summonerd | i just wanna know: who broke it?

[She nearly yanks her hand back and snaps at him for flirting, like nothing's changed, and a ripple of irritation makes its way across their link to him, but she doesn't follow through, still too shellshocked by seeing Zelos here, alive, even if he's-- changed.

(She'll think of Verius, later, but the comparison doesn't come to her just yet.)

Sheena pulls her hand back, slower than she should have, lowers the other from her mouth. The immediacy of the link... isn't receding, and everything coming from it is sharp and overwhelming.

Goddess, what did she sign up for? Is this how Zelos had felt all of the time?]

You--

[She wants to tell him not to joke around like that, or to ask how this happened to him, or maybe just to hug him, but his motion stops her again. In the last few seconds Sheena has completely managed to forget that they're not alone, that the room is full of officials and even a curious onlooker or two, ready to make sure she doesn't run away with their precious Aegis. Right, demanding of their long-lost Aegis what happened, when she'd claimed to be from far away from Meltokio, would be suspicious. She can wait a little while for her answers. Sheena winces, glad none of them can see her face from this angle, then tugs her face into a tentative smile as she turns.]

Ah... I did it, everyone?

[Good grief, this girl is a fucking socially awkward mess. The sharp discomfort and shaky shock in their link settles nicely in Zelos' crystal, and in its pathetic smallness Zelos actually has a mind to feel a little pity for his driver. She really has no clue how to do this, does she? Brushed by her messy anxieties, Zelos is suddenly overcome with the need to do something for her.

Okay, then. Zelos clasps his hands together in front of himself, laughing, and then points over at her.] "She did it, everyone!" [he agrees cheerfully. He gives her an awestruck look, sets one free hand on her shoulder.] "Wow! You're amazing. I'd love to get to know you better!"

[He couldn't care less.

Next, he looks at the rest of the people in the room. He turns the charms up to eleven and prays to the Architect above that they'll listen.] "Well, then. I guess this is when I get my time to get acquainted with my new driver." [He hums, smiles. Smile smile smile.] "Sylvarant won't wait forever. Better be quick and efficient about this, right? So the sooner we get this show on the road, the better!"

[He honestly wants nothing to do with her, displaced familiarity and curiosity be damned. She is his driver. Zelos never asked her to drag him back. As soon as they're out of sight he'll probably use the time to wander about the room complaining in order to get her annoyed and stop her from interacting with him further, maybe, as well as try to gather up his end of the emotional link to try and keep it under wraps for the rest of this resonance.]

[Sheena just lets the bullshit wash over her for a moment. He's so transparent right now that even she can tell, but he's always been better at this than her. If he wants to handle this, she's not about to stop him.

The onlookers do clear out with a little grumbling from people eager to meet the famous Aegis once more, but not before one of the officials stops to impress upon Zelos and Sheena the importance of not wasting too much time. "Lots of lost ground to make up now that your beauty sleep is over," he says, as he turns to leave, and though Sheena's smile stays where it is, something in her chest twists with dread at the way he says it. Damn, damn. She hadn't planned for having to escape from the castle with another person in tow. She hadn't planned much beyond getting ahold of the Aegis at all.

But then they're alone, and that smile finally slips off her face as she turns back to face Zelos, to be replaced with something softer and more uncertain. She clasps her hands loosely in front of her, fiddling with them.]

...It's... Really you? [Sheena laughs, more out of disbelief than anything. Honestly, she's not sure she isn't dreaming this up.] How the hell did you end up here? I saw-- we all saw... [She trails off, not wanting to complete the thought, but the spike of grief that contorts her features is enough to make it clear where it was headed.]

[Once they're finally alone, Zelos allows himself a moment to draw in a sharp breath, hold it, and then shakily release it as he turns around to examine the room, for lack of a better thing to do while he gathers up most of his side of the emotional bleed and keeps it close to his core, temporarily private. Talking to his driver is the last thing he wishes to do--not just because of the fact that he's awake, but because she's human. Because she's a government official, because none of his drivers have ever given a shit about him, and the feeling is always mutual. Why should he start giving a shit now?

