[OPEN] Holding tight what could have been

[poison_allure]

Characters:  Yazoo and whoever cares to visit him

Location: Shibusen Jail Cell

Rating: PG

Time: Backdated like whoa... Feb 14th

Description: Yazoo stews in his cage. 


Four walls and near-total darkness. If it hadn't been for the superior eyes Mother had blessed him with, Yazoo might have been all but blind in that cell. Thick and dense, no chance of sound penetrating. He  couldn't hear, sense, or smell Kadaj anywhere near. The isolation was almost unbearable.

He dragged his fingertips against the rough stone and comforted himself with the memory of breaking bones, warm blood spurting under his hands, the sweet noise of agonized screams. They had shut down his ability to transform - the treacherous witch and that awful Stien person - but he had dealt without such powers long before he had ever come to this forsaken place, and he would do so again.

If BREW didn't see fit to send them back again, then the only left after that was to play by the rules, at least until those in power saw that he was no longer a threat. It rankled badly on his pride, but all it really needed was patience. Patience, and the ability to deceive, two things that Yazoo excelled at.

All he could do was wait.

Comments

Future-dated to the 25th of Feb

[pure_lineage]

It was early in the morning when he had finally pulled himself towards the large Shibusen building, and anyone who cared for it was working hard at Morning Training. Even his Meister had decided to attend and become a teacher for those who were inexperienced. He had declined not out of lack of interest, but more because it wasn't his place to upset the balance of Cloud's life. Sephiroth was no fool, and he knew well who else would be attending that particular training, so he silently withdrew and kept to the shadows of the city.

There was nothing to distract him with now, and his aimless wandering of the streets had pulled him towards the Shibusen building.

Sephiroth had known that both of his Remnants had been taken to jail. The crimes they had committed hadn't gone beyond his notice, and he hadn't even considered voicing any protests over the action. In fact, Shibusen's actions to place the pair in jail had saved their very lives, for he would have stripped them of them.

He knew well that his Remnants were incapable of learning. Kadaj had proven that time and time again ever since his arrival, and now that Yazoo was here, the ex-General knew that neither of them would ever evolve. They would hide themselves and make it appear as though they had changed, but Sephiroth was more than well aware of the festering darkness that filled their souls. How could he not when their souls were part of his own?

This wasn't the first time that he had been in the halls within the very depths of the Shibusen building, as this wasn't the first time that his Remnants had been incarcerated. Yet things had changed much since the last visit, and he held firmly to the declaration he had made to Kadaj all those weeks ago.

His boots sounded softly along the path towards Yazoo's jail cell. There were guards posted out the front of it, and as he approached, the ex-General gave them a dismissive nod in order to get them out of earshot. There was nothing that Yazoo could do in order to overcome him or slip by, not at the strength he was at in this world, and it was because of that notion that the guards reluctantly gave him the space and privacy that he so desired.

Sephiroth's movements finally came to a stop just beyond the bars of the cell. His cool gaze slid over to regard his Remnant before his smooth voice filled the area. "I cannot find myself surprised to discover you both within these walls," Sephiroth said. He could feel Kadaj elsewhere within the jails, but his attention was not on the youngest Remnant, but of the one within the cell before him.

He was no fool, and he knew well what answer he would receive from this visit. Yet a small part of him hoped that it might end differently.

[poison_allure]

Yazoo had been sitting on his cot, leaning with his back to the wall and seeming to staring into space. He hadn't moved much for the best part of two days, and it would make the guards nervous each time the apparently catatonic remnant would abruptly shift position to glance at them, green eyes burning.

In truth, he had been all but idle, brain ticking over plans and schemes to get both himself and Kadaj back into Shibusen's favour, to avoid the temination of their existence. Kadaj wouldn't like most of the thoughts he was having, but then, the youngest remnant misliked anything that was dishonest to Mother's will.

He twitched at the sound of boots coming down the hall, a familiar presence coming closer. He allowed himself to smile a little, then shut it back down to careful blankness in time for the General to send the guards away and appraise him. This would be the first, and the most difficult person he would have to convince.

Yazoo turned to sit on the edge of his cot, facing Sephiroth. He was fully aware that he looked tired, hungry, and beaten, and while it wouldn't earn a sympathy vote from him, it wouldn't hurt his chances either. "Of course. You created us, after all."

[pure_lineage]

He wasn't surprised by what he found there. Out of all of the Remnants, Yazoo was the only one he needed to be careful with. The other two were predictable, and while Yazoo was to a degree for him, the middle Remnant also possessed his sharp mind along with his cool and calm sense of logic.

"I did," Sephiroth unnecessarily confirmed while he stood at the cusp of the jail cell. His inhuman gaze remained fixated on the young Remnant as he considered his options. It would be far easier for him to simply remove the looming threat. Yet he couldn't deny that lingering feeling within that desired something more.

