Questions

[bufudine]

Who: Sera and Serph
Where: At the Embryon base.
When: June 19th
Style: [:3c]
Status: Closed!


[Serph had been happy when Sera arrived. He still is.

It's kind of funny to think that months ago, Sera had run away from them. He may not have said anything about it, but he still remembers the message she'd left with Ananta.

"I remember everything, now."

What exactly does Sera remember? Before Gale arrived, he and Cielo had wondered about themselves, about the Junkyard, but they hadn't been able to come up with any answers. He still wonders, sometimes.

...He's given Sera ample time to adjust to Vatheon. Now it's time to ask for answers.

He waits until the others are out and approaches Sera while she's in the garden.]

Comments

[techno_shaman]

While the beach is always a blast, Sera is growing extremely fond of the garden. She spends a lot of time in it, and helps maintain it when given the opportunity.

She is currently hunched over a few budding plants, gently touching them and smiling. They'll bloom soon. At least she hopes. She soon feels Serph's presence and looks over her shoulder, smiling and chuckling softly.]

[bufudine]

[The corner of his mouth curls up in the smallest hint of a smile before he takes another step forward, glancing down at the budding plants. He's glad the others have taken to the garden as much as he and Cielo had. Still, he hates to break Sera's good mood, but Serph's not one to shy away from doing things he must.]

Sera.

[He focuses his attention on her.]

You left us a message in the Karma Temple. "I remember everything." [A pause to let that sink in.] What did you remember?

[techno_shaman]

["I remember everything."

She does, and having to focus on that again causes her vibrant smile to fade. She turns away from him and stares at the flowers.]

It's...I remembered something.

But it's not important, so long as we're here.

[She looks back up at him and forces a smile.]

[bufudine]

[But it was important enough for her to run away on her own? Serph's lived too much of his life with too many unknowns to be deterred so easily. He shakes his head.]

Before you and Gale arrived, Cielo and I talked about the Junkyard.

[He doesn't know if Sera has ever been victim to Cielo's difficult questions.]

We still know very little.

[About the Junkyard. About themselves. He crouches down beside Sera and reaches for her hand. Look, he's here. A lot of bad things had been said about her, but they came for her anyway; she's their comrade. He keeps his voice calm and even.]

So... please.

[techno_shaman]

[Sera takes Serph's hand and pulls herself up slowly. This is something she's never had to think about.

Before the Junkyard came to be, everything -- and everyone -- in it operated and existed without care or worry. That's just how it was. Whether it was a happy paradise or a militaristic hell hole.]

...I put you in the Junkyard.

[bufudine]

[Serph stands with her, but keeps holding her hand. He's confused and doesn't understand that statement, but he gives her an encouraging nod for her to continue.]

[techno_shaman]

[This is awful to think about. It was all her fault.]

Cielo, Argilla, and Heat too. I...I had to.

[bufudine]

[He gives her hand a small squeeze and keeps his voice quiet and gentle.]

Why?

[techno_shaman]

[She swallows, trying to find the strength to look at him.]

I didn't want them to find you. I was afraid they'd take you away forever...

[bufudine]

[Serph came to find more answers, but he's having more and more questions. He allows a pause before he continues his line of questioning.]

Who wanted to take us away? Why?

[It's not lost on him that Gale hadn't been mentioned earlier.]

[techno_shaman]

Angel. Colonel-

[No, wait. Serph doesn't know him.]

Varin wanted to-

[Varin and Beck look the same, but they're not the same. She can't go that route either.

Eventually, she's going to have to say it, but it's going to hurt. In fact, it hurts a lot right now. She's kept things a secret since she recalled her memories, but it's getting tough. She can't blame Serph for wanting to know what's going on either.]

[bufudine]

[Colonel... Colonel Beck? So there was some truth to what Varin had said while he was dying?

Serph remains quiet, patiently waiting for Sera to elaborate further. Again, he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. Take it slow. He's here. He's not angry.]

[techno_shaman]

[Sera gives a little, and buries her face against Serph's chest.]