But, he thinks bitterly as she addresses him directly anyway, as he feels a wisp of grief and something deeply personal shaped like relief from her side of the link, he still... has to keep up appearances. No matter how much he'd rather curl up and die again, or how badly he wishes she'd just fuck off and leave him alone for the rest of eternity, in the position he is in, Zelos really can't afford to be in any way hostile to any of his drivers.

So he stops, sighs. Sets his hands on his hips as he turns to face her again, mask of friendly concern on and words dipped in a comforting, sweet tune.] "Don't look so upset, sweetheart. I am the Aegis. My death was just a temporary sacrifice meant to aid the greater good." [He grins so hard he feels like he'll be ripped to shreds.] "I don't regret it one bit. Tethe'alla's Aegis is always happy to help our country in any way possible!"

[The words feel like glass shards ripping at his tongue, all fake and disgusting and awful, but he keeps that flame of despair in his chest and does everything he can from letting it bleed into the emotional link. Zelos has no idea why she'd be so affected by the Aegis' death, but he offers her the typical propaganda expected of him, doubting she'd care for the actual truth.

Oh well, now's not the time for such things.] "Now, darling," [he says, leaning forward,] "you know who I am--obviously--but I'm going to need a name to refer to you, too. Mind introducing yourself?"

[Sheena shifts her weight to one foot, cocking her head uncertainly. This whole situation is weird, and maybe Zelos has always been a weirdo, too, but he's not usually this committed to a bit.]

C'mon, you can drop the act. There's nobody else here but us.

[This is almost insulting. Is he that mad at her? But then the full weight of what he'd said hits her, hard enough to make her draw back a little. She sounds angry, but the emotions making it through to him are nearly all more of that sharp grief, made sharper by his words.]

Seriously? The 'greater good'?! [She props her hands on her hips, leaning in again in her outrage.] What good came from you dying?

Edited 2019-03-07 03:50 (UTC)

[Something about her anger and grief doesn't sit right with Zelos, and it anchors whatever sharp replies he'd formulated down at the bottom of his throat. He refuses to step back when she leans in, but he clenches his hands into fists and then opens them, again and again as if to ground himself against her glare. He feels cold, suddenly. If she's acting, merely pretending to be worried and upset for any eavesdroppers that may linger... well, she's doing a damn good job at it. Zelos is almost inclined to believe her.

Almost.]

"I mean, it's kind of what I'm built for, right?" [he ends up saying as he vaguely gestures at his crystal, voice tense as he tests the waters. He gives her a tight grin. There's something off in the air between them, something he's not seeing. What does she know?] "Don't get me wrong, hon. It's super nice to be so highly regarded, but you really shouldn't be worrying about that," [he adds after a pause.] "You should be worrying about giving me your name."

[Unfortunately for Zelos, Sheena has no experience with resonance, and therefore no experience with holding her emotions back from her new blade.]

That's not funny. [It's not, and she mirrors him without realizing, hands curling into fists. But it doesn't feel right, even for Zelos messing with her, even if he hates her so much that he won't acknowledge her. She must be missing something, and her eyes flick down to the crystal as he gestures to it and then back up to his face. She pauses to breathe, forces her tone into something a little less antagonistic.] C'mon, it's me. Sheena, remember? You know, 'Sheenuts'? [This is probably the most earnest she's ever been with Zelos, and she can't say she likes it, but... if that's what it takes. She's not interested in losing him again. Sheena searches his face for any sign of recognition, holding her breath despite herself.]

[Something is absolutely, horrendously wrong.

Sheena, she says. Sheena. She's looking at him like she expects him to recognize the name, but try as he might Zelos simply can't--he's pretty sure that this is the first time in his life that he hears it. Then fear grips at Zelos from the inside, for a second, as he wonders if he should recognize Sheena, if something's missing, but... No, that can't be right. He's an Aegis. Aegises don't forget.

Then what the fuck is going on?]

"There we go. Was that so hard?" [he says like a joke instead of acknowledging his fear, or the honestly stupid nickname, or the desperation in her eyes that ripples through his ether. He's so confused, but Zelos tries to relax his stance as he smiles for her, then slowly offers a gloved hand for her to shake.]

