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Post by Matsi on Sept 15, 2012 23:27:03 GMT -5
Xenos blinked a few times, trying to act like the girl had his full focus. Sure, that was far from the truth, but he had to act for now. He knew what he wanted, and he would do anything to get it. "My father is Mr. Rufus Shinra," He said smoothly. He had his "history" all thought out, and he knew pleanty about the Shinra family to not miss a beat. After all, he had worked for Rufus and his father for some time before he found out his true past. "He was not an ally, nor enemy of the Avalance gang. Mearly a... Resource... to them," He muttered as he leaned against the wall and looked at his arms. It wouldn't be long before the false skin on his arms began to wear off to expose the hidious scars that the life stream left on them. Those hideious scars were more like burns, burns that were still blackened and like snaking tendril up his arms and up his lower back. They were his haunting connection to that damn lifestream that had held him for so long. He shivered and looked at the ignorant girl. Maybe she could be of some use to him? Of course she could be. Even if he couldn't gain the trust of the others, maybe he could get her to do some of his dirty work. She did seem a bit...absent minded...and willing to please. Just like Zack Fair. Of course, "Xenos" was still positive that she was his daughter, but he knew he couldn't bring that subject up again without her becoming suspicious.
So there was only one thing to do. Get off the subject that they were on and get her onto a more...uplifting subject sso that he could get her trust at a faster pace.
"So tell me, Lia, where you from?" He asked. Sure, it was a subject to get her off of him, but it was still a subject he could use to his advantage.
Yet, just after he asked his question, his attentions were grabbed by a young man and his female commpanion. "Xenos" sighed slightly and stood tall again. Ahh. He couldn't help but snicker. There was NO doubt in his mind. He was almost a spitting image of Cloud Strife. Except the eye color really. Sure, there were a few little things, but damn he looked like Cloud's twin.
Taikoda shrugged with Celit. "Nothing...." She whispered as she looked at the whitehaired new-comer. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him with her white eyes. She could see few colors radiating off of him. The rest was well hidden behind his barrier. The mist of color was just orange of determination and a cool blue of patience. What was this man's story, she wondered. She didn't dare ask, though. Instead she just put herself slightly behind Celit to watch what would happen.
Ceol pulled a chair over and sat in it backwards. He watched and listened as Roxy went over what he pointed out, but only began to flip through the papers again.
"Shes Doctor Lucrecia Crescent. She was just under Hojo, if I remember correctly. Hojo was the rival of the scientist that experimented on my father and on Angeal and Cloud. Hojo was incharge of the Metlam project, and in charge of the Jenova Project," Now was a time that Ceol was thankful for paying attention to his father's stories.
"Hojo died originally during Metor fall...but your father destroyed him again during the Omega event, remember?" Ceol paused and flipped through a few papers again.
"But Lucrecia hasn't been alive for over fifty years...." He then looked up at Roxy, wondering.
"Roxy.... How old is Vincent?"
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Post by Knight on Sept 16, 2012 0:14:08 GMT -5
Into your eyes, Hopeless and taken, We stole our new lives, Through blood and pain, In defense of our dreams.
Alia blinked, tilting her head slightly. She couldn't recall Rufus Shinra having had a son. Then again, Alia hadn't exactly kept up with the Shinra family's going ons. Especially as time had passed and they had cared less and less about the safety of Aerith Gainsborough and had turned their attentions to the more important going ons of the world, Alia had had little interactions with the Shinra family. Unlike her mother, Alia had not grown up under the guardianship of the Turks. The Shinra family hadn't taken a personal interest in Alia's life and she therefore had cared little about them. So perhaps Rufus Shinra had had a son and Alia simply hadn't known.
Still, suspicion was far from Alia's mind. Instead, she was flattered by the attention that Xenos was paying to her. "Well, perhaps you can be different from your father and be an ally of ours." She really did hope that he would be an ally rather than an enemy or a . . . resource.
When the conversation changed topics, Alia shrugged slightly. Talking about her family wasn't something that Alia really enjoyed. "Oh, you know, around." Alia muttered absently, seizing upon the distraction that the arrival of Celit offered. "Celit, this is Xenos. Xenos, this is Celit." And since she couldn't remember for the life of her what Ceol's little follower's name was, Alia kind of just neglected to mention her for the moment.
He glanced absently at the fortune teller. "All right, seems I'm not too crazy." Celit said with a slight smile. "I'll be sure to let Roxy know that we didn't notice anything on our rounds." he murmured in reply as he glanced towards Alia.
Celit smiled absently, "Nice to meet you . . . Xenos." He said, paying little attention to the stranger. "Lia, is Ceol in there?" He questioned, turning his gaze towards his companion. He wouldn't exactly call her a friend, but he liked her well enough. So companion would have to do.
"Yeah, Ceol and Roxy kicked us out. They need to talk about something privately." Alia said almost petulantly. "I'm not sure what, though." Still, she was doing her best to milk this in hopes that Xenos wouldn't return to the topic of her family. Alia didn't really like talking about her family, to say the least. People treated her differently when they learned who her parents were.
Upon noticing Ceol getting a chair, Roxy perched on the table, not really feeling like dragging a chair over to her place. "Seems like this Hojo had his fingers in a good many pies." Roxine said with a hint of amusement to her words. "But yes, I remember." It was hard not to. How many times had she heard that tale? Too many to count - they talked about Vincent Valentine's exploits often, though perhaps not as often as Cloud Strife.
She paused, thrown for a loop by Ceol's question. "Old. Immortal. But I don't know how old. Older than Cloud. But I don't know by how much." Roxine frowned, gazing at the paper. Had he really been alive when this Lucrecia woman had been? The thought made goosebumps erupt across Roxine's skin. "Do you think that was him? More than fifty years ago?" It made sense. It was the only thing that made sense.
Which only made Roxine more confused. Why wouldn't he have mentioned this Lucrecia Crescent, then, if she was the one who had injected him with the Chaos and made him who he was?
The age of man is over, A darkness comes at dawn, These lessons that we've learned here, Have only just begun.
