A visit to Alexandria.

[3rdangel]

Mikoto has been almost overly cautious in picking the time to confront the younger of her brothers. She'd waited until she was certain Regulus had recovered, found suitable Gaian style clothing, and had the Mages arrange for transportation from their Village. They could PINPoint there, thus avoiding too many guests at the Desert Palace.

Mikoto has already dressed, and is in the sitting room of Kuja's former quarters.

So is Regulus, but he's still glancing over his clothing options with a look that, under the initial calm veneer, hints that he's more than a bit disbelieving that there are people who actually dress this way in public. It seems to have almost rendered him incapable of speech. He gives a particularly incredulous look to a wide-brimmed red hat with a big white feather in it. "Rather... foppish isn't it?"

Comments

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Telrim gives a sad smile, one still tinged with disbelief - exasperation, even. "You... really don't understand how these things work, do you?"

It's not even a falsified reaction. To run away from assistance - or at least proper supervision - when one suspects their mind isn't stable goes against every sane Yeerk instinct as well as proper procedure. Blind panic is understandable, but actually deserting?

[darker_black]

Even the tail-wrap method isn't completely hiding Mikoto's irritated tail-twitch by now.

But it's Regulus that speaks up, in a tone that manages to sound innocently puzzled. Well, mostly innocently puzzled. "Pardon me, perhaps I'm not particularly well informed regarding these matters, but, I had heard that Kuja destroyed an entire planet. If you were concerned of doing the same, I'm sorry to say I don't understand how staying away from a city would have made the least difference... It couldn't have been that you wanted to be far enough away that no one could stop you."

Was that actually a stifled snerk from Mikoto? Well, the tip of her tail isn't twitching now. "I expect that he found the possibility of having a discussion with me somehow more disturbing than the idea that his existence put all of Gaia in danger."

"It wasn't that..," Zidane protests, but even he realizes it really doesn't look good. And he really doesn't have any other answers. "It made sense at the time..."

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Telrim blinks at Regulus's suggestion as if astonished by the insinuation... but her mouth twitches for a split second, all the same. How much power Zidane really has is irrelevant for this. It's what harm he thinks he could do and how big a mistake he made. The truth? That can wait.

In the meantime, he sounds like he could use an out.

"I'm sure it did." Almost, almost sympathetic. "Considering what you'd just been through. But that's exactly why you need other people at times like those. Someone who knows enough to give you a second opinion." She pauses. "I mean, if you think you're going to go crazy, it might be smart to talk to someone who isn't."

[3rdangel]

“Yeah, well... by then they probably already thought I was dead. It just seemed easier to let everyone go on thinking that until I'd had time to sort things out.” Zidane shrugs. “Besides... it's all over now anyway. Why dig any of this up?”

“Why?” Mikoto really can't believe he's dense enough to ask that, even with her low opinion of him. “Are you asking for reasons other than finding Kuja has been in stasis in the Desert Palace after you told everyone he was dead?”

Zidane sighs. “Look, Mikoto. You need to get over this and move on. I know I haven't been around a lot, but that doesn't mean I didn't hear things when I got back about that.”

Mikoto's eyes narrow at that. “So your suggestion is to ignore this... as you have for the last three years.”

“There isn't anything else that can be done about it!”

Meanwhile, behind all the adults, the Magelets are still exploring every nook and cranny of the room. Behind draperies, peeking in giant vases, and so on. There's even one under a couch.

Mikoto glares at Zidane as if trying to decide if his apparent intention to leave Kuja in stasis forever is the result of ignorance, apathy, or both... Then she decides she really doesn't care about his motives. Her tone is icily civil as she says, “I only have two further questions and then I think we can both thankfully dispense with this mockery of a family reunion...”

[in-the-cracks.livejournal.com]

Move on? Telrim winces - or perhaps Natasha does, and the Yeerk with her. That's a dismissal, not advice - it hardly ever works as anything else. How could it now, when Mikoto's pain is so fresh? The Genome's strong-willed, but she's no Yeerk.

She backs off, frowning and keeping in the knowledge that there is plenty to be done about it. Zidane doesn't need to know, and as far as she can see he won't be any use. Yet. The Controller glances toward the Magelets, wondering if she can put that eager exploration to use in a minute or two. If even a couple of them were to wander off into the castle, everyone else would be needed to track them down...

[3rdangel]

Regulus has managed to make his way all the way over to the other side of the room, while trying not to look like he did so to avoid being too close to Mikoto and Zidane for the moment. It would seem he's had some practice at this.

"Miko..," Zidane starts, but a glare from the other Genome gets him to shut up.

"As to the first... I've had access to recordings of your encounter with Kuja shortly before Terra's destruction, however there were issues with the sound." She avoids telling him directly that Garland's half of the conversation simply did not record. After all, what she wants is confirmation as to whether there was any message from Garland at all, or if Kuja had been having auditory hallucinations. Either could explain the one-sided discussion on the recording. "I would like to know what you heard shortly before Kuja entered Trance."

Zidane's tail flicks and he looks out a window as he replies. "No one else heard anything... Like when we went to Oeilvert. It sounded like Garland, but I don't understand how. He said something about how Kuja's victory didn't mean anything." Zidane's face screws up a bit as he tries to remember, "That he could never build an eternal kingdom because he was going to die. He was only supposed to last until I was old enough to replace him."

Mikoto nods slightly, it was what she had expected. And she couldn't help but note a certain relation to her second question. "And you still plan to stay here, with your little Gaian queen. Did you learn nothing at all that would make you reconsider that?"

"No, I didn't," Zidane says without hesitation. "Mikoto, the only memories I had of Terra were of a weird blue light. Anything I learned, anything I could learn won't change that. Gaia is my home. And if what I am causes any problems for me and Daggar in the future, well, we'll deal with that when it happens. I'm not going to ruin now thinking about things that might happen in the future. I got over that before I came back."

There's a Magelet peeking out the door now. It probably wouldn't take much to nudge them into exploring further.

((As I mentioned, I've had to pretty much give up on LJ. It just does not work for me, and I'm still surprised I managed to get it to load this time. I've archived things to dreamwidth, including this journal... so we can pick up there if you'd like or I can try to continue here. Just respond to whichever one to let me know. The Dreamwidth thread is here: http://wilywars-archive.dreamwidth.org/205154.html And I'll hit import again after this sends (IF it sends) to make sure it's current.))