Thirteen's not the one who shot me in the head, man.
[Or everywhere else.]
If I wanted to, I could have saved myself. Left Cloud behind and made a run for the city. It isn't his fault, or mine, just the shitty situation we were stuck in. That's what I mean, about my choices. I don't have a future in that world because I'd rather die a hero than live a coward. Nobody's gonna save me from death, but I can live a little longer in this world, and I think that's pretty awesome.
[It's borrowed time, but it's been good, for the most part. He's had fun. He's shared love. He's been happy. It'd been so long since he was allowed to feel joy, before coming here.]
And hey, the stuff you're doing means some other me might get to live longer. Maybe he'll do some cool stuff. Maybe he'll save a lot of people! Probably more than me. I hope he gets a good life. That'd make me happy, too.
[Wow that's... sobering, geez. And it knocks the words out of Zack for a bit, he has to take a few breaths to really roll that around in his head. What a nice, tragic feeling that is.]
Hey... if I'd had that attitude, we might not be friends now.
[This isn't his Sephiroth, technically, Zack never had to care about him. If things go as planned, he never will be. Zack likes him, though. He's a good kid, trying his best. He's glad they're friends. Some other version of him has a similar potential.
And then, with a lighter tone,]
Meeting that other me might not change your mind, though. I was soooo annoying as a kid!
[Such admittance will, later on, when he has the time and leisure and solitude to re-analyze what he's said, be understood to not be the right thing to say. He's supposed to care about a bunch of strangers, people he's never met, people he might never meet, and they were, somehow, supposed to be more important than the ones he already knows.
There's a lot of things he could say. Maybe that he should say, but doesn't.]
You're friends with everybody.
[With few exceptions, like most scientists.
It seemed a disgusting sort of irony that the people he wanted around and wanted to help were beyond his reach.]
I already have one annoying teenager to deal with in my time, I don't need two. ...Don't. Mention the sword to Cloud. It'll be there, I don't have to have it here too.
[Speaking of 1) Zack not actually being friends with everyone and 2) annoying teenagers. He bets that guy is even worse as a teen as he is fully grown. Regardless...]
I won't tell him. But if you change your mind, the offer stands. I'll help you out.
Not interested. [Sephiroth's tone switches almost immediately to flat.] I know all I need to know of both of them. Neither were there when my future self needed them most.
[Some friends. But the edge of frost melts soon enough; Zack didn't have the same tendency to abandon his comrades.]
... I appreciate the offer. If it comes with me, if I'm sent away and then dragged back a third time, then.. something will need to be done with it, I'm sure.
[Zack chuckles, but he won't protest. Honestly he knows little enough about the friendship between Sephiroth and Genesis, and he'd witnessed the mutual volatility in the end (with Sephiroth essentially telling him to go die and Genesis being the worst ex-friend ever) that he wonders if they were real friends. Felt more like Angeal was friends with both of them and- you know what, he can't speculate on the shit he's never understood. None of them are alive to explain it to him, now. Not that they would.]
I hope it works out. I mean it when I say you deserve something good to happen.
If you say that it's like challenging the universe to make it worse somehow.
[If he even ever met Genesis, he wasn't inclined to make a friendship even without knowing any friend he makes is likely to get killed. He HAD friends, ones he cared about very much. Now if only he could drag them back with him..]
But if nothing else, I think getting rid of Jenova will be a little easier than I thought it would be, knowing she's capable of language and thinking. Fighting instinct is hard.
[He could be serious, or it could be some effort at humor; he never really was good at making jokes of any sort. He should probably work on that.
But part of him hopes it's serious, and that things really can't just keep getting worse.]
Hope so. You can convince people to do things, or do something different. It's harder with an animal, even a smart one. If she just.. leaves, then ...the problem goes away too, right? Maybe there's some planet out there without thinking life on it for her to eat, she doesn't need this one.
[He's expecting it! Hold him to his promises. He'd be a weak-ass friend if he couldn't keep the important ones. Joke or not. (It is not.)]
Probably not great odds, but when has that ever stopped us from trying, huh? If there's anybody she might listen to, it's gonna be you.
[He doesn't really like the idea of throwing Jenova at some other poor unsuspecting world - even if they find one with non-thinking creatures, nevermind how would they even find that out, poor animals? - but this isn't his call to make. If Sephiroth wants to take the path of least resistance, thinks it'll result in the lowest casualties... well, they already tried the kill-Jenova route. It worked, but a lot of people did die. It can always be the back-up plan.]
[There is a very good reason he wishes he could take Zack back with him to his own time. So much would be easier, with someone he could trust along for the ride.]
At this point she's more interested in trying to convince me of things than me getting the chance to do the same, but ... I don't know. There was a man I spoke to before, who thought if she's part of a natural ecosystem, destroying her might .. be a bad thing. As the prey, we're obviously going to be biased towards our own survival but ...