Sephiroth pushed that feeling to the furthest reaches of his soul though. With his expression remaining impassive, the ex-General murmured, "A creation that apparently cannot learn or adapt, so I suppose that I failed in that regard."

[poison_allure]

Yazoo met that unblinking gaze with his own identical one, giving nothing away of his thoughts. Any kind of communication with Sephiroth was always a test of will, and the remnant wasn't about to look away so easily.

"Yet..." he tilted his head slightly to one side, as though mildly bored, and let curiousity seep into his tone. "If we could change, what would you have us become?"

[pure_lineage]

His lips began to curve up into the beginnings of a smirk at the returned question. The gesture was fleeting, and soon again his expression returned back to neutrality.

"You tell me," Sephiroth simply said in return. He wasn't about to feed Yazoo any answers for he knew what the Remnant was attempting to do. No, this was something he wanted to hear from the Remnant himself, and not an answer that had been tainted by Kadaj, or himself, or anyone else.

Was the Remnant even capable of such things? Sephiroth was doubtful, but time would tell.

[poison_allure]

He blinked slowly, as close to a shrug as Yazoo could allow himself. He wasn't as stupid or childish as his brothers, who would have bristled at the retort or been baffled by it.

"You would have us soft and cowed by Shibusen." it was irritating, to have to roll over and show his throat so early in the game, but it was necessary. He couldn't hide his honest disgust at the idea.

You would have us be Cloud's meek lapdogs, as you have become. had he been Kadaj, the thought would have been outloud, but he wasn't looking to get under Sephiroth's skin today. That would be beyond foolish.

[pure_lineage]

Sephiroth huffed lightly at the answer. Is that the way that Yazoo saw it? No, he wasn't honestly surprised by that discovery at all, but he made no attempt to change that outlook either. If it would change, then Yazoo would need to be the one who changed it - not himself. The Remnants had, for too long, followed the command of another without knowing that there was something more out there, just has he had done long ago without question.

"While you're locked up within these barred walls, your bodies nothing more than a human, I continue to grow stronger in this world with every passing day," the ex-General calmly stated. There were no lies within his words, only truth. He knew what Shibusen had done to the two Remnants, he could feel it within, but it had been far kinder than the punishment he would have given the pair.

His head tilted to one side, a slender brow rising, as he more stated than questioned, "Who of us would you consider 'soft', Yazoo?"

[poison_allure]

"I do not consider you soft, only that you would have us be so." the elaboration annoyed Yazoo, and he let it show. He should have remembered that Loz was a part of the General as much as he or Kadaj. Too quick to take insult with the slightest implication.

"You would have us gentle and meek as good little children," he continued, eyes flashing. He wanted to stand, wanted to get up in Sephiroth's face, to show him that he wasn't afraid, but he wasn't Kadaj. He remained seated, calm as he could manage. "Yet we don't know how to be these things, and you refuse to teach us."

[pure_lineage]

Their minds were so narrow to the world around them. Anything that didn't have to do with JENOVA caused this blind-sightedness, and he knew that he was the only one to blame. He had been fixated on that for so long, and while he still loathed humans and wished to live on a planet without them, the ex-General could at least find some peace knowing that they were not on Gaea.

"Kadaj has no intenton of listening. His only will and desire is to manipulate and destroy," Sephiroth countered in return. His calm gaze remained fixated on the Remnant for a long while before he smirked subtly and spoke, "If you wish to truly learn how to evolve beyond your current self, you will need to prove such things to me. Are you capable of such things, Yazoo?"

He knew that Kadaj was incapable of doing such things. The youngest Remnant had proven that fact time and time again, but would Yazoo be able to step out from within the manipulative hold Kadaj had on him to be able to do just that? Sephiroth was doubtful, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a spark of hope within that he could.

[poison_allure]

This was it, the tipping point on which his life depended. Yazoo knew that if this conversation went poorly, he and Kadaj were likely to wind up spit-roast on Masamune's blade the moment they stepped out of jail. He took a moment to choose his words carefully.

"...we are your creations." he said, after a long moment. "Mother does not exist in this world. If we are to survive here, we must learn from your example. You made Kadaj too well to see reason in that, but I..."

He trailed off. It made him sick to his stomach, already speaking such blasphemy, but survival was more important than Kadaj's feelings right now. "...I am willing to learn, if taught."

[pure_lineage]

There was no doubting the fact that they were his creation. They had served their purpose for him, and he had been reborn because of it. The Remnants were loyal to a fault, and Sephiroth held no illusions to what they were capable of. That was why he couldn't place his trust in their words - not after all that had happened since his arrival here. He had been burnt too many times for that to ever take place.

Still he listened carefully to what he said as his gaze remained lingering on Yazoo. "Kadaj wants nothing but to control me," Sephiroth calmly begun, not giving away any of his thoughts, before he tilted his head to one side curiously and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Would this Remnant be able to accomplish such a transition?