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Post by Matsi on Sept 16, 2012 14:25:34 GMT -5
"Xenos" smiled at Alia slightly. Aww, how cute. She wanted him to be an ally with them. Oh, he would be an ally alright... An Ally to their death! MWAHAHAHAHA ahem He of course didn't dare voice these thoughts. That could just ruin all of his plans. "I have many resources... They can come in handy if a battle breaks out," He simply stated as he looked down the corridor. His attentions then shifted back to Celit and he looked the son of Cloud over.
How brilliant it would be to kill him...slowly and painfully. To hear him cry out the same way Cloud had in a few of their battles. This time though, there would be no survivors.
Sephiro- er...Xenos... wasn't even paying attention to Celit as he looked from him to Alia. Hmm, he was slightly surprised that they were not a couple. He had always thought that Zack and Cloud had something, but that was clearly proven wrong seeing as they had children. So that, in his demented mind, meant that their children had to have something for eachother. He wasn't too wrong that often, but he had a feeling that he was wrong again. Damn. That took out the fun of having Lia scream like a child as he took Celit's gut out.
Xenos brought himself back to reality and blinked a few times as he looked at Celit. He wouldn't let this child close enough to him to blow his cover. Now was time to change the subject.
"Lia, I know this building was once owned by my grandfather, but what exactly was it?" He shot Celit a glance, his blue and green eyes sharp for a moment.
Taikoa watched Xenos, curious, as she hid slightly behind Celit. There was something about him that was just....scary. She rubbed absently at the bright purple tatto-like-scars on her upper arms and leaned into Celit slightly. She wanted his attention. She felt like she needed to bring this up with him. Or did he feel it too? She looked up at Celit, reading him. No, he didn't seem to. At least, not that she could see. Of course, the son of Cloud was absolutely clueless... He must have gotten that from his mother. Not that she was bashing or anything, just an observation after all.
"Celit, I think...we should go check the old Mako reactor room," Taikoa finally voiced as her gaze met with Xenos' for a brief moment. Goosebumps formed on her arms and she pulled herself further behind Celit. She wasn't a fighter, mearly a fortune teller! This guy was going to blow her brains out, she just knew it! Holy flipping shit!
Ceol leaned back into his chair. "Could Lucrecia be Sephiroth's mother?" He asked with a hum. He ran a hand through his multicolored hair and looked at the Materia. "Watch that, and I think it will answer a lot of questions... while raising more,"
Ceol stood and stretched. "I think Vincent is quite a bit older than your mother, which also means, creepily enough, that your "big brother" Sephiroth is older than your mother too. Since the METLAM project didn't start until about twenty-five years ago, after Sephiroth was already known as a First Class Soldier and a Hero," Ceol began to wander around the room. Until now, he had paid the few books around the room no attention, but now, now he searched them like a bloodhound. He wanted more answers. They say Lucrecia died, but they never said that she actually went to the lifestream, which meant that she could still be out there. If they could find Lucrecia, they could get answers on Sephiroth's experiment and find a weekness, or something along those lines.
Now that he understood how this information could help, he looked at Roxy, about to voice his thoughts, but he stopped. All of this information...could be hard on her, couldn't it?
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Post by Knight on Sept 16, 2012 15:23:58 GMT -5
Just waking up in the morning, And to be well, Quite honest with ya, I ain't really sleep well.
Alia couldn't see why he wouldn't be an ally. She had mentally blinded herself to the fact that he was the notright thing in this household. And it didn't look like she was going to be recognizing that any time soon. Alia was good at that whole . . . denial thing. So she smiled happily and blandly, "Well, I'm sure Rox'll come to her senses soon and you'll be welcome to join us." She was content in her oblivious state, taking 'ignorance is bliss' to a whole new level.
He really didn't know what this place was? Alia knew all too well. Her father had been experimented on here, as had her father's best friend. Many experiments had been performed in this unhappy place. The Shinra Mansion had been both a front for the experiments performed and for a more . . . legitimate operation. If that made sense? And how to put that in words that would make sense to someone not descended from these experiments. "Well . . ." Alia trailed off for a moment, wriggling and glancing at Celit. But the man didn't seem too interested in helping her, unfortunately enough. So that dropped her back on square one. "I'm personally mostly familiar with the experiments performed here. But it was a place where many . . . rather needless scientific advancements were made." Alia said at last.
Vincent Valentine, for example. She had no personal problems with him, but immortality? He could very well outlive his 'daughter,' Sidra. And no parent should have to outlive their child, whether or not they were related by blood. All that his experiments had caused were pain. Even if he did save the world. Which only served to confuse Alia. Should his experiments be considered good or bad or somewhere in between? Ugh. Why had she even started thinking about this?
For the most part, Celit was tuning Xenos out. He picked up on the occasional thing, like the fact that Xenos mentioned this building had been owned by his 'grandfather.' A Shinra, then? Cloud had never really . . . liked the Shinras? If that made sense. They had been allies, nothing more. And that had only been a matter of necessity.
Still, when Xenos turned sharp eyes on him, Celit reacted instantly, if slightly. His own emerald eyes narrowed in return, his body stiffening just a small amount as he shifted sideways, to move in between Xenos and Taikoa. It was an instinctual thing, really. Protect those around you. Something his father had all but drilled into his skull. Especially with his timid mother around, Celit had grown up protecting those around him, and he didn't really . . . like the stranger so far. He was fairly neutral, but something about him seemed a little off. Though Celit couldn't put his finger on it, so he mostly ignored it for the time being.
"Hmm. Okay." Celit shrugged, not about to question the fortune teller. "I'll see you two around. Lia, can you let Rox know that everything checked out?" When Alia nodded slightly, Celit turned to make his way off. He wasn't sure why Taikoa wanted to check out the Mako room, but if Celit remembered correctly, this was the way to it. He would wait until Taikoa explained why they were leaving, however, to question her. Maybe she had a really good reason. In fact, she probably did. After all, she could see the future.
Roxine bit her lip absently, teeth worrying at the soft skin as she examined the papers. "I don't . . . know. My father's never really mentioned Sephiroth's mother except to say that she's a part of his past, not his present. And then my mother gets all giggly and blushes." There was a hint of disgust to Roxy's words; she had never understood the attraction of giggling and blushing like an idiot. After all, her mother was a warrior like her father. And yet she seemed so . . . silly sometimes. And other times, of course, she kicked ass.