[There's a gesture here but it doesn't pass the 'audio only' test.]
What if her kind is a keystone species for something else that without their predators in the ecosystem, will get out of hand and be a problem too? If you kill all the dragons suddenly the wolves and drakes become serious problems. The Gi tribe were fleeing something that wasn't her, according to legend. I don't ... want to ruin some interstellar ecosystem I can't begin to understand, but I also don't want the planet to be at risk. ..... Look I already know it's stupid to think about but I can't help it.
I don't think it's stupid, it's good to think about your options. I'm not so great at that, most of the time I just wanna fight or run.
[Depends on who's relying on him at the time, and if they can run with him, or if it's safer to take out the threat. SOLDIERs aren't built to think that much, and even the older Sephiroth knew better than to expect Zack to follow complex tactics. He didn't make First because he was a genius.]
I don't think she's like, ecosystem-important or whatever, though. I'm no scientist [thank god] but she's an alien. She doesn't belong on our planet, and she's never done anything good for anybody. If she was, might be a different story. But I wouldn't get stuck on the what-ifs, if it ends up a better plan to off her.
We're only seeing it from a planet-bound perspective. Interstellar life does exist, beyond Jenova. There's ... space whales. Giant worms living in asteroids. Whole planets that fly around eating other planets. All kinds of things that live on a scale we can barely comprehend. Not knowing how things work once you leave the atmosphere seems like a bad excuse.
[there's benefits to fight or run, or not having an imagination that tends to run off on its own tangents to the point of distraction. Zack was hardly stupid but he definitely was exactly what Shinra wanted in a SOLDIER; strong, obedient, and for a long time, loyal.]
... Don't worry. As things stand right now the only viable way to guarantee the safety of everyone left is to gather up every single cell I can and jump in a volcano. For a creature of the void somehow she's not terribly resistant to incineration.[A sigh.] Apparently if anything at all remains something called 'geostigma' results, which kills a lot of people pretty horribly. And then the planet pulls out a WEAPON named Omega that'll kill off everything left.
[Space really isn't something Zack has given much thought to. Like- yeah, aliens exist, anyone who's had dealings with Jenova in some way knows that. Even the people who think she's an Ancient are aware of the alien theory, and Hojo never shut up about this or that. He never seemed to care about her exact origins as much as what she could do for science, anyway.
There is one thing he's vaguely aware of, though...]
There's a ship in Rocket Town. Pretty sure it's one-way, and kinda busted, but I was told with some work it's space-worthy. Not in Cloud's time, but should be in yours. Might be an option. Just be careful that we aren't only passing the gil to some other world, you know?
Mm. The rocket's still being built, I learned some things in my astroengineering classes that might help it. I don't really want to unleash a plague on the universe, but if it comes between the known risk to my planet and guessing at a risk to some other one, this one will have to come first.
[Something terribly dry enters his tone; he doesn't put a lot of weight on the truth or what follows. Or any.]
Maybe all the worrying is pointless and she just didn't know we're intelligent. Nobody asks their sandwiches if they have minds. It's worth a try, before more permanent measures.
I dunno. I'm kinda useless when it comes to Jenova theories, not gonna lie. I know I've got her cells, but I've never heard her voice or had to deal with the mind control stuff. It's easy for me to say "just kill her" because it's not like talking to her has ever been an option for me.
[He pauses.]
Not that I've ever been able to talk somebody down from the whole murder thing, anyway.
I have a lot of travel time with which to do little else besides think. Talking people down takes.. a certain skillset. I know it's taught to the military police, de-escalation is important when dealing with civilians but.. I don't think SOLDIER gets any such thing.
[How many people has Zack tried to convince not to do a murder?]
That sounds right. Even negotiating is supposed to be left to others. ... I suppose it can't be helped.
[not a skill he thinks he'll need much going forward but he did know there was a .. certain lack.]
Hopefully trying means some good. One way or another there's a lot to do and even if what to do about her is ambiguous, there's no such worries about the likes of Shinra's science department.
[Zack can't help sounding a little skeptical about it, though. No slight on Sephiroth, more like an uncertainty that anything Thirteen could teach would be effective against the singularly-minded destructiveness that he's heard about when it comes to Jenova. Could be that nothing anybody teaches would work.]
Trying's gotta be good, whatever happens. I mean. If we fail or fuck up, I'd feel better for trying than giving up.
['Ever' would be right. He knows what he was created to do, and genuine 'heroics', and making anyone proud of him wasn't part of that. Who takes pride in a weapon except the craftsman, and wasn't even that about the skill that made it?
