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"I know what it does," he tells her, peevishly, "I didn't say I knew how it worked. If I did, I'd obviously be trying to work around it. The Null are more technologically advanced than us by far and they have abilities with their machines that we cannot hope to match, much less combat. Now..."
He rubs at his chin thoughtfully, paging down on the network again.
"If one of you could obtain one of the weapons- one of you I could trust- then perhaps we could work on figuring it out."
He rubs at his chin thoughtfully, paging down on the network again.
"If one of you could obtain one of the weapons- one of you I could trust- then perhaps we could work on figuring it out."
"I can try. Who do you think's most likely to get murdered first?"
She's not interested in committing a murder of her own when so many are liable to happen anyway. Much simpler to stalk the murderer.
She's not interested in committing a murder of her own when so many are liable to happen anyway. Much simpler to stalk the murderer.
"From the list?"
He arches an eyebrow, considering it.
"I don't care much about your interpersonal workings, but if I had to hazard a guess: Chris. Gilbert. Cecily. Julia. Rydia- they would be the top of my list. Either those who everyone knows, those who would sacrifice everything to get their hands on a weapon to kill us, those whose deaths could be brushed under the rug as a line of duty or those who few people would notice because they're new."
He arches an eyebrow, considering it.
"I don't care much about your interpersonal workings, but if I had to hazard a guess: Chris. Gilbert. Cecily. Julia. Rydia- they would be the top of my list. Either those who everyone knows, those who would sacrifice everything to get their hands on a weapon to kill us, those whose deaths could be brushed under the rug as a line of duty or those who few people would notice because they're new."
We don't have computers here.
[Though he understands what she's trying to say.]
But I'll consider it.
[Though he understands what she's trying to say.]
But I'll consider it.
[this is the first time Law's ever approached any of them in person, so he comes to Sorrow's temple late, during the cold night, after he's done watching the network to see what everyone else is getting answers for. He's been wishing to talk to Sorrow the whole time, and now there's incentive.]
Don't mind my intrusion. I figured no one else would be to see you at this time of night.
Don't mind my intrusion. I figured no one else would be to see you at this time of night.
( She's been to the temples a few times, circled the outside of each and tried to learn, to understand this world and how it works. She's never really stepped foot inside one before, however.
(There's always that voice in the back of her head, the one which remembers just what she caused by stepping into the site in Bodhum. The branding of her arm and the events thereafter, the chill passing through her bones as she turned into crystal.)
Serah breathes deep, squares her shoulders, and steps in. The sorrow weighs down on her as soon as she hears the click of her shoes against the floor, the ever-present weight of the lives lost in the Purge stronger still. She breathes again. No one ever helped anyone by wallowing in their own problems. She can only make up for all of that by trying. )
Hello...? ( Still, there's clear nerves in her voice when she speaks. ) Is anyone there?
(There's always that voice in the back of her head, the one which remembers just what she caused by stepping into the site in Bodhum. The branding of her arm and the events thereafter, the chill passing through her bones as she turned into crystal.)
Serah breathes deep, squares her shoulders, and steps in. The sorrow weighs down on her as soon as she hears the click of her shoes against the floor, the ever-present weight of the lives lost in the Purge stronger still. She breathes again. No one ever helped anyone by wallowing in their own problems. She can only make up for all of that by trying. )
Hello...? ( Still, there's clear nerves in her voice when she speaks. ) Is anyone there?
You would be correct.
[There's no one in the temple- and then suddenly, there's someone, as Sorrow appears behind Law, stern and straight-backed as one might imagine he'd be after speaking with him.]
I don't get many visitors- you don't have to be concerned with that.
[Probably has something to do with how the temple encourages melancholy to people who walk in... probably.]
[There's no one in the temple- and then suddenly, there's someone, as Sorrow appears behind Law, stern and straight-backed as one might imagine he'd be after speaking with him.]
I don't get many visitors- you don't have to be concerned with that.
[Probably has something to do with how the temple encourages melancholy to people who walk in... probably.]
Someone is here.
[Sorrow steps out from behind the shadows, solemn. He's a fair distance away from her, so as not to startle her with his sudden appearance.