"Nice to meet you, Sheena."

[Wow! Sheena hates this so much!

She doesn't react to the outstretched hand right away, still trying to hunt down any sign that he does remember and is just fucking with her. But there's nothing there except for that definitely-fake smile, and she lets out the breath she'd been holding in a sigh, gaze dropping as she takes his hand to shake it.]

... alright. Nice to meet you, too. [Her voice is quieter now, a little more resigned, and the misery that she half-manages to keep off her face is nowhere near as restrained in their resonance, a soft wave that has no business threatening to overwhelm her as much as it does. But it's fine, really. It's fine. Zelos is alive, and that's more than enough for now, even if he doesn't know her. Maybe it'll come back to him with time. Maybe the others will spark his memories, once they can get back home.

She claps her hands together, pushes a smile onto her face that she's not remotely feeling.] So! Ready to get going?

[Oh, worm? That miserable feeling floating in Sheena's ether as she definitely ignores it is something Zelos can relate to, at least. He grins at her as they shake hands, then sets his hands on his hips, ready to turn around and ignore Sheena for the rest of the day until--

He's halfway through that train of thought before Sheena's words run right in front of them, causing them to crash and stop. Zelos turns to look at her again, one eyebrow raised and not even trying to keep the confusion in his expression a secret. Get going? Is she really that much of a newbie at this? Did they set him up with a civilian?

This is so ridiculous that Zelos starts to smirk.] "Going where, hon? Weren't you told? This is the part where we sit down, all nice and pretty, and wait for further instructions."

[Wow, that's the first reaction she's gotten out of him that felt real. Sheena huffs, tucks an errant lock of her hair behind an ear.]

Do you seriously want to stay here? All the stuff I could find in the libraries here about Aegises was kind of outdated, but... it sounded pretty bad. [She pauses for a moment to think about it, escape plans running through her head. There hadn't been that many helpful layouts of the castle to be found, but she has some idea of it, at least.] Unless you think they're going to expect us to try and escape right away?

[Zelos

Stares

He stares at Sheena, eyes slowly widening as the words she's just said wash over him like what he imagines a cold, cold ocean wave must feel like. The word 'escape' in particular loops itself in his mind like a dying bird's manic song. Escape. Escape, escape, escape. Sheena wants to escape. Sheena, his driver, wants to escape.

What the fuck?

Slack-jawed and cold from head to toe, ether hiccuping in his veins, Zelos begins to feel something close to panic bubble in his core. Escape. Sheena wants to escape. He takes a step back, away from her. Sheena wants to escape. The fact that he can't feel any maliciousness in their emotional link--which Zelos thinks she probably wouldn't have been able to hide anyway, novice as she seems to be, open book that she's been--leaves him breathless, words dying on his tongue until he swallows down the thick dread that's currently clutching at his throat.]

"Excuse me?"

[Oh, ow. Sheena hadn't been expecting that dramatic of a reaction just from asking if he wanted to stay, and it's enough to make her wince, to rest one hand loosely on her collarbone where the panic and dread feels like it's coming from. She's going to have to ask him later about just how closely awakening him had left them tied together.]

... You don't want to stay, right?

[There's nothing keeping him here if he doesn't want to be, that she knows of. Unless-- oh. She tilts her head, thoughtfully.] Is it Seles? We could bring her too, if it's because they're threatening her.

[No, Sheena, he doesn't want to be here. To be honest with you, he's kind of tired of being alive in the first place, tired of being just a perfect little weapon born to bring nothing but destruction of the world as we know it.

Zelos sets a hand on his crystal, mirroring Sheena. She's... really dead-set on this, isn't she? He gets the feeling that she's not going to listen to him if he protests, excuses already coming to him each second like the ticking of a clock, but then what she says next gives him pause. He tilts his head, frowns, and asks,]

"Who's Seles?"

[Oh, this is all just so fucked. Sheena realizes her mistake too late, but the idea of Zelos not even knowing his sister hurts more than him forgetting about her.]

... Guess you don't remember her either, huh. Sorry. Probably not, then.