[poison_allure]

"You are asking me to betray Kadaj." well, he had wanted his thoughts. Just the idea was sickening, but it felt as though he had little choice in the matter if he wanted to go on living.

Yazoo was silent for a long time after that statement, looking away from Sephiroth for the first time since the conversation had started. Eventually, though, he added, "I will not see him harmed by my actions, but you created Loz and I to follow. If Kadaj's leadership is no longer sound, then you are the one I look to."

[pure_lineage]

"I am asking if you are willing to have your own free will," Sephiroth countered with. There was no betrayal involved with that, even if his Remnants would automatically believed otherwise, but it always seemed that they did whatever they could to defy him and the words he offered them. It was what had lead Kadaj and himself to end up as enemies towards each other, even if he felt within that the Remnant's memory would be no better than a fish in that regard.

The ex-General gave Yazoo the time he needed when silence fell between them. Instead he focused his attention on the faint link between them. He searched for any level of deception, for while Yazoo appeared to be compliant and open, Sephiroth also knew that he was the most dangerous out of all of the Remnants. There was too much that was hidden, an aspect Yazoo drew from him, and so he was carefully observing for any indications to such a thing.

"Kadaj will not learn, will not evolve, if you continue on as you have been," Sephiroth simply said. "His life will be stripped of him if an incident such as this happens again." The ex-General knows this because he would be the one to take the Remnant's life regardless of the consequences to himself. He could no longer afford to look the other way. "Your choice, Yazoo, is if you wish to perish alongside your brother, or if you are willing to step towards something new."

[poison_allure]

Free will to die or to join traitors. Oh yes, as if that was any kind of choice. Yazoo returned his gaze to the General's face, tilting his head to one side slightly as he thought, no edge of a sardonic smile making its way to the surface, giving nothing away.

It was difficult for outsiders, even Sephiroth, to truly understand the way the Remnants' minds worked. They weren't human. They had never been human, nor had they been created and nurtured in any kind of human fashion. The way they thought and behaved instinctively was closer to that of some large predator, not the stinking decaying husk of an ape that now held their forms.

"...I want to learn from you." Yazoo said slowly, still thinking. "I want to know how to better survive this pallid, Motherless world. I want to learn better control."

If Kadaj disagreed with his decision, he was sure that he could make him see the brighter side of getting close to Sephiroth - and Cloud, by proxy.

[pure_lineage]

They had not been designed to walk towards death, not in such an open and obvious way. The Remnant's entire purpose was for his revival even if they believed it to be the revival of Mother. That was why they would not willingly run towards death, and that much appeared to be the same here with the Remnant caged in front of him.

Yazoo had taken after him the most, and out of the three, he could learn to adapt into different environments far easier than the other two. His main downfall, however, was that loyalty to Kadaj. Here it would only lead to Yazoo's death as their first mission out proved to him just that.

He didn't bother telling Yazoo the truth about his birth. Kadaj had been unwilling to listen and understand, and while Yazoo was far more logical, he didn't wish to distract the Remnant from this current topic. That would have been nothing but counter-productive.

When the answer was given, he remained standing there while quietly observing the young Remnant. His mind processed the information, and while he didn't have any trust placed in Yazoo, there was some form of pleasure forming within that the Remnant would take this road. Could there be some form of future for Yazoo here in this world? Sephiroth wasn't certain, but it appeared that time would tell soon enough.

"Why?" Sephiroth simply asked.

wow, description kinda got away on me there...

[poison_allure]

Why? Yazoo would have thought that was plainly obvious, especially to the one that created them, and the answer came back almost instantly, without reserve: "I do not desire death."

They had been created to find Mother, and Mother meant life. She was an ugly, black, alien corruption from the point of view of most humans, but she was a living being, and even the bacteria that lived in rotting corspes wanted to thrive, wanted to pass on their legacy.

As convuluted and all-consuming as it was, all She truly wanted to do was to complete her life cycle, and Yazoo was part of that cycle. It was against every fibre of his being to abort his part of it before it was truly finished.

Man that's really weird. I posted this reply this morning but it never posted 8| /reposts

[pure_lineage]

The answer came as no surprise to him. It was one he had been expecting, and Yazoo had delivered without disappointment. However, it was an answer that he would hope would change and evolve in the future as it had with him. He had just wanted to hear the Remnant's thoughts, and to that he hadn't been disappointed.

Until only a few months prior, even he hadn't had a purpose or reason beyond fulfilling the desire to seek out a new planet to live on. That had all changed though with the unexpected events between himself and his partner. Could such a thing also occur for Yazoo?

"We will soon see if that remains your only motivator," Sephiroth murmured. Despite what he knew would be best, he still couldn't help but find himself wanting to find some level of connection. The thought grated on him, and he tiredly pushed it to the back of his mind so that he could later reflect on it. The question that remained was one his mind wasn't yet willing to acknowledge the answer to either way.