This one is new.]
I'm Sorrow. Who are you?
[Sorrow steps out from behind the shadows, solemn. He's a fair distance away from her, so as not to startle her with his sudden appearance.
This one is new.]
I'm Sorrow. Who are you?
[fascinating, the way that sudden presence registers against his haki. Despite living in these confines with the gods somehow there and yet not, this sensation is new, and nothing like living beings.]
I had been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you, generally, but I appreciate the invitation. The phones annoy me. [turning to face Sorrow, though any touch of sadness in his expression is strangely close to Law on a normal day so...]
Some of my questions can wait. In fact, you let slip a lot more about the Door in your answers to the others than I was expecting. Mostly, I'm interested in your tactical view of our situation.
I had been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you, generally, but I appreciate the invitation. The phones annoy me. [turning to face Sorrow, though any touch of sadness in his expression is strangely close to Law on a normal day so...]
Some of my questions can wait. In fact, you let slip a lot more about the Door in your answers to the others than I was expecting. Mostly, I'm interested in your tactical view of our situation.
( He looks so... human. Somehow, that wasn't the appearance Serah expected, but this is a different world, with different rules. She nods her head once, as much as greeting as a way of steeling herself and going forward with this.
Noel would push on. Lightning and Snow, too. She will do the same. )
Serah Farron. I came here a few months ago. ( Introductions are easy enough. It's the everything else that's complicated. ) I wanted to learn more about this place.
( The city. Its history. Everything that led up to their being here and the things she'd learned from the newbies guide and talking to others. )
Noel would push on. Lightning and Snow, too. She will do the same. )
Serah Farron. I came here a few months ago. ( Introductions are easy enough. It's the everything else that's complicated. ) I wanted to learn more about this place.
( The city. Its history. Everything that led up to their being here and the things she'd learned from the newbies guide and talking to others. )
[Nick doesn't make a visit to the temples without cause. He patrols past them, sure, but doesn't exactly stop in for a chat unless he's got something to say, so when he shows up in Sorrow's temple, he has a reason. Incidentally, the reason on this day is the same one it was the last time he dropped in.]
I've got something for you.
I've got something for you.
[Sorrow's body is solid- for the time being, feels solid, looks solid, but he's anything but flesh and bone. When Law speaks, he tilts his head, observant, quiet- the gesture seems human enough.
But he's not human. There's still something alien to him that's difficult to quite isolate, something too hollow and elegant to be anything like humanity.]
I try to be very open about the Door. It isn't my interest to keep you all in the dark- rather, I only refuse to tell you things when I think it would hurt my purposes.
[But more to the point.]
It's no small secret that we're overwhelmed. We have been for years; even before the Null killed the rest of the colonies, when they first attacked there was nothing we could do, as we had never before encountered war and our hosts weren't built for it. Our own colony- and with it our entire species- survived by a single thread, which was Hope and Fear escaping and finding the Door, after everything else had died.
In the years since, we've bolstered our forces. All eight of us are alive again, we have a stable host population- but you must understand, we're not fighting a war. "War" implies that both sides are at least reasonably evenly matched. This is... [he takes a moment, searching for the right term.] ...this is resisting a genocide. What we've done should not be discounted, but all we have done is survive.
[It's not often that Sorrow will comment on how truly dire their situation is, but- there you have it.]
Tactically, no sane man would ever take our fight, and yet take it we must. I've grown to believe in the capabilities of our hosts here, but there's a difference between respecting your power and believing that we will ever be able to eradicate all of the Null forever.
But he's not human. There's still something alien to him that's difficult to quite isolate, something too hollow and elegant to be anything like humanity.]
I try to be very open about the Door. It isn't my interest to keep you all in the dark- rather, I only refuse to tell you things when I think it would hurt my purposes.
[But more to the point.]
It's no small secret that we're overwhelmed. We have been for years; even before the Null killed the rest of the colonies, when they first attacked there was nothing we could do, as we had never before encountered war and our hosts weren't built for it. Our own colony- and with it our entire species- survived by a single thread, which was Hope and Fear escaping and finding the Door, after everything else had died.