[That took all the wind out of her sails, and it takes her a moment to get it back. She stretches out a hand toward him, palm up.] Well, what do you say?

[Sheena extends her palm to to the Aegis, his first instinct is to step away. Hand still on his crystal, confusion making way to apprehension and fear, Zelos glares at his driver. In just the span of a few minutes she's come into his world, awakened him, and now claims to want to escape with him on tow. As if he could escape. As if life were that easy. With the way the situation has escalated, the fact that she's giving him a choice in the matter feels more like mockery than sincerity, and it's pissing him off.

He grits his teeth.] "I say I want to know just who the fuck you think you are to come here and demand I leave with you," [is what he says, words hot like that despairing fire that still burns in his gut. He doesn't bother to snuff it out for her, lets all of his noxious smoke escape his lips in a growl.] "Escape? What the hell are you talking about? Don't you realize who--what I am?"

[...okay. That's fair. If she were in a situation like this without even her memories she'd want explanations, too. Sheena takes a deep breath before she starts to explain, letting her hand rest back at her side.]

Alright. I'm from... another world, I think. The places seem like they're the same, and some of the people are too, but it's definitely not the one I came from originally. [Sheena wonders for a second if this isn't the Zelos she knows at all -- but she'd seen the princess once, from a distance, and she'd been a child. This world's Zelos couldn't be this old.]

One of the books I found here said that the Aegis's power could theoretically transcend space and time. I was just planning on getting ahold of it and using its power to get home, but-- [she breaks off, more than a little guilt on her face.] None of the books I found said anything about the Aegis being a person. So I didn't exactly plan on getting the both of us out of here, but I'm not gonna just leave you.

[Oh... Somehow, even though he'd already guessed that was the case, being told that even in academic papers he's not really referred to as a person still manages to hurt. Zelos presses his lips into a fine line, breathing in to try and stabilize that hurt and anger into something more manageable.

The pathetic feeling of betrayal leaves him soon, though, when he considers her words of another world and his power. Zelos has read about the original Aegises, those whom he was based on, and knows that their power had been a mighty, terrifying beast to witness. When he thinks of that then Sheena's nonsensical claim to be from another world doesn't seem too far-fetched, seeing how Mithos and Martel supposedly helped create the world, but for some reason he still finds it in himself to doubt her. Because based on that alone, it's unsurprising--and a little disappointing, if he's honest--when Sheena's goals turn out to be selfish in nature.

Of course she'd want that power for herself--she's human. That's what humans think of the Aegises. That they're power they can control.

Sheena's no exception, huh? Though, her irritatingly simplistic idea of how things work here sure is something else. What an infuriatingly insulting attempt at a power-grab.] "Right. So what you're saying is that you just dimension hopped and now want my help in getting back home, and your way of going about it is to infiltrate the castle and kidnap me." [He grins, tight and cruel, and laughs.] "I'll give you props on the creative work of your cover story, at least. That's so cute." [Pause, shrug.] "Alright, I'll bite. Let's pretend I believe this crap. What happens now? A hundred years of the tightest security in the planet, and you really think you can escape Tethe'alla's borders with their Aegis on tow? Just like that?"

Edited 2019-03-07 15:18 (UTC)

[He really never does change, huh. Sheena's trying not to lose her patience with him, amnesiac as he is, but Zelos is nothing if not great at getting under her skin. She even stamps her foot a little bit.]

It's not a cover story! I'm telling the truth! We're connected or whatever, right? So you should be able to tell that I'm not lying. And it's not kidnapping if you want to go!

[... Maybe that's how possession works and not whatever this is. Still! It's not like she has any experience with this. Either way, it's having somebody else in your head. She pauses, though, gives a little actual thought to his second point. It's true that she doesn't have her connections to the summon spirits, or the rest of their friends here, but it's not like either of them are defenseless.

He remembers how to fight, right? Sure he does. It'll be fine.]

Sure, just like that. They'll never be able to track us once we get out of the city. And besides, if you have anywhere near that kind of power, what're they gonna do to stop us? [She offers him a wry smile.]

