InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "King of Babylon"

Kadaj (mothersbestson) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-08-04 15:25:00

Entry tags:

anakin skywalker, arrival, ayla, complete, day 9, kadaj

Kadaj Arrives Out of the Light into the Storm
Who: Kadaj, Anakin and Ayla
When: Day Nine, evening?
Where: Begins in the Lifestream, then by the welcome tablet, then inside...
Why: Kadaj arrives (Worship Him, haha)
Rating: G (I guess)
Status: Complete

Surrounded by the one apparent constant of the Lifestream, the seemingly unbreachable white light that was at once everything and nothing, Kadaj recreated yet again his first visit to Healin Lodge, his first confrontation with Shinra...

Kadaj paced. In both the room from the past and paralleling his duplicate in the pristine atmosphere of the Lifestream.

The room he had been in seemed pleasant, with sunlight filtering in and cooled air making the environment as comfortable as possible for President Rufus Shinra of the Shinra Power Company.

But the two Turks on the floor, writhing in pain as they attempted to get up unsuccessfully, found no comfort at all. Did they harbour mental anguish at their defeat by Kadaj, or was it all physical torment for the time being?

Kadaj paced, moving from stream of light to shadow and back into the light.

Rufus didn't see him move. A blanket softly contouring his body in the wheel chair formed a hood over his head, partially shielding his eyes. He knew Kadaj paced because of the alternating breakage in the light stream hitting him. The blanket gave him something of the look of a monk but he was definitely not a holy man. Though his suit was hi-style and clean creme-coloured, the black stain of the disease, Geostigma, made a blotch on the back of his otherwise pale hand.

The scene continued to play out, uninterrupted by the pacing real Kadaj, until the point where Rufus had commented there would be no more lies. Out in the white light, Kadaj merely had to think to freeze his own private view into his past. He moved into the recreation of the lodge, along the way pushing one of the Turk's heads out of his way none-too-gently with his black-booted foot. The head separated from the body sans blood, and rolled across the floor but Kadaj paid it no heed. Both Turks vanished from the recreation, save for the red-haired head, which opened its eyes and blinked.

Kadaj stared at himself and Rufus, one standing and the other with bowed head beneath the blanket, looking something like a ghost now. How had Shinra convinced him so easily with the lie about no lies? Kadaj had studied both Rufus and himself in stasis many times by now, without gleaning any definitive answer from the entire interrogation. Well, he needed to try something different. He sent his own form away to pace so that he cast alternating light and shadow on himself while he performed what had happened next. Kadaj knelt down in front of the president, seemingly prostrating himself like a penitent before the wheelchair. He knew his pupils formed into Jenova slits. He knew Sephiroth had flashed over him in a quick transformation, having seen the face of rage and hate several times.

A cold realisation overcame him, something that said this had been Sephiroth's will and not his own all along--

Kadaj leapt to his feet more swiftly than a cat but he stopped abruptly.

"What the..."

Never before had the Lifestream changed his virtual location without his commanding it. Maybe he had turned into the duplicate Kadaj and the other one had done this, placing him into some strange place he had never seen until now. An intoxicatingly dangerous place because the wind howled and cold, raw rain pelted him hard. He raised his face into the storm, as if sniffing, and found nothing holy or magical about the lightning, nothing to indicate it might be created by Sephiroth.

Who made this storm then?

He turned to see a plaque only a couple of steps away and moved in front of it rather than rushing inside. The wind ruffled through his silver hair furiously yet it somehow seemed like a rough cuff from a brother who play-battled him. It almost gave him a feeling of being at home, whatever home might be.

There were words to read:

"Welcome to Mirage.
This is your new home.
Your every need will be fulfilled.
You will have a place to live.
You will have food and clothing.
You will have entertainment.
You will have company.
You will not be able to leave.
You will not kill. Ever.
If you have questions, ask my assistants.
Love,
The Planet"

Promises like a bribe, he thought with a mental sneer as he stepped to the nearby door and went inside. He moved confidently, shaking his head to rid it of the rain like a drenched puppy. His leather clothes were slick with the storm and dripped on the floor. One hand poised on the hilt of his sword, Kadaj stopped to size up the first person he saw. He stared at them in a calm, unblinking manner.

"You there, are you an assistant?" he demanded.

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angry_jedi
2008-08-11 11:46 am UTC (link)

Anakin cocked an eyebrow, so…Whitehair is called Kadaj? Interesting name.. He nodded and lowered his eyes with respect to the woman when she gave her name, “Ayla”, he repeated.

When the woman began to explain that the planet they were on was actually a sentient being who had abducted them because it wanted them here, Anakin could feel his well known temper beginning to take hold…the table began to shake and then all the tables in the restaurant began to shake and all the lights in the restaurant began blinking…the Jedi Knight’s brow creased and his fists clenched. The woman told him that the planet didn’t care that it took him from his beloved Padme and his unborn child…that it probably enjoyed it and that he most likely would never see them again! The tables and chairs were shaking violently now…Anakin was enraged…suddenly, in the empty chair at their table a vision appeared to him and spoke, ”Ani, this behavior is ill befitting a Jedi Knight. These people have done you no wrong and you are frightening them. A true Jedi keeps a clear mind and an even temper so he can best assess a situation from all sides”. The lights ceased their blinking and the furniture remained still…Anakin took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, “Of course you are right, Master Qui-Gon”, he admitted apologetically. The Jedi Knight didn’t feel it was strange to receive a visit from his Master’s deceased Master as he was now a part of the force. “How can we get off of this planet, Master?”, he asked, half knowing he would not get a simple answer. Qui-Gon Jinn smiled as he faded away, “Trust in the Force, Ani”.