Shaking her head to focus again on the present, Roxine reluctantly accepted the materia. The feeling of something being very terribly wrong grew stronger as she activated it and watched silently as the woman appeared. Her words were directed to her father, Roxine noticed immediately. No. This couldn't be right, could it? But the materia wasn't lying. It couldn't. And why would this strange woman lie?
Returned to the present with a jolt by the end of the video, Roxine noticed distantly that her hands were shaking. She carefully placed them on her leg, where the movements would no longer be noticeable and glanced at Ceol. "It's the only solution that makes sense... This woman is Sephiroth's mother." But she was dead. Perhaps, then, they could seek out Aerith and Aerith could commune with her.
She shuddered violently as Ceol spoke, frowning slightly. "He fell from great heights, didn't he?" Roxy muttered at last. "Is there . . . anything else?" She almost didn't want to know. But they had to learn everything that they could about Sephiroth so that they might stand a chance at defeating him. Which meant she had no time to coddle herself or baby herself. She needed to be strong so that she could protect her family and the world from this menace.
Ya ever feel like your train of thought's been derailed? That's when you press on - Lee nails, Half the population's just waitin to see me fail, Yeah right, you're better off trying to freeze hell. [/center][/blockquote]
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Post by Matsi on Sept 16, 2012 16:15:28 GMT -5
"xenos" watched as Celit and his companion turned to leave, and looked back at Lia. So, now was time to really try to get her under his control. It wouldn't be too hard, he figured. She did seem to be a very...impressionable...person. Surely he could get under her skin by the end of the night. Oh, how brilliantly devious he was. He was prepared to do almost anything to pull her into his command, just to later watch her and the others suffer more.
"Ahh, so this was where Project J, G and Metlam took place. And the SOLDIER base is just south of her, correct?" He knew all too well the area's of this building and the location of the old Soldier base, but he had to play dumb. "Let's just say that I was a... Sheltered child," He muttered as he stood up from his leaning-wall position and moved up the corridor a bit. How else could he gain this girl's attention and trust. He wanted it so badly, just so he could watch her fall.
Sephiroth, please, stop! She is an innocent child! Angeal's voice hummed into his mind and he could feel the lifestream scars on his arms and back swell slightly. He looked at his arms. The theatre skin that covered the scars were starting to crack and fray. Damn. He needed to find another way to cover up his scars. Sure, no one should know that he held the lifestream scars, a sign of the connection between a person and the lifestream, but it was just one clue they could use against him. Too bad it was sunrise. Had it been night and cool still, he could have used that as an excuse for a sweatshirt or blanket to cover up the horrid marks.
Come on, Sephiroth, think, he thought to himself as he paced a little. Sephiroth! Just give up the act and leave. Find a nice house on a lone hillside like our friend, Genesis, did, Angeal's voice poisoned his mind again and he grimaced as a small pain shot through his scars and into his head. Damn it all.
"I am sorry. It was a long trip for me to get here. I am.... just a bit tired," He said quickly, trying to cover up his actions.
Taikoa walked, and looked over her shoulder a few times, just judging how far they were from Lia and her new "friend". She then let out a slight sigh and pushed her hair out of her face. The goosebumps that had formed were starting to fade, and she started to feel a little bit better.
"Did he give you the creeps?" She finally asked as she fixed her skirt once again. She seemed to be completely unfaze now, and walked normally. She didn't let things bother her for too long, and right now was deffenetly one of those times. Sure, she didn't know if she liked the new man, but that was no reason to get all worked up!
"He seemed a bit... off?" She looked up at Celit and shrugged as she blinked her white eyes. Though Celit was open, his colors that is, she still wished she could see the exact thoughts that were going through his mind. His face was hard to read, especially when she was used to reading the Rhapsodos family faces. This face, the face of Celit, was much different than the face of Ceol, thus was not as easy for Taikoa to figure out.
Ceol listened to the message on the materia, but proceeded to go through the notes in the old abandoned building. He was deep in thought, and only allowed the words of Lucrecia to brush into those thoughts. When it fell silent, though, he turned with the book that he was inspecting and looked up at Roxy. He was trying his best to not push the girl over the edge, so he kept himself emotionless and let her do the talking, until she asked if there was anything else.
Ceol only shrugged and shook his head. "I mean, all that I can think of is that in the things that I have read about DR. Crecent, she never actually went to the lifestream. Which means that... She could be in a life-chamber somewhere, or something like that. I don't know where, but, if we could find Dr. Hojo's or Her old lab, we may be able to find some answers. If we could find Lucrecia, theres a chance that she could help us, especially if she sees what her child has become," He looked back down at the book and flipped a few pages. He was just trying to find a few key words... Jenova... Crecent...Lucrecia...Chaos...Metlam...and Hojo were the main ones. Still, he wasn't having much luck with it. So, he closed the book and walked over to stand behid Roxy, where he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and put his chin on top of her head.
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Post by Knight on Sept 16, 2012 17:30:15 GMT -5
But I do it for the kids, life threw the towel in on, Every time you fall it's only making your chin strong, And I'll be in your corner like Mick, baby, 'til the end, Or when you hear a song from that big lady.
Alia nodded slightly, "Yeah, the SOLDIER base isn't too far away. And this was the site of many experiments." She responded with a nod. Oblivious and content as ever, she stretched lazily as Xenos spoke. "Most of that took place down on the lower levels, though." Alia had looked over them once, and that had been enough for her, in all honesty. They were . . . scary, to say the least. With the broken test tubes and the old skeletons, mutilated beyond recognition. Some were almost human. Some were something else entirely. And Alia had only had to be down there for a few minutes to be done with that place.
Shaking her head slightly to drive the unpleasant thoughts away, Alia glanced at Xenos again. "Well, if you want I can give you a tour of the place? I mean, it's not that interesting really. But if we're going to be waiting on those two for a while, then we might as well do something to pass the time." Honestly, she was hoping that Roxy and Ceol would take their time, as she was actually having fun talking with Xenos. And he was cute, so. There weren't really any negatives except Alia didn't really like secrets. She was nosy, to say the least. And she liked knowing things, and with Ceol and Roxy talking secretly behind a closed door... Well, it was bugging her. So this would help take her mind off the whole secret thing.