[Something in her words makes him bristle a little, but the sensation is cold and numb, piercing like a blade in his core.] "Oh, I think you're underestimating the lengths Tethe'alla will go to keep me in their possession, honey. You're not even going to last a day carting me around with an entire militia after you."

[Truthfully, Zelos isn't really sure if they would throw the entire militia after her, nor is he so sure that Sheena won't be able to hold her ground, especially if they add his sword and power to the mix, but... something about the idea still terrifies him. He hasn't summoned his sword in years, hasn't even been in a proper battle before in his life. He could get himself killed out there, and then what happens to him when his crystal's taken into custody again, after betraying the country? It just terrifies him. There is too much at risk here.

Anxieties clicking against the glass of his core crystal, Zelos takes a step back and waves a hand in the air, scoffing, fuming at Sheena.] "Besides, even if we did make it out of here alive... where the fuck would we go?" [He glares.] "Why should I trust you?"

[Tick tick tick.]

Edited 2019-03-08 03:24 (UTC)

["Why should I trust you?" It hits her right in the chest, a sharp pang that has no business hurting as much as it should. Of course he doesn't. He never really did, did he? Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have--

Alright. Not now, Sheena. The grief just overwhelms her for a moment, too much to handle. She curls one hand into a loose fist, digging her fingernails into her palm to distract her.]

... It's a ways away, but there's a hidden village to the east, called Mizuho. If I explain things to them, they'll help us. Or, if you want, we could try right away to go back to my world. You'd be safe there. Our friends wouldn't let anyone make you do anything you don't want to, either.

[The question's harder than she would have expected it to be to answer. It takes her a second.] I just-- you're my friend, okay? I don't want you to be trapped, or made to do anything. [Another pause, but... she may as well be bare her heart for this, right? Even if it's not something she ever would have told him before.] ... I don't want to lose you again.

Edited (ADDS A WORD IMMEDIATELY REMOVES IT) 2019-03-08 04:32 (UTC)

[He knows about Mizuho. He's heard about it before, at least, knows the rumours of their people being experts at espionage and whatnot. It's one of the first things anyone learns in the corrupt business of politics. Why Mizuho would send an agent over to kidnap him eludes him completely, but it should make do for a hiding place if they manage to escape, he guesses. Sure, why not.

But that's not what he's focused on at the moment.

Sheena's grief is sharp and echoing in their link, washing over Zelos like a gentle, yet strong wave. She sounds so... defeated. Small. Like she's reaching a limit and yet won't allow herself to do it, or she doesn't even know that she's reaching it in the first place. "I don't want to lose you again," come her words, and without even thinking about it Zelos feels himself relax, shoulders drooping, breath leaving him in a slow exhale. "Again," she said. She seems so dead-set on some sort of bond between them, but Zelos has no idea what's going on here, and that honest to god scares him. Is there something here that he's missing? He's pretty sure he's never met this girl before in his life. And even if he's famous and well-known throughout the country, she has no right to be so friendly and familiar with him at all. Who the hell is she?

What does she know, that he doesn't? Why does she insist he give her something he genuinely cannot give?

Zelos takes a deep breath. Holds it. Counts in multiples of seven, each number punctuated like pieces of a finality in a decision he doesn't like, could never like, but thinks is necessary. They're not going to get anywhere like this--they need to bridge the gap. And that means...]

"Put your hand on my core crystal," [he demands. If she's going to order him around, to dangle freedom in front of his face like that, then he gets to be hostile right back. Zelos squints.] "I need to check something."

[Well, that's... not what she expected. If this is a setup for some pervy joke she's going to punch him in the face. She is.]

Huh? Alright, I guess. [She closes the distance between them with a step, reaches out with only a little hesitance to place her hand onto his crystal, three fingers pressed gently to the warm crystal. She glances up at him as she does, quizzical.] Like this?

[Once she's made contact with his crystal Zelos shudders, then immediately reaches up for her wrist and holds her in place.]

"Don't think about anything," [he orders, closing his eyes as ether gathers at his fingertips, as he starts to push his conscious into an abstraction that will align with Sheena's ancient-feeling-ether, her foreign port.