But it's still ... good, in an unfamiliar kind of way. Vincent certainly cared, there was no doubt about that, but so much gets hidden behind that cloak's high collar and stoic demeanor. The futility of fate, the weight of sins.. they could commiserate over the pain of fate, but change it? He took great comfort in the man's presence, but it hadn't been an encouraging one. A place of safety to retreat to when the pain got too much. A place of no judgment when he failed.
But that wasn't hope.]
I.. think you're the only one who believes .. that I can do anything good at all. [Anything that could help change anything that happens, from Shinra to Jenova.] Even Vincent didn't really think that I'd..
[It's about what Zack had expected, though he wished it wasn't so. (Damn, Vincent, seriously? Couldn't give the kid an encouraging word? Well, that tracks with what Zack knows of his personality... anyway.)]
Well, we're all kinda idiots in different ways. But I was taught that the most important thing to have, if you wanna succeed, is hopes and dreams. Your world, and your future, has a chance. And a dream. But we gotta hope, to get there. So I'm gonna hope that you can do it.
[And if he can't? Well, he tried. And Zack's still proud of him for that.]
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[Or everywhere else.]
If I wanted to, I could have saved myself. Left Cloud behind and made a run for the city. It isn't his fault, or mine, just the shitty situation we were stuck in. That's what I mean, about my choices. I don't have a future in that world because I'd rather die a hero than live a coward. Nobody's gonna save me from death, but I can live a little longer in this world, and I think that's pretty awesome.
[It's borrowed time, but it's been good, for the most part. He's had fun. He's shared love. He's been happy. It'd been so long since he was allowed to feel joy, before coming here.]
And hey, the stuff you're doing means some other me might get to live longer. Maybe he'll do some cool stuff. Maybe he'll save a lot of people! Probably more than me. I hope he gets a good life. That'd make me happy, too.
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[How can someone's greatest potential happen when they're dead?]
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Hey... if I'd had that attitude, we might not be friends now.
[This isn't his Sephiroth, technically, Zack never had to care about him. If things go as planned, he never will be. Zack likes him, though. He's a good kid, trying his best. He's glad they're friends. Some other version of him has a similar potential.
And then, with a lighter tone,]
Meeting that other me might not change your mind, though. I was soooo annoying as a kid!
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There's a lot of things he could say. Maybe that he should say, but doesn't.]
You're friends with everybody.
[With few exceptions, like most scientists.
It seemed a disgusting sort of irony that the people he wanted around and wanted to help were beyond his reach.]
I already have one annoying teenager to deal with in my time, I don't need two. ...Don't. Mention the sword to Cloud. It'll be there, I don't have to have it here too.
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[Speaking of 1) Zack not actually being friends with everyone and 2) annoying teenagers. He bets that guy is even worse as a teen as he is fully grown. Regardless...]
I won't tell him. But if you change your mind, the offer stands. I'll help you out.
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[Some friends. But the edge of frost melts soon enough; Zack didn't have the same tendency to abandon his comrades.]
... I appreciate the offer. If it comes with me, if I'm sent away and then dragged back a third time, then.. something will need to be done with it, I'm sure.
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I hope it works out. I mean it when I say you deserve something good to happen.
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[If he even ever met Genesis, he wasn't inclined to make a friendship even without knowing any friend he makes is likely to get killed. He HAD friends, ones he cared about very much. Now if only he could drag them back with him..]
But if nothing else, I think getting rid of Jenova will be a little easier than I thought it would be, knowing she's capable of language and thinking. Fighting instinct is hard.
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[To most it would sound like an empty threat, but goddamn does Zack say it like he means it.]
Think you can use words and stuff to throw her off or something?
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[He could be serious, or it could be some effort at humor; he never really was good at making jokes of any sort. He should probably work on that.
But part of him hopes it's serious, and that things really can't just keep getting worse.]
Hope so. You can convince people to do things, or do something different. It's harder with an animal, even a smart one. If she just.. leaves, then ...the problem goes away too, right? Maybe there's some planet out there without thinking life on it for her to eat, she doesn't need this one.
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[He's expecting it! Hold him to his promises. He'd be a weak-ass friend if he couldn't keep the important ones. Joke or not. (It is not.)]
Probably not great odds, but when has that ever stopped us from trying, huh? If there's anybody she might listen to, it's gonna be you.
[He doesn't really like the idea of throwing Jenova at some other poor unsuspecting world - even if they find one with non-thinking creatures, nevermind how would they even find that out, poor animals? - but this isn't his call to make. If Sephiroth wants to take the path of least resistance, thinks it'll result in the lowest casualties... well, they already tried the kill-Jenova route. It worked, but a lot of people did die. It can always be the back-up plan.]
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At this point she's more interested in trying to convince me of things than me getting the chance to do the same, but ... I don't know. There was a man I spoke to before, who thought if she's part of a natural ecosystem, destroying her might .. be a bad thing. As the prey, we're obviously going to be biased towards our own survival but ...