It was only when Xenos mentioned his tiredness that Alia glanced at him again, frowning slightly. "Oh, well, if you're tired we don't have to go on the tour!" She glanced at the ground, still frowning a little. And here she'd been hoping that she could show him the place. Not that there was much to show, really. A lot of it had begun to fall into disrepair.
Celit wandered away contentedly, leaving Alia in peace. He was sure that she'd have fun talking with this . . . Xenos fellow. Though Celit doubted Roxy would be too keen on letting him stick around. It took a lot for Roxine to warm up to someone, and on a mission as important as this, well, Alia would have to do some serious begging. "Something about him seemed weird, yes." Celit said softly in reply to Taikoa's words.
He glanced over his shoulder, examining the white haired fellow for a moment. "I'm not sure what it is, but he does seem a little weird. But I don't want to be making snap judgments. He deserves the benefit of the doubt, I suppose." His father would have been proud of him for that. Cloud Strife had always advocated fairness. And Celit was doing his best to be fair right then. After all, Xenos had done nothing to earn Celit's distrust.
Okay, so her idea hadn't exactly been the greatest idea of all. If this Doctor Crescent hadn't entered the lifestream, well then Aerith couldn't very well communicate with her, could she? Perhaps she ought to have thought that one through a little better. Ah well. "Perhaps my father might know where to find her if he . . . well, maybe he'll know where she is." And, despite his strong disapproval of technology, he did have a cellphone so that she could contact him. Maybe she'd call him. But this kind of thing should probably be done face to face.
She'd ask Ceol about that later. At the moment, there were more pressing problems. "I'm sure that we could send Celit to poke around for the offices of both of them. I'd suggest Alia, but I bet she'd want to take that stranger with her. And I don't know if I want him knowing what we're investigating." It wasn't any of his business, after all.
"It is certainly worth pursuing. I imagine that we could locate Lucrecia and she could certainly be of much use to us. It seems like there are pages of this report missing... She might be able to tell us what the missing pages contain." Roxy said absently, flipping through the pages once more before putting them aside. "It's still early enough in the day that if we took the motorbikes, we could probably speak with my father before nightfall." Roxine said, getting a little more animated at the thought of having something to do to take her mind off of this.
Until the referee rings the bell, Until both your eyes start to swell, Until the crowd goes home, What we gonna do ya'll? [/center][/blockquote]
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Post by Matsi on Sept 16, 2012 19:52:39 GMT -5
"Xenos" stood there for a moment, looking at the girl, trying to figure out his next move. He let out a sigh and rubbed one of his arms, trying to push the false skin back onto it. "No, no. Please, lead the way, Miss Lia," He said smoothly, trying to hide his own frustrated growl. He wasn't one to be social. Not even back when he was a Soldier. Sure, he had his two companions way back then, but that was years ago. Now he had himself and that was it. Even when he was split into three people, Yazoo, Loz and Kidaj, he was not social. Sure, Kidaj was bold and spoke when needed, and Yazoo and Loz seemed to get company out of eachother, but they were still happier when they were on their own.
He snorted slightly as he thought about that time when he was split into three bodies. Yazoo had been the one that tried to escape his destiny, even when his brother's left to the lifestream. Yazoo seemed to think that he could be forgiven and find someone that he not only liked, but liked him in return. That foolish boy. How could anyone like that mysterious and quiet person that he was? Sephiroth had made sure that Yazoo joined his brothers in the lifestream, where they were all reunited to pull himself together as a whole. That all took placed during the Omega rise. Now that he had broken free of that damned stream, and had his own life and strength back, he was ready to go.
Of course, that is, if this girl would let him do his own thing, which he was starting to believe that she wasn't. He wasn't going to be able to get anything done with her around, she he better just humor her.
Taikoa shrugged as she listened to Celit. "He was interesting. Like... He had been touched by a star or the lifestream. Wonder if he is a stigma survivor? Or had a near death experiance?" Taikoa spoke, wonder in her voice. She really didn't want to judge him either, so she just thought of the possibilities. Anyone touched by something such as the lifestream was almost certainly a little off, she figured. That was such an odd connection, and they said you could hear the dead with that. Maybe that's why this Xenos seemed so strange. Was he haunted by the dead? "Master Celit," Taikoa said as she stopped in a doorway to look into the other room. "Do you think the chambers that held your father, Zack, and all of the other tested ones are still standing?" She asked as she looked over at Celit again. The room she looked into was empty except for bulletshells, probably from Vincent's pass through.
Ceol lifted his chin from Roxy's head and looked down at her. Was asking her father about the subject really the best idea? He didn't want to step on any toes... Though, stepping on toes was probably the last of his worries right now. "Yeah, I guess we could speak to your father..." To be quite honest, Ceol was slightly scared of Vincent. Hince, the reason he stopped trying to date the girl when they were in highschool. He was a bit protective and tramatic to have mad at you. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened to him if he even made one wrong move on Roxy as a child!
"If you want, I can call Celit and tell him what's going on? Then we can go see your father. Though, you do know that this could bring up some.... un.....favorable... convorsations, right? You may learn things, more things, that you don't really want to know about. Especially if Lucrecia really is Sephiroth's mother." He stood tall and allowed Roxy to move freely again. If they found Lucrecia, what would happen between Vincent, Her and Roxy's mother? Would something else go on?
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Post by Knight on Sept 16, 2012 21:02:45 GMT -5
Give em hell, turn their heads, Gonna live life 'til we're dead, Give me scars, give me pain, Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me.
Alia grinned happily, perking up at the thought of giving Xenos a tour of the place. Sure, not all of it was exactly . . . happy, but it was a place full of history and if he don't know anything about it, well, Alia would be honored to be the one to explain it to him. "Well, come on then!" Alia said with a smile, setting off towards the stairs. She'd start at the beginning, of course. With the sprawling entryway with the many hallways that branched off into the various parts of the house.
