails off as the nerves from before start their dance in the pit of her stomach. "I mean, if you don't believe me you can contact the network at large with your device."

Aerith's more than ready to flee if he starts to seem like he'll attack. It's just so hard to predict what he will do next, and she doesn't want to jump to conclusions. Keeping an open mind can be difficult, given the history between them.

Sephiroth once again looked down at the (for now) blank screen of the networking device, his expression a touch more of a scowl than it had been up until now. Did she really think he'd ever turn to anyone else for help of any sort?

He's always been self-sufficient and that wasn't about to change even if he was now in a world he knows nothing about. Even if he's been given the device with which to 'ask around'. He'd rather spend days exploring it all for himself than lowering himself to asking anyone for help. At least then his conclusion would be untainted by anyone else's opinion and -more importantly- he wouldn't be having to return any favors.

Though, that's not to say knowing others opinions and experiences in this place might not be helpful to him. With that reasoning alone, Sephiroth puts the device back into the pocket of his leather pants that he'd retrieved it from. He doesn't like this situation at all but right now, it would be useless to dispose of something that may prove useful.

Then he drew his arms back up into being firmly folded across his chest. Pauldrons raised at his shoulders with the movement. Green eyes turned again to Aerith, narrowed slightly as if is gaze may be able to pick her apart on it's own. A smirk to match his mood crept across his mouth.

"Who ever would have guessed we'd end up in the same purgatory."

It's unusual for Aerith to still be unable to read someone, even after talking to them for a bit. She's quick to pick up on moods, body language and things unsaid. With Sephiroth, he remains an unstable element that could explode at any time, or just stay in a simmering state.

"At least we aren't dead?" It does sound more like a question than a statement - that much is true anyway - and she frowns the tiniest bit. Though he sounds like the Sephiroth they encountered several times, he seems a little different. She can't quite put her finger on it.

"Actually, a lot of people here are pulled from various times. Sometimes they don't mesh with others from their world..." A part of her is curious to know when he's from, but another part doesn't want to ask. If he wants to offer it up, she'll take it but otherwise? Personal questions are removed from the conversation for now.

"At least we aren't dead?" She had said.

Sephiroth frowned deeply then. What was actually going on here? Aerith has been dead for years, Sephiroth had personally ensured that. Or, more accurately, he'd puppet-ted a portion of Mother's body to do it for him. She had sought to keep him from his destiny, and even when he had killed her, she hadn't stopped being the proverbial thorn in his paw.

He might have exploded right then at her for tormenting him. Considering he'd only just been defeated again by her undeniable influence in not only His Planet but in the people who would oppose him. She saved herself from the tempest, though barely, with her next words.

"Different...times?" The second word cooled in tone somewhat compared to the first. Though that simmering glint in his eyes showed little sign of letting up soon. Taking what she said literally, adding to her comment before, means that this Aerith, could be from before he'd killed her? Before even the Nibelheim Incident when he had first died? He doesn't remember ever seeing her before Cloud had. This needed to be verified immediately if Sephiroth was to have any idea of who he was dealing with, though he needed to be careful not to betray information about himself.

"So then, whats the last thing you remember?"

There he goes, his reactions changing at such a rapid pace she can't keep up. Aerith can't imagine what's going through his mind, and her unease grows. Maybe he's from her future, maybe they weren't able to stop him.

She wishes she had someone there, Tifa or Cloud or Barret or someone who could tell her what had happened. Give her a little more strength to handle this.

His question is valid, and she has no problem answering it - technically, in Wonderland, they are all on the same side. Why hide it?

"I was actually traveling. To the Sleeping Forest." She'll leave out the part of the story that involved traveling there to stop him. He probably wouldn't react too kindly to that information.

There isn't much further change in Sephiroths' reaction this time. Well, at least Aerith might be able to gain a little more insight to his thoughts this way. That smirk that followed to curl it's way across his face though was not a welcome one.

"Right. That is intriguing."

He knows. Aerith shouldn't have tried to hide that information, in doing so she's laid clearly that she would omit truths from him. That Cetran enmity wasn't going to shift easily.

If there was one thing Sephiroth would always remember, it was the route he had led his puppets to find him at the Northern Crater. After all, Cloud had been one of them. Sephiroth's core was rooted in his memories of Cloud while all others had been stripped away by the Lifestream; of course he could remember. If he put his mind to it, he imagined he might be able to recall almost all of the conversations Cloud may have had with Aerith - not that he'd want to, particularly.

In his lack of the quantity of memories, those he did retain were in excruciating detail. Sephiroth raised his eyes to Aerith's hair, searching for something. For that Materia disguised as a hair-bauble that would prove her claim.

Aerith notices that his eyes are wandering, but she doesn't think anything of it. In her mind, the Materia she has is just a family heirloom, a reminder of her mother and completely without power. Just a keepsake.

"Well, now that you're here there's not much else to do but find yourself a room." She doesn't mind telling him the information on the mansion, especially since he hasn't given her any indication that he's going to be trouble. Maybe a little sour, but he never seemed to be an overly excited or happy man. "The mansion has ten stories, and countless rooms. They furnish themselves when you choose one."

Well if it is somewhere hidden in that pink ribbon he can't see it from his current position and even if it is Aerith and he doesn't care much for what she thinks of him - he's not the type to invade personal space without a more solid reason.

Besides, if they're not on Gaia anymore what relevance does it actually hold? Next to none.

"A-A room?" A change in the subject might do him some good, he doesn't quite feel in the mood to crush her dreams by revealing the truth about what happened. Sephiroth recalls his failures all too well on his own. Though, he really hadn't given any thought to the fact he might be staying here. No, he wanted to find the way out of this illusion in order to go back to recovering his influence in the Lifestream again.

But if this was real - as the Cetra had said, then certainly he would need somewhere to stay. He looked up and down the Mansion once more before turning back to Aerith again.

"Ten floors? I don't think so."

She understands his disbelief - she had it, too. "It's much bigger than it looks, I promise." She glances at the mansion in a distracted manner. "You'll see once you get in there. The closets will give you anything you need, as long as you open them with whatever you want in mind."

There's a shrug, and when she faces him again she's smiling slightly. "It's really something you have to see for yourself."

Really? Now that's almost too good to be true. As if someone, or something not only brought them here but wanted them to be as comfortable as possible as well. Sephiroth had yet to figure out why Aerith would be offering him such help and that irks him.

Humans aren't to be trusted, Cetra even less so. This still could be an elaborate rouse to lure him in to a position in which she could seal him away. Just like they had done to Mother before.

"Seeing is believing after all." And then, without much else to say to her, Sephiroth turned and walked away from Aerith without even so much of a 'thank you' or 'goodbye'. Not caring much if he came across as rude, he has priorities, and needs to get to the bottom of this place fast.

She lets out a sigh as she watches him leave. It went better than she expected, but still not fantastic. She'll just be sure to steer clear of him for a while, let him get acclimated to the mansion.

Aerith turns in the other direction, heading back in the direction of the flowers. She needs a little time to herself to think about this newest arrival.

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001 | Welcome to Wonderland Sephiroth

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