In the years since, we've bolstered our forces. All eight of us are alive again, we have a stable host population- but you must understand, we're not fighting a war. "War" implies that both sides are at least reasonably evenly matched. This is... [he takes a moment, searching for the right term.] ...this is resisting a genocide. What we've done should not be discounted, but all we have done is survive.
[It's not often that Sorrow will comment on how truly dire their situation is, but- there you have it.]
Tactically, no sane man would ever take our fight, and yet take it we must. I've grown to believe in the capabilities of our hosts here, but there's a difference between respecting your power and believing that we will ever be able to eradicate all of the Null forever.
[Law listens patiently, comparing the information against what he already knows or at least suspects. It matches up, and he's not entirely surprised.]
Having been through a genocidal massacre before, I can verify your assessment. [and thanks, Sorrow, for the general mood reminding him oh-so-much of that moment in his life] There's no choice in it, fighting must be done in order to do more than survive. But doing to the Null what they've done to you isn't necessarily a sound goal, either.
[he slides his tattooed hands into his jeans pockets, trying to subconsciously fight against the temple's influence. If he's going to feel things to Sorrow's benefit, he'd better get something out of it, first]
I gather that they're not going to stop until you're dead, so it seems like destroying all of them in turn is the only way to survive. But there has to be another outcome, or several if we open our minds to all possibilities. Setting aside for a moment the Null capacity to be a bunch of whiny little shits who can't understand compromise... [ahem] ...they really are terrified, for lack of a better word, of catching emotions. But the way they behave is as if they've never encountered a species, outside of yourselves and your original hosts, capable of emotion. That much was obvious seeing how they reacted to us resisting their kill-list. It makes me wonder just what they'd do if they realized that exposure to emotions could come from anywhere, and not just your kind.
Were we merely passing through and seeing your conflict from the outside, I wouldn't give a shit what happened to either you or the Null. But by forming a symbiotic relationship with us, you've involved us, so I can't just wash my hands of the whole affair. Protecting you, and solving the penultimate problem, is the only way to preserve our own survival as well as get ourselves home. [his eyes narrow slightly] I wanted to see if I could find you another food source, but that may take too long. It sounds to me like finding a reason for the Null to cease their pursuit is a shorter path to our mutual goal.
[which is giving him ideas for what to do with Name, now, but shhh he doesn't know anything about the rogue Null nope no sir]
Having been through a genocidal massacre before, I can verify your assessment. [and thanks, Sorrow, for the general mood reminding him oh-so-much of that moment in his life] There's no choice in it, fighting must be done in order to do more than survive. But doing to the Null what they've done to you isn't necessarily a sound goal, either.
[he slides his tattooed hands into his jeans pockets, trying to subconsciously fight against the temple's influence. If he's going to feel things to Sorrow's benefit, he'd better get something out of it, first]
I gather that they're not going to stop until you're dead, so it seems like destroying all of them in turn is the only way to survive. But there has to be another outcome, or several if we open our minds to all possibilities. Setting aside for a moment the Null capacity to be a bunch of whiny little shits who can't understand compromise... [ahem] ...they really are terrified, for lack of a better word, of catching emotions. But the way they behave is as if they've never encountered a species, outside of yourselves and your original hosts, capable of emotion. That much was obvious seeing how they reacted to us resisting their kill-list. It makes me wonder just what they'd do if they realized that exposure to emotions could come from anywhere, and not just your kind.
Were we merely passing through and seeing your conflict from the outside, I wouldn't give a shit what happened to either you or the Null. But by forming a symbiotic relationship with us, you've involved us, so I can't just wash my hands of the whole affair. Protecting you, and solving the penultimate problem, is the only way to preserve our own survival as well as get ourselves home. [his eyes narrow slightly] I wanted to see if I could find you another food source, but that may take too long. It sounds to me like finding a reason for the Null to cease their pursuit is a shorter path to our mutual goal.
[which is giving him ideas for what to do with Name, now, but shhh he doesn't know anything about the rogue Null nope no sir]
That would be an accurate assessment.