Though she would probably gloss over the nastier parts of this building's history, as Alia wasn't one who really wanted to . . . talk about that kind of thing. Still, she trotted along happily, a pleasant smile on her features as she led the way to the entryway. "Well, I guess you probably saw this when we came in. But from here you can access just about the whole mansion." Alia said, glancing around curiously. Now, where oh where should they go first? Certainly not the basements, so that ruled out the bottom floor. And not the Mako Reactor's room. Celit and his little friend were there, which left Alia drawing a blank.
She glanced at Xenos, frowning slightly. "And where do you want to go first, since you've never been here before, I'm guessing." Well he wouldn't be asking so many questions if he knew the place would he? Or that was her logic, anyways. She didn't exactly know that he had been here many times before and was operating in that happy cloud of denial. After all, ignorance is bliss. And Alia was certainly both ignorant and blissful.
Celit listened solemnly to Taikoa's words, tilting his head slightly. "Maybe that would explain what was so weird about him. But I do want to know a little bit more about him. Maybe once we can detach Lia from him we can learn a little about him from her..." Celit trailed off, examining Taikoa with a sigh.
He was thankful for the change of subject, honestly. Talking about this . . . Xenos was rather unsettling. Perhaps he had a right to be so strange and perhaps he didn't. But in all honesty, Celit would much rather leave such decisions to Roxine. She was the one who was generally making such decisions. And she was their 'leader.' Though if Sidra showed up, that could be rather interesting. It would be funny. Roxy and Sidra didn't get along perfectly, to say the least. And Celit honestly thought it was funny so.
A hint of a smile appeared on Celit's features as he answered. "I'm sure that they are still standing. Maybe not entirely recognizable, but I'm sure they're there. Shall we look?" Celit asked cheerfully, a smile appearing on his face at the thought. He didn't want to just sit around and wait for Roxine to be done. He had done his share of that years ago and had long since given up on waiting for her. She tended to take forever when she got into things. Time stopped mattering to her. So they would probably have a while before she reappeared from her hideaway with whatever information she and Ceol were in the middle of ironing out.
With a sigh, Celit refocused on the present, examining the area curiously. This looked like it hadn't been touched in a while; there was the occasional bullet casing on the floor, but other than that, the area seemed to be rather . . . dusty. And very empty, thank goodness. He had heard rumors that there were still experiments haunting this building.
Roxine had never understood how people could be afraid of her father. To Roxy, he had never been anything other than utterly loving. The discipline came from both parents, yes, but truly Vincent had never displayed the scary side that the world was afraid of to his two daughters (to Roxy, the thoughts of Sidra being Reno's daughter hardly mattered. Sidra was her sister in every way). So she didn't really understand why people were scared of him.
"It would be the best solution at the moment. There's no one else that we could really talk to about Sephiroth's mother except my mother. And I don't think that that would go over too well with her, in all honesty." Roxy said thoughtfully, gazing solemnly at Ceol. "And besides, this needs to come from my father." He had talked very little of his life before her mother had come around, and thus Roxine knew little about his life before her.
Rox nodded absently at Ceol's words. "Could you do that? And what shall we do about Alia and her . . . friend?" Roxine sighed at the thought. She certainly wasn't too big on taking Xenos with her. Her family's affairs were absolutely not his business. And she didn't really trust him. "I don't want to take him with us." Roxy said with a hint of finality to her voice. She gave little thought to the unfavorable conversations of which Ceol spoke, only shrugging slightly at his words.
She shook her head slightly and rose to her feet. "I can handle whatever comes up. This is something we need to know." Roxine spoke firmly, stretching lazily.
There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter, Here comes the fighter, That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me, This one's a fighter. [/center][/blockquote]
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Post by Matsi on Sept 16, 2012 21:32:52 GMT -5
"Xenos" sighed as he followed the girl. There really wasn't much for him to say or do otherwise. He was just...there. There watching, following and biding his time.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked around. It was all too familiar to him, thus that much more boring. Still, he had to keep this brat occupied for now. "I want to see where the experiments were done. They say my grandfather was a monster for funding them, so," He played along as he stiffled back a yawn of pure un-amusement. So, he may get to see some old things that he used to work with or around, that was interesting and all since it had been so long, but damn this girl was going to slow him down! "So, ever have any battle training, Lia?" "Xenos" asked, trying to keep himself awake enough to know what was going on. Wow. He hadn't been this bored in ages....
Taikoa smiled and followed Celit again. Despite all that was going on, she was in high spirits. "Let's go see them, then! I wonder what type of energy rests with them," She hummed happily as she bounded in front of Celit a bit and turned to walk backwards infront of him. "I wonder if anything of interest or Value was left behind!" Aannddd there was her gypsy part. Money of course interested her, since she grew up with little of it. If they could find something of value, then surely it would be worth the trip! Taikoa stopped for a moment, and turned, just so she could walk behind Celit again. He was leading the way after all. She had no clue where she was going, and really didn't want to get lost in this building. If she got lost in this building, she was almost certain that she would loose her mind.
Ceol sighed and pulled out his phone and absently found Celit's number and clicked call. One ring. Two rings. Answer. "No time for details. ROx and I are heading to the Valentine house. We will be back shortly. Alia and her lil' buddy will be staying here. Keep an eye on them. Also, try to look for Dr Hojo's lab, Dr Lucrecia Crecent's lab, or papers concerning either one of them or the Jenova Project. Got it? Good. Bye,"
Ceol spoke quickly. He didn't really get along with Celit all of the time. Ceol had been the... mid point... of the group growing up, and had gotten to know too much about their group. He didn't really appreciate Celit sometimes, especially when Roxy was the subject. So, he made sure to make the phone call short and sweet.
"There, covered our Lab problem and our visitor problem. We better go, Rox," He sighed again as he reached over to the chair that he had once been sitting in to grab his sword and black jacket. "I'm sure your father will be thrilled to see me," he said in a slightly sarcastic tone as he offered a smile to Roxy then threw some bike keys at her. "Last one there has to buy dinner," He teased as he turned to leave.
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Post by Knight on Sept 18, 2012 19:55:29 GMT -5
A warning to the people, The good, and the evil, This is war, To the soldier, the civillian, The martyr, the victim, This is war.