[There's a gesture here but it doesn't pass the 'audio only' test.]
What if her kind is a keystone species for something else that without their predators in the ecosystem, will get out of hand and be a problem too? If you kill all the dragons suddenly the wolves and drakes become serious problems. The Gi tribe were fleeing something that wasn't her, according to legend. I don't ... want to ruin some interstellar ecosystem I can't begin to understand, but I also don't want the planet to be at risk. ..... Look I already know it's stupid to think about but I can't help it.
[Well at least he knows.]
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[Depends on who's relying on him at the time, and if they can run with him, or if it's safer to take out the threat. SOLDIERs aren't built to think that much, and even the older Sephiroth knew better than to expect Zack to follow complex tactics. He didn't make First because he was a genius.]
I don't think she's like, ecosystem-important or whatever, though. I'm no scientist [thank god] but she's an alien. She doesn't belong on our planet, and she's never done anything good for anybody. If she was, might be a different story. But I wouldn't get stuck on the what-ifs, if it ends up a better plan to off her.
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[there's benefits to fight or run, or not having an imagination that tends to run off on its own tangents to the point of distraction. Zack was hardly stupid but he definitely was exactly what Shinra wanted in a SOLDIER; strong, obedient, and for a long time, loyal.]
... Don't worry. As things stand right now the only viable way to guarantee the safety of everyone left is to gather up every single cell I can and jump in a volcano. For a creature of the void somehow she's not terribly resistant to incineration.[A sigh.] Apparently if anything at all remains something called 'geostigma' results, which kills a lot of people pretty horribly. And then the planet pulls out a WEAPON named Omega that'll kill off everything left.
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[Space really isn't something Zack has given much thought to. Like- yeah, aliens exist, anyone who's had dealings with Jenova in some way knows that. Even the people who think she's an Ancient are aware of the alien theory, and Hojo never shut up about this or that. He never seemed to care about her exact origins as much as what she could do for science, anyway.
There is one thing he's vaguely aware of, though...]
There's a ship in Rocket Town. Pretty sure it's one-way, and kinda busted, but I was told with some work it's space-worthy. Not in Cloud's time, but should be in yours. Might be an option. Just be careful that we aren't only passing the gil to some other world, you know?
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[Something terribly dry enters his tone; he doesn't put a lot of weight on the truth or what follows. Or any.]
Maybe all the worrying is pointless and she just didn't know we're intelligent. Nobody asks their sandwiches if they have minds. It's worth a try, before more permanent measures.
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[He pauses.]
Not that I've ever been able to talk somebody down from the whole murder thing, anyway.
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[How many people has Zack tried to convince not to do a murder?]
... If it helps, I haven't ever succeeded either.
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[Oh, buddy. So many. (Like, okay. At least three. But they were an important three!)]
At least you're trying. Or... trying to try.
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[not a skill he thinks he'll need much going forward but he did know there was a .. certain lack.]
Hopefully trying means some good. One way or another there's a lot to do and even if what to do about her is ambiguous, there's no such worries about the likes of Shinra's science department.
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[Zack can't help sounding a little skeptical about it, though. No slight on Sephiroth, more like an uncertainty that anything Thirteen could teach would be effective against the singularly-minded destructiveness that he's heard about when it comes to Jenova. Could be that nothing anybody teaches would work.]
Trying's gotta be good, whatever happens. I mean. If we fail or fuck up, I'd feel better for trying than giving up.
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Either way, I'm not giving up. If I can keep even one person alive who's 'meant' to die it's worth it.
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[There's definitely a smile in his voice.]
Hey, you know? I'm proud of you.
[Kid surely doesn't hear that sort of thing enough. Or maybe, like. Ever.]
since i'm just lying here waiting for my surgeon.. so.. hungry..
But it's still ... good, in an unfamiliar kind of way. Vincent certainly cared, there was no doubt about that, but so much gets hidden behind that cloak's high collar and stoic demeanor. The futility of fate, the weight of sins.. they could commiserate over the pain of fate, but change it? He took great comfort in the man's presence, but it hadn't been an encouraging one. A place of safety to retreat to when the pain got too much. A place of no judgment when he failed.
But that wasn't hope.]
I.. think you're the only one who believes .. that I can do anything good at all. [Anything that could help change anything that happens, from Shinra to Jenova.] Even Vincent didn't really think that I'd..
... Thank you.
eat a whole surgeon
Well, we're all kinda idiots in different ways. But I was taught that the most important thing to have, if you wanna succeed, is hopes and dreams. Your world, and your future, has a chance. And a dream. But we gotta hope, to get there. So I'm gonna hope that you can do it.
[And if he can't? Well, he tried. And Zack's still proud of him for that.]
tastes like expensive indian takeout
spicy
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