[He remarks gamely, nodding as Law speaks.]
And one that I'd hoped more of you would come to. I didn't necessarily intend for the Door to bring in beings with abilities or... your degree of sentience. I thought for some time that it was unfortunate that it had. But I'll admit, in recent times, I've seen the advantages of having allies, rather than simply hosts.
[But, more to the point:]
I don't think emotions can 'come from anywhere' to the Null. It's an effect our kind has on them and other beings incapable of emotion. Like you, I don't believe that eliminating the entire species is plausible- that means there must be another option. They will hunt us to the ends of the galaxy if they think we might repopulate and attack them again, so running isn't an option. Which leaves...
[Not a lot. He sighs.]
Negotiation or sabotage. Not necessarily mutually exclusive options.
[He remarks gamely, nodding as Law speaks.]
And one that I'd hoped more of you would come to. I didn't necessarily intend for the Door to bring in beings with abilities or... your degree of sentience. I thought for some time that it was unfortunate that it had. But I'll admit, in recent times, I've seen the advantages of having allies, rather than simply hosts.
[But, more to the point:]
I don't think emotions can 'come from anywhere' to the Null. It's an effect our kind has on them and other beings incapable of emotion. Like you, I don't believe that eliminating the entire species is plausible- that means there must be another option. They will hunt us to the ends of the galaxy if they think we might repopulate and attack them again, so running isn't an option. Which leaves...
[Not a lot. He sighs.]
Negotiation or sabotage. Not necessarily mutually exclusive options.
I see.
[Interesting enough. He tilts his head toward her, sizing her up a bit- though Sorrow has learned by now not to judge a book by its cover, particularly when it comes to humans.]
This world currently, the city, or my temple?
[Interesting enough. He tilts his head toward her, sizing her up a bit- though Sorrow has learned by now not to judge a book by its cover, particularly when it comes to humans.]
This world currently, the city, or my temple?
Do you?
[He's waiting for him, it seems, already leaning a hip against his altar with his arms folded across his chest.]
What is it?
[He's waiting for him, it seems, already leaning a hip against his altar with his arms folded across his chest.]
What is it?
[Nick takes a brief glance around, just to make sure they're alone, before reaching into his coat and pulling out something wrapped in a cloth. He unwraps it carefully, revealing what he's brought: a god killer.]
I expect you know what this is.
[Given what happened to him.]
I expect you know what this is.
[Given what happened to him.]
Edited 2018-05-31 06:24 (UTC)
[hmm, interesting...]
I have a feeling they may be too stubborn for negotiation, unless we had something they wanted. Say, an antidote, or better, a vaccination against catching the 'virus.'
[of course he thinks in medical terms, even if he knows the difference between an organic virus and whatever the Null are suffering]
If they no longer had anything to fear from you, they would logically have no reason to pursue you. At least, assuming that they would continue to behave logically. If you're correct, and it's something about your species interaction... [huff] Shame I voted to learn more about the Door over learning more about the Null. But I had my priorities and I won't change my vote.
[strategy aside, though...] How amenable are you to allowing someone to learn more about you? Physiologically, I mean. I've never studied a noncorporeal species before but it interests me. Particularly if it might mean developing either a vaccine for the Null or a means of shielding you from them. [grim-faced and dour, moreso than usual] What would I have to give up to gain that level of cooperation?
I have a feeling they may be too stubborn for negotiation, unless we had something they wanted. Say, an antidote, or better, a vaccination against catching the 'virus.'
[of course he thinks in medical terms, even if he knows the difference between an organic virus and whatever the Null are suffering]
If they no longer had anything to fear from you, they would logically have no reason to pursue you. At least, assuming that they would continue to behave logically. If you're correct, and it's something about your species interaction... [huff] Shame I voted to learn more about the Door over learning more about the Null. But I had my priorities and I won't change my vote.
[strategy aside, though...] How amenable are you to allowing someone to learn more about you? Physiologically, I mean. I've never studied a noncorporeal species before but it interests me. Particularly if it might mean developing either a vaccine for the Null or a means of shielding you from them. [grim-faced and dour, moreso than usual] What would I have to give up to gain that level of cooperation?