Oh, great. Alia groaned internally, sighing heavily as Xenos spoke. Great. The basement, where the experiments had been done. Lovely. Sarcasm was heavy in her thoughts as she eyed Xenos thoughtfully. "Very well, then. Come on." Looking irritated, she chewed on her lip as she began to wander towards the stair case that would take them downstairs.
She glanced over her shoulder when he spoke again. "A little." She admitted absently. "Vincent Valentine taught me how to shoot, though my parents were rather . . . against it, to say the least." Her mother, who believed in nonviolence had been the most rebellious, but with some wheedling her father had eventually come around and Alia had learned from the best how to shoot. She wasn't as good as him by any means, but Alia was a pretty good shot if she did say so herself.
"And you, Xenos?" She was curious to hear a little bit more about his origins. Had he gotten battle training? Perhaps, as a Shinra, he hadn't. He'd probably always had the Turks looking after him like they'd looked after her mother. Rather overbearingly to say the least. But the Turks had mostly given it a rest after Alia had been born, deciding that her mother was no longer important enough to guard. After all, who wanted a Cetra with a daughter? Her mother had become useless by having her and Alia herself was entirely useless, even less of a Cetra than her mother.
There was a cheerful expression on his face as he began to walk behind Taikoa. When she settled in to walk at his side he seemed to brighten a little more. Despite the dire straights that they were in, things were seeming better now that he had a cheerful companion. Roxine and Ceol and Alia were all far too serious for his tastes. So now that there was someone who was happy, Celit was brightening as well. Things had been getting too boring with just his friends around.
"Good energy?" Celit responded at last. "Maybe? I mean I'm not sure what kind of energy is good energy so..." He trailed off thoughtfully, chewing on his lip absently. That was a legitimate question. What was good energy. Well, Taikoa would tell him and settle this mystery once and for all. Celit just wanted to know. Curiosity killed the cat, after all. But satisfaction did bring it back, too. There! That made everythign better sort of.
He had to shake his head, biting back a slight laugh at Taikoa's next words, though he didn't get a chance to respond before his phone rang insistently. He picked it up, examining it for a moment; Ceol. All right then. Ceol's sharp words were met by an eyeroll on Celit's part. Always thinking he was the best, wasn't he? But honestly Celit wasn't too bothered by it. He was used to it by now. He and Ceol would never be the best of friends. They would always have just a touch of bad blood between them. Even if they did defeat Sephiroth. "Got it." Celit replied shortly, hanging up the phone immediately.
Turning his attention towards Taikoa, Celit shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Roxy and Ceol are heading out for a bit. They should be back by tomorrow. We may have to spend the night babysitting the lovely Alia and her new friend, and Ceol would like us to look for the offices of either Doctor Hojo or Doctor Lucrecia." Celit said with a lazy shrug, continuing on his way down the hall.
Roxine sat patiently as Ceol made the phone call, a grin appearing on her face at his almost sharp tone. "Thanks, Ceol. Don't know what I'd do without you." Roxine could've kissed him in that moment. But yeah that would be a bad idea so instead Roxine leaped to her feet and grabbed Celit's jacket. She'd mention it to him later but she hadn't really been planning for any rides on the bikes when they'd arrived there, so she hadn't really dressed for high speeds.
A giggle escaped her as she caught the keys smoothly, "He's always happy to see you." Roxine replied smoothly, beginning to make her way to the door as she tossed the keys lazily in the air. Her METLAM reflexes made sure that she never missed the keys as she caught them easily, tracking them without fail.
But ceol's words had her perking up immediately. "You're so on!" She yelped, pushing him lightly as she ran past him, making a run for the bikes. She skidded to a stop, panting slightly. "So who's on for dinner?" Rox questioned cheerfully It wouldn't be a big deal if she was paying.
A warning to the prophet, the liar, the honest, This is war, To the leader, the pariah, the victim, the messiah, This is war. [/center][/blockquote]
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Post by Matsi on Sept 21, 2012 14:29:15 GMT -5
"Xenos" couldn't help but snicker to himself as he heard the sigh of disappointment and irritation come from Lia. So she didn't want to go down to his birthplace? Well, all the better reason to drag her down there. Make her feel the misery from that hell hole. Make her fool herself into thinking that he was the knight in shining armor. He would use her and she would go with it!
As she started to speak about her own training, he slightly tuned her out. He really didn't care too much, either way he would be able to kill her easily. Yet, it was still interesting to know that his own father had trained her. So, she may have a few skills to watch for, but nothing that horrible to his own cause. Then she mentioned his own training. Hmm. This he wasn't expecting. "Yes. I had personal training from the Turks my whole life. Was their apprentice for the last five years before I left them to help with this job," He muttered. Seemed plausable, right? He really didn't know too much of the Shinra's current where-abouts to know if it was totally possible, but he doubted that she knew any better.
Taikoda snickered slightly. "I kind of doubt that good energy can come from vessles that held experiments, Master Celit," She said in a slightly bright way. "Good energy only comes from bright hearts, light things... Things that are pure of heart, if you understand what I am saying." She said with a slight eyeroll. Not that it was easy to tell when she rolled her eyes due to their color, but she still did the action.
Her eyes then went to Celit's phone as it rang, and he proceeded to answer it. She stopped walking and looked at him as the convorsation seemed to be very one sided. When he finally hung up, she cocked her head to the side, wondering what had just been exchanged. "Ahh.... Well, can Alia and her companion really get into that much trouble in this old building? I know he was...different... but isn't looking for the things that may help us in the long run more important?" She asked as she looked in the direction that they had last seen Alia and Xenos. She silently wished she had paid attention to Alia's possible futures....
Ceol was grinning as he mounted his bike and started it. It sprung to life with a roar. He looked at Roxy and snickered. "We ain't to your house yet," He laughed at his own trick and kicked the bike into motion, trying to give Roxy the least amount of time to think as possible.
As the wind blew into his face, he felt relaxed again. He was out of that horrid building, away from the stress and tension. For these few moments, he was at ease and had no worries. It made him remember his younger years. Running in his own Metlam form, the form that he inherited from his later-tested-on parents. The feeling of the air on his face made him remember bounding through the valley along side of his parents house. The rushing sound made him think about that night that he and his siblings and the Valentine family all went to the cliff where the night flowers grew, and the breeze made the glowing flowers dance and sway. It was a moment of peace, even as the sight of the town where the Valentine's lived grew larger on the horizon.
