malnosso | belatedly

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belatedly

[and then the button is pressed]

Ah- testing, testing. Okay, it looks like we're good to go.

Yes? I think? Yes. Right.

Attention, residents of Luceti! There was... a bit of a mix-up. Sorry. You've probably all been wondering what's going on out there, aren't you? I mean, aside from what you've figured out yourselves. Well, The World of Their Future Organization is here to help!

...That's what we're called. I mean. For those who don't remember or haven't heard. It's a thing. You know, I never really understood that name until now? Because it never existed except that it's been around for hundreds of years? Time travel is so weird.

Anyway, this was supposed to be conveyed to you, like, forever ago, but then things got crazy busy and a couple of things were... overlooked? By someone. I mean. It's a big world, things happen.

But this is from Romaeus! For real! Aaaaand... go! What button is-- oh.

----

Greetings, residents of Luceti. I'll warn you ahead of time that the following message is pre-recorded, as I am currently on an expedition of sorts. It could be months before I return to the village [edit: it's been three so far!] and rather than leaving you all in the dark, I'd prefer to be able to convey some information immediately. [edit: or not! sorry!!]

As you've likely already deduced, the mission was a success. The cultists have been all but eliminated, General Theo saved, and the organization known as Malnosso never formed. I'm not generally one for dispensing praise, but in this instance it is deserved. Well done, you saved the world.

The main benefit of this turn of events is that it gained us several hundred years worth of resources and time not spent on fighting murderous cultists, as well as the vast majority of manpower we lost to the army or through sacrifices. With the information you brought to my past self, the progress made at this point before your venture was nothing compared to where we are now.

I will be blunt: we are going home. We're not there yet, and it's not likely to be easy, but we will succeed this time. This eternal cycle will end.

For the sake of protecting this project from outside interference, I can't share all the details yet. What I can say is that there isn't much time. A few months, perhaps. [edit: it's been three!] We're so close.

What weaknesses you have now, physical, emotional, mental- anything you struggle with. Develop them. Surpass them. They will be targeted. This could be the difference between life and an endless death for you all. Or, perhaps more importantly, the difference between remaining here forever or going home.

I can't give you an exact answer for when this will occur, but be prepared. And whatever business you wish to conclude in this place, do it soon. There may be no coming back.

----

Okay, here's a more up-to-date message. I'm sure Mr. Romaeus didn't know that we'd get such a big influx of newcomers, but wow, did we ever! It's been happening all over the world, in every enclosure we've got. Stragglers still appearing out in the world have been in danger of Natural Shifts, so Shift experimentation has been pretty much halted since it all started. All our manpower has been funneled to search and rescue, supply distribution, and trying to figure out just what the heck is going on. It's been a very busy couple of months!

The running theory right now is that whatever Mr. Romaeus is doing has triggered something within the planet that reversed all the Shifts we created to send people home in the first place. They used to reverse themselves at random before, because we hadn't found a permanent solution yet, but it's normally scattered and a lot slower. This was like - bam! - suddenly everybody's back. Nobody saw it coming. We're taking it as a good sign, since I don't think it would've happened if we weren't making progress, but... yeah. Downside being we're totally overloaded, now. Hundreds of years worth of sendbacks and they're all here again...

Anyway, we're a lot better off now! Which is why we're trying to get back on track with you guys. Like Mr. Romaeus said up there, you guys must have questions and he's set up a bunch of pre-recorded answers via ANI. I'll handle whatever he didn't anticipate and get a proper answer to anything we don't have immediate information for as soon as possible. Sound fair?

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[Yeah, Stella sees the answer Law got there. So if she went back, then she'd just be dead again. Part of her thinks that it'd be such a relief, because she's getting so tired of being yanked over the line of life and death over and over again.

But... there's Sophie. And while it may be possible for Sophie to return home, the fact that they'd need both parents... This has gone beyond just wishing Senel would show up; for a moment she desperately prays with all of her heart and soul that he'd be here, just for a little while, just enough for Sophie...

Yet she also needs to be prepared for the possibility that he can't, and that the research for sending children home might fall through. So...]

Would it... be possible for people to stay here if they wanted to? For those who can't return, or who feel that this place is more of a home than the world they came from. [Melfes will always be her home. But she can't go back, and that's something she's already accepted.]

We won't be forcing anyone to leave if they'd rather stay here, so yes, I believe that's an option. I'll confirm it with Mr. Romaeus when he returns, but this has always been a voluntary mission.

We're just not really sure what'll happen to the world once we're finished. I mean, it could be fine? But it could also totally fall apart. So, uh. At your own risk, I guess?

Some of us are at risk no matter what we choose.

[She could go home and die. She could stay here and die. But she'd rather go with the choice that leads to her being with Sophie until the very end... But she wants the very best for her, too. Sophie shouldn't have to stay in a place that could very well fall apart, ending her own life too...]

What would make it fall apart, though? What exactly is going to happen to this world?

Well, I guess that answers that.

I can't go into too much detail about it - that's the expedition Mr. Romaeus is working on right now! - but in order to send ourselves home, we have to sever whatever is tying us to this world. It should also end the cycle of death, rebirth, and loss we've all had to endure for so long. The problem is that we don't know if severing all those ties will end up making the world unstable. There's a chance that it'll just change it so that it's a normal planet like any other, but the core...

[Arrrgh. Too much, too much.]

Anyway! It's a work-in-progress. We'll know more once we start snipping lines and sending folks on their way. But if the world starts rumbling and breaking at the seams, don't say I never warned you!