Anakin wanted to growl and destroy something, but he kept his temper under control like a good Jedi…he smoothed out the sleeves of his black tunic and looked up at Ayla, “Thank you for being truthful and to the point, Ayla. I appreciate that. I’m sorry if my temper scared you. I’ll try to watch that…I…wouldn’t have hurt you…I don’t use the dark side of the force”.

Kadaj was talking about strange things. Anakin wondered if the boy ingested mind altering drugs. “What is this Lifestream, Kadaj? Ayla hardly looks like an ancient to me”.

The wooden golem placed Anakin’s food in front of him with a smile and left immediately. “This smells delicious”, the Jedi remarked, his hunger taking center stage, “I hope I shall like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. It looks similar to foods we have…only one way to find out…”. He was starving and he did indeed enjoy his food and cleaned his plate.

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_ayla_
2008-08-11 08:59 pm UTC (link)

Ayla smiled at Kadaj when he gave her his name. She nodded and divided her attention between both of them, speaking to them equally as she made eye contact. It was still difficult for her, sometimes, making eye contact. Especially with men. But after three years of not having to abide by Clan rules, she had mostly gotten over it.

The shock was evident on her face, however, when the table beneath her hands began to rattle, and then the other patrons' tables began to shake, and the lights began to flicker. Her blue eyes widened and she glanced around her, then back to Anakin who looked as angry as anyone she had ever seen. He reminded her of Broud whenever he would look at her. Cold, angry, calculating. She shuddered and looked away from him, glancing down into her lap. She heard him speak, but when she looked, he was speaking to the empty chair at their table.

The shaking subsided and she flicked her gaze back up to Anakin as he not only thanked her but apologized. She merely nodded then looked back at Kadaj as he asked her if Mirage had a Lifestream and if she was an ancient. She furrowed her brow because she didn't know what a Lifestream was, and she really wasn't that old.

"I am not an ancient. Not yet. I am getting on in years, however." To the Clan, an old woman was in her 20s. Ayla was only 17, but she also had a 6 year old son that now lived with the Clan. She did everything early according to modern tradition, but late according to Clan tradition. She watched the golem arrive with the food they had both ordered and folded her hands in her lap to watch quietly.

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mothersbestson
2008-08-12 01:54 pm UTC (link)

Kadaj surprised himself when he naturally returned Ayla's smile. He simply knew he liked her and he never went wrong following his instincts. The same way that he knew Shinra could never be trusted, this lady could very much be believed. It didn't occur to him to question, for Kadaj never second-guessed himself.

As he nodded subtly at her explanation of what the Planet was doing, their table started to shake. At first he thought it was an earthquake while his body reacted in quicksilver silence, having him leap to his feet. A slight glow emanated from him, originating from the suddenly bright ball of materia concentrated beneath the sleeve covering his left inner wrist. He glanced around, his eyes following the spread of shaking throughout the room. Lights flickered around them. His senses didn't register the deep rumble of earth, however. The sound outside was still from the raging storm and nothing else.

Kadaj glanced at his companions again and his stare froze on Anakin. Remembering the unexpected display of anger when Anakin had sliced down great trees with the glowing sabre, he suddenly understood this was also Anakin's doing. Was the fool going to destroy them because of a tantrum? Would the Planet stop it? Something apparently put a stop to this, since the other man spoke to a chair. Kadaj could see the air waver a bit like a mirage but Anakin obviously addressed someone sitting there. Then all seemed to return to normal with the vanishing of the wavery air.

The man spoke about a dark side of some force. As Kadaj slid back into his chair, still gripping the hilt of his katana, he wasn't so sure this darkness didn't use Anakin. Kadaj no longer displayed any sign of glowing. He understood a lot about using darkness and it abusing him. It seemed Anakin didn't, even if he possessed tremendous power over physical elements. What gave him such powers?

He decided to direct their discussion back to his own concerns and both of them had reactions to his comments.

"The Lifestream is the energy of the planet," he answered Anakin. "It's where the spirits come from and return to. It's where I was when this planet stole me."

He focused his green stare on the woman. "By ancient I didn't mean you're old, Ayla. The Ancients lived centuries ago," he explained simply.

If he wanted to add more, the others wouldn't know since more food was brought to their table just then. While Anakin commented on his own meal, Kadaj gazed down into his bowl of noodles and chicken curiously. He picked it up to sniff the food. This whole experience was different from either eating packets of military rations, stealing food from the people of Edge, or simply relying on Materia to power his jumbled genetic structure. He thought the chicken smelled a little like Chocobo, so did it taste like Chocobo too?

Then he laughed.

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