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Post by Knight on Sept 21, 2012 21:43:47 GMT -5
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck, Some nights, I call it a draw, Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle, Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off.
Alia was blissfully unaware of the fact that Xenos was all but ignoring her as she chattered contentedly. So far, she was just glad that someone was pretending to pay attention to her. She tended to be overlooked just a bit in their 'group.' Even though, by all rights, she ought to have been a middle part of their group, as the daughter of the previous generation's leader's best friend. Convoluted ties, but in all honesty, Alia should have been a part of their 'group.' But she never had been. Why? She wasn't sure. Maybe she was just too prickly for them to want to put up with her. She wouldn't blame them.
Anyways, Xenos was talking again. Which meant Alia had something to dwell on other than self-pity. "The Turks, huh? And what was that like?" Alia figured she probably had a vague idea. After all, Vincent Valentine had once been an important Turk himself. He couldn't have changed that much, could he? Most people stayed true, at their most basic level, to the first training that they got. She'd always thought that Mr. Vincent moved at least a little bit like a Turk. Then again, Alia hadn't had a whole lot of interaction with the Turks.
She didn't even dream of the fact that this companion of hers might be lying. Why would he lie to her? She didn't think that he had anything to hide and that colored her naive worldview as she wandered down the stairs that led her down into the basements. She hesitated once they reached the bottom, glancing at Xenos. "The experiments were down here in . . . various places, to say the least. Where do you want to look first?" Alia knew most of them pretty well, having been fathered by an experiment and tutored by one as well. And she'd met some of the Interns from the Shinra corporation during the heyday of the experimentation. Before things like Sephiroth had happened and people had began to reconsider the human experimentation.
While Alia thought, Celit wandered, a happy, almost dopey grin on his face. "Oh. Well I guess this energy isn't the most pleasant, then?" A lot of bad things had happened in this place, hadn't they? And surely there had been some good things too, though. Maybe that had helped cancel out the bad things at least a little bit, though? The thought made Celit relax slightly. He liked the thought that the good things were cancelling out the bad things. But he wasn't about to ask, as Taikoda would probably just say it wasn't true and that wouldn't be as fun, would it?
Sighing slightly as he wriggled, trying to get the phone in a more comfortable position in his pocket, Celit glanced at Taikoa with a slight shrug. "Hopefully they can handle themselves." Celit said absently. "I'd really rather look for the information than deal with that creep and Lia seems to be handling him pretty well." Celit nodded slightly, stretching lethargically as he began to pick up the pace slightly.
"They'll be fine, I'm sure." He hoped. Roxine might kill him if Xenos did anything to Alia. The two might not have been close, but Rox was almost as protective of Alia as she was of Sidra. It was weird. But then again, that was woman logic for you, Celit thought with a low snort. "To be honest I'd rather look around for stuff then deal with them. So... Shall we?" With a grin, Celit turned towards his companion.
Roxine yelped indignantly at Ceol's words, her multi-colored eyes narrowing. "You're a dirty cheater, Ceol!" She huffed angrily, leaping for her bike. She moved swiftly, a plus due to her parentage, but all the same, Ceol was on the move before Roxine could get her bike started. Still looking irritated, she kicked the bike into gear and sent up a spray of dirt behind her tires as she sprung into action.
The bike moved like an extension of herself, and for a moment, Roxine forgot everything. The competition, her brother, everything. It was pure bliss. As they sped across the ground, Roxine fell in at Ceol's side, not really caring to race him. Instead, she just let herself relax. The wind whipped and tore at her hair, sometimes flinging it into her face and sometimes shoving it back. And as the city loomed before her, Roxine relaxed slightly. They were the only people on the road as they practically flew across the ground, and that was exactly the way Rox liked it.
She would close her eyes occasionally, pretending for a moment that she was flying. As a Metlam, she could, in fact, fly, but it was nothing like this. You didn't feel weightless when you were flying. It was hard. But this? This was . . . well it was as close to heaven as you could get in a place like this. And Roxine was content.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for oh What do I stand for? What do I stand for? Most nights, I don't know anymore. [/center][/blockquote]
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Post by Matsi on Sept 22, 2012 22:47:58 GMT -5
Xenos smiled slightly and put his hands into his pockets. "The turks treated me like a king, and I got to kick their asses nightly," He said with a hum. It was slightly the truth. Back when he was a Soldier, he often trained with the turks, just to get new ideas for how people fought. They were never that challenging, but they were fun to fight.
When Lia mentioned the experiments, his amused look vanished and he turned down a hall that he knew all too well. He had been down in this chamber back when he and Zack were trying to figure out what happened to Gensis. It was the last time he had the heart of a hero. That was so long ago...
As he walked, he said nothing. His eyes looked at the debris that covered the floor and walls, and looked at the remains of the various creatures that had escaped the labs but never escaped the building. So many of them were so alien looking. He was used to Alien, though...
Taikoa nodded. Celit was right. Alia seemed to be taking care of herself and the guest quite well, so there really wasn't anything to worry about, right? It made sense to her, at least.
"Yes! Lead the way, Master Celit!" She brightened slightly, though her eyes didn't seem to show any different emotion. To be quite honest, though, she was having the time of her life. She wasn't used to leaving her shop and having a real adventure. It was nice to be able to stretch the legs and the mind. It was even nicer to actually be able to befriend and talk to someone that wasn't fortune related. It was just all around exciting.
Sidra wandered into the house and tossed her bike keys on the table and wandered through the house until she found her mother on the back porch. "Home," She said smoothly as she looked at her Metlam mother. Her blue gaze met the silvery gaze of Alicia, and she watched as the woman nodded. "How was Reno today? You did have a meeting with him and Shinra, didn't you?" Alicia asked her oldest daughter. Sidra smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Dad is good. He was as spunky as ever. Took me to lunch." She leaned over to the strawberry patch and plucked a berry and popped it into her mouth. "What was the meeting for?" Her mother asked, making her snort. "Just telling me what to look out for in my section. Ya' know, typical Head Turk meeting," She snickered.