( Let's reflect. She knows bits and pieces from reading the network, and from talking to others. Not everything, but enough. So she considers, rocks back on her heels, glancing around at the temple's walls and ceiling.
There's something about being in these structures that remind her all too much of sneaking into the Vestige. Like this could be a mistake again. But it's not as though there are many other options that Serah can see. )
You said that you'd seek out potential hosts. Does that mean this city was always a... well, a meeting point for other worlds?
( As if trying to understand time travel wasn't complicated enough. )
There's something about being in these structures that remind her all too much of sneaking into the Vestige. Like this could be a mistake again. But it's not as though there are many other options that Serah can see. )
You said that you'd seek out potential hosts. Does that mean this city was always a... well, a meeting point for other worlds?
( As if trying to understand time travel wasn't complicated enough. )
About our species?
[Sorrow arches an eyebrow.]
I wouldn't be opposed. I doubt that it would yield any significant benefits, but I won't refuse a potential source of information. In return...
[He pauses for a moment, eyeing Law quietly, as if considering something carefully in his mind.]
Confusion will stand in while you do your study. She will have the power to remove the memory of our interaction from your mind, as well as any knowledge you had gained. Every time you leave the city, every time we have contact from the Null, she will remove the memory and the information you have on our physiology, and will restore it when the danger has passed. You will not document your findings anywhere that the Null can find it. I think that sounds reasonable enough.
[Sorrow arches an eyebrow.]
I wouldn't be opposed. I doubt that it would yield any significant benefits, but I won't refuse a potential source of information. In return...
[He pauses for a moment, eyeing Law quietly, as if considering something carefully in his mind.]
Confusion will stand in while you do your study. She will have the power to remove the memory of our interaction from your mind, as well as any knowledge you had gained. Every time you leave the city, every time we have contact from the Null, she will remove the memory and the information you have on our physiology, and will restore it when the danger has passed. You will not document your findings anywhere that the Null can find it. I think that sounds reasonable enough.
No.
[He shakes his head, his arms folding across his stomach as he mulls over how to answer her question. Like always, Sorrow is calm, even and measured.]
My species hasn't used the Door in generations. Hundreds, if not thousands of years. Most of us didn't even know it existed. When I said we used it to find hosts, I meant us as a species- before I came into existence. It is a relic of ancient history... or, at least, it was before Fear reactivated it.
[He shakes his head, his arms folding across his stomach as he mulls over how to answer her question. Like always, Sorrow is calm, even and measured.]
My species hasn't used the Door in generations. Hundreds, if not thousands of years. Most of us didn't even know it existed. When I said we used it to find hosts, I meant us as a species- before I came into existence. It is a relic of ancient history... or, at least, it was before Fear reactivated it.
I do.
[He's very careful with how he proceeds, though he's reasonably sure that he knows Nick well enough by now to know that Nick wouldn't use it. Sorrow keeps his gaze trained on it for a long while, before he nods once.]
Put it on the ground, please.
[The please is unusual. The entire building seems to shudder around the object, as if the stone itself could gasp and recoil. Sorrow's mouth is in a tight, thin line.
He's afraid.]
[He's very careful with how he proceeds, though he's reasonably sure that he knows Nick well enough by now to know that Nick wouldn't use it. Sorrow keeps his gaze trained on it for a long while, before he nods once.]
Put it on the ground, please.
[The please is unusual. The entire building seems to shudder around the object, as if the stone itself could gasp and recoil. Sorrow's mouth is in a tight, thin line.
He's afraid.]
[he contemplates for only a moment, and then squares his shoulders in determination]
Agreed. That is more than a fair deal for such a situation. It may come to nothing, it's true, but no one will know that until an attempt has been made. To not even try is to guarantee that nothing of value will be learned.
Then, when this moving the city business is complete, I'd like to begin. If you're amenable, I'll use you as my subject, but if not, I would approach Tranquility. He seems...easy to talk to.