I don't know where to start...

[bufudine]

[Serph wraps his arms around Sera and gives her a gentle hug just like your icon. It's almost an automatic reaction.

He doesn't know where she should start, either. But he tries to guide her anyway.]

Start where it's easiest.

[techno_shaman]

[There really is no easy spot when explaining this, so she decides to start from the beginning. Serph can let her know when he's heard enough, or gets confused. Aside from living in the Junkyard and their time here in Vatheon, he only knows as much as she does about how things work.]

Back home they call me a Cyber Shaman, because I can talk to God. God is the one who created everything in our world.

[bufudine]

[Right. Varin had called her Cyber Shaman. God... Sera's explanation lines up with the explanation Ky had given him of God. So far, he understands, so he nods as an indication to continue.]

[techno_shaman]

I lived inside a place called the EGG, and it got really lonely. There was another boy there who was a Cyber Shaman like me, but they said he wasn't strong enough. The doctors and nurses who took care of me were still there, but they always had to leave.

So I made you. I wanted you to be like the people who cared about me, but always had to leave. They couldn't stay all the time.

[bufudine]

[Her explanation starts off simple enough. Sera had struck him as lonely early in their interactions, so he understands that. Is this all somewhere other than the Junkyard? In Nirvana?

But when Sera says, "I made you," everything stops making sense. He never imagined Sera had power over life. But something's not right there. Before he gained his Atma, he'd been incapable of care, so... is this to do with his fragmented memories?]

What happened after that?

[techno_shaman]

Angel found out that I made you.

[bufudine]

[Angel... She's the one who was in control of the Karma Temple, from what little he saw of her. His mind goes back to what Sera had told him earlier.]

And she wished to take us away?

[Why?]

[techno_shaman]

I didn't want her to, so I hid you in the Junkyard. They never knew.

[She looks up and reaches for his face, particularly to touch the Water Crown.]

But then they wanted to test something on all of the people in Junkyard, so I came to help all by myself.

[bufudine]

[Serph closes his eyes and leans into the touch. Test something... that was the Atma virus, wasn't it?

So many questions. He might not get all the answers today. He opens his eyes to look at Sera again.]

Thank you. For coming to help us.

[He means it.]

[techno_shaman]

[She wants to argue that she didn't help much at all, but hearing Serph say that makes her feel like she did the right thing in the end.]

I don't want to lose you again.

[bufudine]

[BRB CANON UPDATING Serph nods, and lightly brushes his fingers against Sera's cheek.]

You won't.

[There's something close to a smile on his face.]

I'm glad you're here.

[techno_shaman]

[That just makes her day. It probably always will. Serph makes her feel important, and he's always there for her.]

[bufudine]

[Because she is important to him. Not because she's his creator, but because she's his comrade.

He's glad Sera has told him this much, even if most of it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to him. He's loath to press her for too many more details -- another time, perhaps -- but there's one thing he does want to know, at least.]

Where did all this take place?

[Sera makes it sound like somewhere other than the Junkyard. Could Varin be right? Could it be...?]

Nirvana?

[techno_shaman]

[Sera shakes her head, recalling bits and pieces of that horrible exchange that she was forced to watch. And what resulted from it.]

If it was, I don't think it is anymore.

[bufudine]

[Not Nirvana... Yes, if such unhappiness had been there, it would've been hard to believe that was Nirvana. All he's really gotten from this conversation is that Sera is his -- their -- creator and... that doesn't really matter to him; Sera is still the girl who wished to help them.

But there's the question of why Varin had said they'd died, why he'd devoured Argilla. And why Sera hadn't mentioned Gale. ...But does he really need to know that? Are their pasts really so important?

...

Serph rests a hand on Sera's shoulder.]

Thank you for telling me this.

[techno_shaman]

You're welcome. I'm sorry that I ran away...I won't do it anymore.

[bufudine]

[Serph nods. He's glad to hear it; he'd been worried when she ran away, as had the others.

It looks like the questioning is over; Serph's gaze goes to the plants Sera had been taking care of before he arrived.]