A few months ago, she had been promoted to second in command in the Turk ranks, just below her biological father, Reno. It was her pride and joy, to know that SHE was the one doing all of the tough work, no one else. She knew it slightly bothered her mother, but she didn't care. She had to get it through her mind that she wasn't helpless! Just because she was partially blind, she was a fighter and, when the time called for it, a killer.
"Where's Vinny?" Sidra asked as she thought about her step-dad. Her mother shrugged. "You know very well that I can't keep track of him when it's sunny out," Sidra started to laugh as her mother smiled with a teasing smile. "That crazy bastard," She crooned as she pushed her red hair back and wandered back inside.
Just after shutting the backdoor behind her, she heard the loud roar of bikes, then the silence that came with shutting it off. Sidra grabbed one of her Black Suns and wandered to the front door and opened it slowly. "WE DON'T WANT ANY YOU STUPID KIDS!" She barked and threw the weapon so it landed in the grass a few feet from Roxy's feet. She proceeded to lean on the door frame, snickering at her sister.
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Post by Knight on Sept 23, 2012 17:43:02 GMT -5
Alia had to admit that it didn't sound like a half bad existence. Sure, she'd always had a pretty good life and had never lived in the slums like her mother, but living like a king? That couldn't be an unpleasant life. Especially when you were a Shinra. What was the name Fair when compared to Shinra? Her parents had saved the world, not her. And few cared about the half-baked, quarter Cetra girl that inhabited this world. She was just there, and struggling to live up to her parents' image like so many of her friends.
After a moment, she shrugged, shaking her head to drive the thoughts away. "Sounds like fun." Alia said at last. However, she wasn't exactly the violent type. Despite the guns she wielded, Alia, like her mother, had never been a big believer in violence. Things could usually be solved without it. Still, Alia didn't intend to appear weak, so she kept her guns and she didn't do any of that namby pamby 'oh guys, stop it' nonsense.
"So yep. This is where the experiments were performed." Alia said softly, picking her way daintily along. She was careful to avoid placing her feet down on the shattered glass or the bodies of the escaped experiments. And there were enough of them that this was a bit of a chore. So Alia kept her gaze mostly focused on the ground, even as she spoke. "What do you think, Xenos?" Now, she wasn't one to judge because of parentage (what could of hypocrite would that make her?) but it would be interesting to see how he reacted to the knowledge that it was his family that had done this.
Maybe he would see nothing wrong with it and maybe he would. Mostly, however, Alia was just curious.
Celit laughed, shaking his head slightly and running one hand through his spikey blonde hair. "I don't know about master, but let's go." He shook his head, amusement glittering in his emerald eyes as he made his way down the stairs and into the basement. He hesitated upon reaching the bottom stair, glancing back at Taikoa. "You ready?" For the moment, the good humor had faded from his voice.
He knew better than anyone that this place could be unpleasant. Celit had visited this place often with his father, who had sought to instill into Celit a love for all life, even the twisted creatures that had once lived here. And Cloud had indeed given Celit a strong sense of compassion for all life as he had matured. At first, Celit really hadn't understood, or cared. But now, after all these years, he did understand.
Finally, they were there. Grinning widely, Roxine laughed as her bike skidded to a stop, sending up a spray of gravel as she cut off the engine. The sudden absence of the roar of her bikes made Roxine snort to herself as she hook her head vigorously, running one hand half heartedly through her hair, only to jump violently when a weapon flew through the air and struck the earth a few feet from her form. "TOO BAD, YOU'RE GETTING SOME ANYWAYS." Roxine shouted back at her sister, a happy smile spreading across her face.
They might have gone along very different paths in life, but Roxine could still remember being six to her sister's eight and fighting every person who made fun of Sidra's clouded eye. And she'd been dangerous, even back then, with claws and fangs that none of her classmates had had. In her mind, she was still Sidra's protector, even though Sidra probably didn't need protection anymore.
Without glancing at Ceol, Roxine wandered forward, stepping carefully over the black sun that Sidra had thrown at her. "If you want it, you're going to have to go get it yourself, Sid." Roxine said with a grin as she approached her sister. "Are mom and dad home?" She questioned as wandered onto the porch, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Ceol hadn't fallen off the face of the planet and died or anything.
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Post by Matsi on Sept 24, 2012 19:54:32 GMT -5
"Xenos" Shrugged. What else was he supposed to do? He didn't know how much longer he could keep coming up with things like this. It was becoming annoying and inconvieniant. Couldn't he just steal her, make her swear her loyalty to him, or kill her? Hmm. Maybe that could happen. He looked over at her for a moment as he fumbled with the fake skin that was starting to peel more and more. Maybe, before too long, that would be his only option. He didn't want her... More like, he COULDN'T have her ruining all that he was working for. Not that he was getting anywhere right now anyways.
When she spoke, he turned and looked around. He snorted as he looked at the all to familiar pods. He had seen many creatures in the pod, way back when he had brought Zack here to see what Genesis was up to. "Reminds me of home," He snorted as he kicked aside a chunk of who-knows-what. He watched it roll and then tumble off of the edge and into the dark abyss of the lab. He looked around again and noticed a long since dried out, what looked like a massive rasin or deflated soccerball, but he knew was a Dumb Apple. He snickered. The one that Genesis had had, no doubt...
Taikoa looked around, her white eyes interested in everything that they were passing. "Born ready, Master Celit," She said slightly serious, but still with a grin of confidence. She padded down a few stairs ahead of Celit, and looked back at him, like a dog. "Hesitation only makes it worse, Master Celit," She hummed to him as she pushed her bleach blonde hair back and smiled, trying to reassure him. "Though, fear is alright, Master Celit. No matter what your bloodline is," She went serious for a moment and looked at him with her white eyes wide.
Sidra smiled as the familar sound of Roxine's voice not only danced into her ears, but also painted it's own colors across her blind eye and into her mind. "Yeah, they are both home, somewhere. Tell me, What's going on? Vince is hiding, you may not want to bother the vampire," She hummed as she wandered into the yard to get her weapon.
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