He needs her to stay a focused and willing receptor for this to work. Newbie as she is, maybe Sheena will at least be capable of doing that, even if it's bound to be overwhelming. A memory transfer is a two-way road, after all, but maybe if he's careful he can keep his own information highway selective so as to not saturate her. So shyly, slowly, Zelos' ether presses at their link until he's sunken his conscious into it, until he's binding his and Sheena's mindspaces in a lesser, waking version of the Aegis dreamspace he can manipulate to his own will.

It's very similar to the blade network at first, that feeling like sinking into water, but there's no gentle hum of multiple lanes of information that surrounds him. There's only a steady, thumping beat around him, engulfing him--a human heart. Zelos opens his eyes, blinks away the darkness of their connection as he approaches a light, and--

He sees himself.

Lying on the floor, covered in a red liquid (but that's wrong, his ether is orange, and even if he were to bleed it wouldn't be liquefied at all because he's not a flesh eater, he's not--) and laughing like it's nothing, like it's triumph, his mirror image slowly expires before his eyes. Dread and grief stab into him deep enough to draw out more misery than he's ever felt before in his life. Slowly Zelos feels himself move, shaky and unsteady steps bringing him closer to the scene, and when a hand reaches forward towards his dying form he sees purple fabrics instead of black.

The mirror Zelos is speaking, but the Aegis can't hear his words. Weakness sprouts where anger dies, and Zelos feels himself collapse to his knees. Breathe, breathe. Just breathe. Focusing all of his attention to his other's lips, Zelos puts all his processing power in reading what he says, seeking context in any way, looking for information to parse--]

"To tell you the truth, I was getting pretty tired of living anyway."

[The images shut away in a bright flash of white light when he abruptly opens his eyes. The connection drops, leaving behind static in his ears as Zelos lets go of Sheena, as he stumbles backwards until his back hits the wall. Absently, vaguely, over the taste of static on his own tongue, Zelos wonders what Sheena saw in their connection, and if it was nearly as horrifying as this was for him.

Because, this? What... what the fuck.]

[Sheena closes her eyes as well, dutifully tries to keep her mind blank as he does whatever it is he's trying to do. It's disorienting, letting someone in like this, but she doesn't fight it, sinking down into the place where their minds meet. There's a faint impression of something orange behind her eyes, a distant glow, but it passes quickly as the world fades down to black. When it comes back up...

She's in some kind of cylinder, just barely large enough not to set off claustrophobia in and of itself but the walls looming far too close anyway. There are wires under her skin, like one of those compatibility experiments for summoning they'd run on her back at the research academy, but the bands holding her arms down are new and stifling. She looks down at her bound arms, struck by the barely-luminescent lines down them more than any of the other differences from what she would have expected to see.

"Beginning test fire," a voice says from somewhere outside the cylinder, muffled, and the world goes white, nothing left but the faintest outlines of objects in her vision. She's screaming, but it's not her voice - beyond it, distantly, she can just make out more voices, the vibration of the pod shaking as someone bangs at the controls on the outside. All she can do is watch in numb horror, and wait for it to end, but it's gone on so long--

And then something snaps, so far away she shouldn't have any awareness of it from here, and the world evens out until even the faintest details are gone and nothing remains but white streaked with orange. Her eyes fly open.

Sheena feels like she's rooted in place, her hand not even falling from its position as he lets go and stumbles back. Her other hand comes up to cover her mouth, struck numb with horror.]

What was th-- [Goddess, no, talking was a mistake. She feels like she's gonna be sick. She shakes her head and swallows hard, squats down where she stands in an attempt to not throw up all over the nice floors of the castle.]

WE'VE SEALED OUR FATES I THINK

WE'RE GONNA DIE

I'M ALREADY HALF DEAD

This is hurting me

why did we do this!!

TO MEASURE OUR ABILITIES

SCREAMS

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CONGRATS HE'S FUCKORED BEYOND BELIEF

GOOD!! ME TOO!!!!

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OH BOY

HERE WE ARE!

Oh god what did I just write

THE MURDER WEAPON YOU USED ON ME?