[though, he has a feeling there's still a caveat waiting, he's practically steeled against having to give Sorrow a snack. That last two-day grieving jag was awful, he's not keen to repeat it]
Agreed. That is more than a fair deal for such a situation. It may come to nothing, it's true, but no one will know that until an attempt has been made. To not even try is to guarantee that nothing of value will be learned.
Then, when this moving the city business is complete, I'd like to begin. If you're amenable, I'll use you as my subject, but if not, I would approach Tranquility. He seems...easy to talk to.
[though, he has a feeling there's still a caveat waiting, he's practically steeled against having to give Sorrow a snack. That last two-day grieving jag was awful, he's not keen to repeat it]
[Nick takes note of that please -- unusual, for how straightforward Sorrow tends to be -- as well as the sudden feeling in the air, the shift in the building, in the atmosphere all around them. It feels as though it recedes, as one would from the fangs of a venomous snake. Now that's something he hadn't expected. However, it doesn't surprise him that much; in a way, it's a little comforting to see the gods seem so... vulnerable, almost human.
Sorrow might not be the god who has done the most damage to Nick and his little family he's made here in Hadriel, but he's certainly up there. It's because of Sorrow that Nick was forced to put a bullet in Undine, killing her to save Rey; it's all due to the god before him that he can still see her face flashing before him, mingling with memories of Jenny as she fell by the riverside, recollections of both of them overlapping until they become one. Sorrow is a major culprit in why he has trouble discerning what happened these days, why he struggles to remember what is his memory, and what belongs to the real Nick. They are and aren't the same person, but it's harder and harder to believe when all the images start to blur together in his aging processor, a machine without enough space to keep it all straight.
Nick has plenty reason to lash out against Sorrow, to take that weapon and simply undo him... but he doesn't. He is more like the Null than most in Hadriel, but as Fear surmised, he is squarely on the side of the city. He might not be on the side of the gods, but he is squarely against the Null.
Actions, however, speak louder than words. Moving slowly, Nick complies without any real hesitation, holding up one hand as he stoops to place the god killer on the ground with the other. He steps back as he rises, giving Sorrow space.]
Sorrow might not be the god who has done the most damage to Nick and his little family he's made here in Hadriel, but he's certainly up there. It's because of Sorrow that Nick was forced to put a bullet in Undine, killing her to save Rey; it's all due to the god before him that he can still see her face flashing before him, mingling with memories of Jenny as she fell by the riverside, recollections of both of them overlapping until they become one. Sorrow is a major culprit in why he has trouble discerning what happened these days, why he struggles to remember what is his memory, and what belongs to the real Nick. They are and aren't the same person, but it's harder and harder to believe when all the images start to blur together in his aging processor, a machine without enough space to keep it all straight.
Nick has plenty reason to lash out against Sorrow, to take that weapon and simply undo him... but he doesn't. He is more like the Null than most in Hadriel, but as Fear surmised, he is squarely on the side of the city. He might not be on the side of the gods, but he is squarely against the Null.
Actions, however, speak louder than words. Moving slowly, Nick complies without any real hesitation, holding up one hand as he stoops to place the god killer on the ground with the other. He steps back as he rises, giving Sorrow space.]
( Oh. Okay. That makes sense. And makes the Door even more interesting to Serah. One of the ways the city diverges from what she knows back home. )
I see.
( Her knuckles press against her lips thoughtfully, considering the implications of that. If they stopped using it, then there was a single host population they could maintain, right? That makes sense to her, at least. )
Until you were attacked...
( Quiet, the emotion in her voice clear. She can't even imagine what that must have been like. The Purge shook her to her core, simply from hearing about it after she came out of crystal stasis. So many people, so many friends who were rounded up to die, all because of her mistake.
What must it have been like to be attacked on the scale this city was? )
I see.
( Her knuckles press against her lips thoughtfully, considering the implications of that. If they stopped using it, then there was a single host population they could maintain, right? That makes sense to her, at least. )
Until you were attacked...
( Quiet, the emotion in her voice clear. She can't even imagine what that must have been like. The Purge shook her to her core, simply from hearing about it after she came out of crystal stasis. So many people, so many friends who were rounded up to die, all because of her mistake.
What must it have been like to be attacked on the scale this city was? )
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