[It sounds like too much. Stella nods slowly, shifting in her spot on the fountain's edge enough to dip her feet into the water. That's always been a sort of soothing action for her to take.]

I'll keep that warning in mind. Thank you for answering my questions so far; I know you're doing your best for us.

Do you know what those ties are? Or at least an idea of what they are?

O-oh, you're welcome. I didn't think anyone would be polite about it, gosh.

Um- what the ties are? Not exactly, no. That's what this final expedition is for, actually. The last piece of the puzzle, so to speak! Once we know more about them, we'll know how to destroy them. Or neutralize, or control, or... whatever we have to do to free ourselves. Whatever it takes.

Stella.

... Yes, Cloud?

...I dunno. [What to say.] Where are you?

[Please don't, I'm putting on a brave face as it is, I'm scared and I don't want you to see -]

By the fountain.

Alright. [Cloud flips his journal closed and- leaves First Tsurugi behind. Shows up with just himself this time, not looking like he's going to war. His shoulders feel too light for how much is weighing on him.

Stella is curled at the edge of the fountain like she was carved from the same stone, and Cloud just sits next to her, quiet, hands between his knees.]

[At that point, Stella's closed the journal and set it aside, feet in the water, arms around her pulled up knees. With Cloud beside her, Stella glances at him, then leans over enough to rest her cheek against his shoulder, arm to arm.

She's not really sure what to say either, really.]

[Cloud turns his head a little when she leans against him, then looks back down at the cobblestones between his own feet. Her hair tickles his arm when a breeze pushes past them and he turns a little again, voice halting.]

I could- I've thought about staying. I can stay.

[Briefly, Stella turns her head towards him before she looks at the water again, almost resolutely. Really, one of the things that breaks her heart the most is the prospect of her closest friends leaving, like Cloud, but...]

You have so much to go home to. A life, a home... [She tilts her lips up slightly, aware of the weight of the phone at her side.] A villa you still need to take care of.

I can have a life and home here. [Cloud shifts his weight and turns a little more so he can see her face. He mostly just gets her side bun and part of her ear.] And the villa's in Tifa's name too.

[And Stella refuses to look, not when doing so might just make her cry. Instead, she twists her fingers together and keeps her eyes on the water, toes curled within it.]

Yes, but... Tifa. And all your other friends... I don't want you to give all of that up just to... to...

It's not just you. [Belatedly Cloud realizes how that sounds and nudges her a little.] Not that you wouldn't be worth it. But I've thought about it a lot. Recently and...when I was here before.

I think it would be best if I stayed. [Stella -and Zack- aside, with the defeat of Sephiroth and Jenova's head destroyed, Cloud's the only source of living Jenova cells left on the Planet. If he considers that, then the best way he can protect the Planet is by going nowhere near it.]

Why do you think so?

[It's not that she doesn't want him to. The problem is that she wants it desperately, but the decision to stay or go home isn't hers. It's every individual's right. But Cloud... she has to make sure he's sure.]

This... If this works, it could be the end. [She raises a hand to briefly cover her mouth, trying to hide all of the fears she has about said end.] Even if... Even if the world doesn't fall apart, this isn't a decision you can go back on. Your home would be - [Her voice halts, wavering, and she trails off there, unsure if she can finish it.]

-okay without me. [Cloud finally turns, and he pulls up a leg so he's straddling the fountain edge without dunking a boot into the water but he wants to face Stella, wants to see the expression on her face.] Hey. I'm gonna stay. I've made up my mind. [Just now maybe, but he has.]

[What he'll see are tears starting to slide down Stella's cheeks as she covers her mouth again and shuts her eyes, trying to fight it. It's not sadness, not really. There's some of it, sure, and relief, but most of all, fear. She's afraid of what will happen to the world when the ties are broken, not for herself, but for her daughter. And now, she's afraid for Cloud, especially since he has a chance to go back and plans on passing it up.

Just give her a moment. She'll collect herself in a bit. This, plus the fact that she loved her world and can't go back, is just a bit much right now.]

Hey- [crying, augh, crying

Cloud's hands kind of hover and he's not sure why she's crying- because she's glad he's staying? Because she's upset he's staying? Because she wants to go back or because of Sophie or because Senel isn't here or because-

But he puts a hand on her shoulder and leans closer.] Okay. It's okay, [he says lamely, even though it's not and he has no reason to offer why it is.]

[Cloud's right on the money on why she's crying - rather, it's everything he thinks it is combined, which is why it's hard to stop. With Cloud's hand on her shoulder, Stella glances down at it, then shuts her eyes and reaches to rest her hand on top of his, fingers finding and sliding between the spaces of his own as best as she can.]

I know... I know. I'm sorry, I'm - I'm making a mess of myself, aren't I?

That's fine. Doesn't bother me, just. [He shrugs.] So long as you're not being hard on yourself, you can cry on me as much as you want.

And I get it.

Cry on you?

[She sounds like he just made a joke or something, because Stella doesn't do that. She's much more the type to walk away and cry on her own, sparing people the awkwardness and her own embarrassment.

But after repeating that to herself, and knowing that he gets it - knowing because it's Cloud, he's listened to her and been with her and loves her and she knows it - she... starts to see it less like a joke.

So Stella leans over, just a bit, to press her face to the space between Cloud's neck and shoulder, and one hand moves to find his shoulder blade and curl her fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

He gets it, and it means the world.]

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